In this sequel to his interview published by the Indian Weekender last week, Kapiti Coast Mayor K. Gurunathan says New Zealand is a bicultural nation which has a multicultural society, and that the Treaty of Waitangi bestows a special importance on the indigenous Maori. He believes the minority communities must identify with the Maori rather than the mainstream. Excerpts:
Q. You are a non-Pakeha mayor who was voted in by a Pakeha-majority electorate. How do you explain that? Racism was not a factor?
A. In one sense, it is harder to say that the population is racist. But you also have people who will use this (electing a non-Pakeha mayor) to say that New Zealand is a multiracial country, while at the same time denying the bicultural responsibility they have to Maori and this frightens and makes it difficult for Maori. They don’t want to be censored of their Treaty rights on account of being lumped as part of a multiracial country.
Q. So the other minorities must engage more with Maori .
A. There are two ways of looking at this. One, the new minority groups coming in from outside who identify with the mainstream. Then, what Maori are to the mainstream. The mainstream has always depicted Maori in very negative terms. Maori have statistics that are really bad. It doesn’t help that Maori have the largest per capita number of inmates in jail. In all those critical areas Maori are ticked off as bad. So, why should new migrants coming to NZ try to identify themselves with Maori rather than with the mainstream Pakeha?
But the new minorities coming here must realise that the partnership with Maori is very important because Maori are minorities just like us.
Maori have an exceptional power, the power of the Treaty (Treaty of Waitangi), which gives them partnership (with the majority Pakeha). No other minority has that power. Maori would understand the plight of minority groups like us better than the Pakehas would.
Q. What is holding back other minorities from identifying with Maori?
A. The bad statistics. But those bad statistics are starting to change. The Treaty settlements and the changes in legislation are making Maori more important. Their career prospects are increasing. New generations of Maori are coming up who can take on the Pakeha system and do well. All that’s happening.
Q. What do you think needs to be done to bring other minorities closer to Maori?
A. I am a great supporter of the New Zealand Federation of Multiracial Councils. They have a programme called “Treaty-based Citizenship”. New minorities coming to NZ must go through a course on Treaty rights so that they understand Maori and the political struggles of the indigenous people. That will help cement a better understanding between Maori and the new minorities coming in.
When I applied for citizenship, I did not want to take the oath to the British Queen. So I approached the local iwi. I said Malaysia, where I’m from, and India, where my people came from, both gained independence from Britain. If I want to be a citizen of NZ, I have to take an oath to the British Queen. How is that possible. I can’t.
The iwi council listened to me with some amusement and wrote to the Department of Internal Affairs. They got back saying you have to take the oath to the Queen. So, I took the oath in Maori. It provided a psychological barrier. I didn’t have the angst of knowing that I’m taking the oath to the Queen, because the Maori language had protected me from that. It served as a buffer.
Q. But Maori see immigration as a Pakeha strategy to water down the Maori identity.
A. Some rednecks ask why should we have a bicultural NZ? But for me its simple arithmetic. From numeral 1 you cannot go to 3 unless you go through 2. If Pakeha culture is No.1, you cannot go to multicultural at No.3, because you have the Maori at No.2, and the Treaty of Waitangi. So, New Zealand is a bicultural nation which has a multicultural society.