Article 160 of the Federal Constitution defines Malay as a person who professes the religion of Islam, habitually speaks the Malay language and conforms to Malay custom.I have a question, or rather a hypothetical situation.
There is this person, born in Tanzania but a citizen of Malaysia and lives in Dungun, Terengganu. His father is of Persian decent and his mother, Chinese. His paternal grandfather is African and his maternal grandmother is Anglo-Saxon. He is a staunch Muslim, having been on the pilgrimage twice and does the umrah every Ramadhan. He has a Master’s degree in Malay literature and currently teaches Malay language to form 5 students at the local school. He is also the president and promoter of the Malay NGO Persatuan Adat Resam Tradisi Rumpun Melayu Sedunia (PARTRuMS).
In short, he professes the religion of Islam, habitually speaks the Malay language and conforms to Malay custom. But, is he Malay?
According to the Federal Constitution, he is as Malay as I am. Maybe even more Malay than I am.
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