400 Years of Debt.

What do you guys think about this statement? That the privileges and rights are to pay back (pay off is more like it) a "national debt" accumulated over 400 years?

Here's something Najib said in response to Ghani's dumbass statement on Bangsa Malaysia. http://www.sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=16018

"In his speech at the state Umno convention, Najib said the country's leaders have the wisdom to champion the interests of the Malays without violating the other races' rights."

"We will continue to fight for the Malays without any time-frame. It would not be possible to erase 400 years of being backward in 20 years.

"He the 400 years of colonial rule had left "piles of national debts to the Malays" which could not be settled in a short time.

I find the particular use of the term "without any time-frame" very ominous.

And I just finished reading LKY's memoirs. He mentioned that during the Malaysia negotiations in the early 60's, the "rights and privileges" were normally referred to as "special position" of the Malays. The connotation being that once the position improved, then the special position will not be required.

When did a special position based on economic position and natural justice devolve into rights and privileges based on birthright?

One last comment on Najib's statement. 400 years? The Portugese, Dutch, British and Japanese were responsible for most of that. And the last 50 years of 'backwardness' can only be due to our own govt and the elite. The irony is that the Europeans, the govt and the elite are not the ones repaying this "debt". Indeed, the latter 2 are benefitting improperly from it.

The other thing would be many 'Malays' of immigrant origin should not be entitled to that entire 400 years. Many like the Syed Albar family are only entitled to 80 years at most, or 2 generations, if they are entitled at all. Many more are first generation, coming to Malaysia only after independence. Why are they entitled to the whole 400 years of debt when many non-Malay families who have been in Malaysia for 4 generations (almost 200 years) are entitled to nothing, except the pleasure of paying off that debt?

Some liken this debt to the ones that the Australians owe the Aborigines. Yes, but then nobody ever emigrated into Australia to become an Aborigine before, have they?