Bumiputra
Encyclopedia
Bumiputera or Bumiputra is a Malay
term widely used in Malaysia, embracing indigenous people of the Malay Archipelago
. The term comes from the Sanskrit
word bhumiputra, which can be translated literally as "son of land" (bhumi= earth or land, putra=son). It is also translated as "sons of the soil".
In the 1970s, the Malaysian government implemented policies which The Economist
called "racially discriminatory" designed to favour bumiputras (including affirmative action
in public education) to create opportunities, and to defuse inter-ethnic tensions following the extended violence against Chinese Malaysians in the May 13 Incident
in 1969. These policies have succeeded in creating a significant urban
Malay middle class
. They have been less effective in eradicating poverty among rural
communities. Some analysts have noted a backlash of resentment from excluded groups, in particular the sizeable indigenous non-Muslim Orang Asli
, Chinese and Indian Malaysian minorities.
. It recognized the "special position" of the Malays provided in the Federal Constitution of Malaysia
, in particular Article 153
. But, the constitution does not use the term "bumiputra"; it defines only "Malay" and "indigenous peoples
" (Article 160(2)), "natives" of Sarawak (161A(6)(a)), and "natives" of Sabah (Article 161A(6)(b)). Definitions of bumiputra in public use vary among different institutions, organizations, and government departments and agencies.
In the book Buku Panduan Kemasukan ke Institusi Pengajian Tinggi Awam, Program Pengajian Lepasan SPM/Setaraf Sesi Akademik 2007/2008 (Guidebook for entry into public higher learning institutions for SPM/equivalent graduates for academic year 2007/2008), the Malaysian Higher Education Ministry defined bumiputra as follows, depending on the region of origin of the individual applicant:
In addition to the interpretation given above, some activists have proposed a broader definition of bumiputra to include groups such as the Thai
Malaysians, Muslim Indian Malaysians, Straits Chinese or Peranakan
and the Kristang people
of Portuguese-Eurasian descent. Others favour a definition encompassing all children of Bumiputra; there have been notable cases of people with one Bumiputra parent and one non-Bumiputra parent being dismissed as non-Bumiputra.
(CLC), comprising leading politicians from different racial backgrounds, supported the promotion of economic equality for the Malays, conditional on political equality for the non-Malays. CLC member E.E.C. Thuraisingham later said, "I and others believed that the backward Malays should be given a better deal. Malays should be assisted to attain parity with non-Malays to forge a united Malayan Nation of equals."
As a result, Article 153
of the Constitution states that,
Article 160
defines a Malay as being one who "professes the religion of Islam
, habitually speaks the Malay language, conforms to Malay customs and is the child of at least one parent who was born within the Federation of Malaysia before independence of Malaya on the 31st of August 1957."
Article 8 of the Constitution, states that all Malaysian citizens shall be equal under the law, and "Except as expressly authorised by this Constitution, there shall be no discrimination against citizens on the ground only of religion, race, descent or place of birth in any law or in the appointment to any office or employment under a public authority or in the administration of any law relating to the acquisition, holding or disposition of property or the establishing or carrying on of any trade, business, profession, vocation or employment." Article 153 itself expressly forbids particular forms of discrimination; clause 5 states that "All persons of whatever race in the same grade in the service of the Federation shall, subject to the terms and conditions of their employment, be treated impartially," while clause 9 states: "Nothing in this Article shall empower Parliament to restrict business or trade solely for the purpose of reservations for Malays."
The term of the Bumiputras' special position has been disputed. The Reid Commission
, which drafted the Constitution, initially proposed that Article 153 expire after 15 years unless renewed by Parliament
. This qualification was struck from the final draft. After the May 13 Incident
in 1969, representatives within the government argued over whether the special position of the bumiputras ought to have a sunset clause.
Ismail Abdul Rahman
argued that "the question be left to the Malays themselves because ... as more and more Malays became educated and gained self-confidence, they themselves would do away with this 'special position'." Ismail believed the special position was "a slur on the ability of the Malays." In 1970, however, one member of the Cabinet
said that Malay special rights would remain for "hundreds of years to come."
In the 1970s, the government implemented the New Economic Policy
(NEP), designed to be a more aggressive form of affirmative action for the Bumiputra than Article 153. Article 153 provides specifically for the use of quotas in the granting of scholarships, positions in the civil service, and business licences, as well as native reservations of land. Policies under the rubric of the NEP include subsidies for real estate purchases, quotas for public equity shares, and general subsidies to Bumiputra businesses.
Former Prime Minister
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
and his predecessor Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad
have both suggested that Malays should depend less on government assistance. Many observers believe full abolition of bumiputra privileges is unlikely, especially in view of the constitutional issues involved, although successive administrations since Mahathir have attempted to reform the system of government aid for the bumiputra. Some bumiputra groups believe further affirmative action is necessary.
Parliament
began to use the term bumiputra in 1965. Following debate of the act to create the Majlis Amanah Rakyat
(MARA), the government founded an agency to preserve bumiputra interests.
for bumiputras, for NEP is racial-based and not deprivation-based. For instance, all Bumiputra, regardless of their financial standing, are entitled 7 percent discount on houses or property, including luxurious units; whilst a low-income non-Bumiputra receives no such financial assistance. Other preferential policies include quotas for the following: admission to government educational institutions, qualification for public scholarships, positions in government, and ownership of businesses. Most of the policies were established in the Malaysian New Economic Policy
(NEP) period. Many policies focus on trying to achieve a bumiputra share of corporate equity, comprising at least 30% of the total. Ismail Abdul Rahman
proposed this target after the government was unable to agree on a suitable policy goal.
Examples of such policies include:
As a result of these policies, many bumiputera with good connections quickly became millionaires. According to Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz
, former Minister of Trade and Industry, the policy was to create "Towering Malays". In 2005 she gave a speech that stated: "If there are young Malay entrepreneurs whose companies are successful, then we appreciate their success, we want Towering Malays of glokal (global and local) standard". She also said that the policy of Approved Permits (APs) had produced many bumiputera entrepreneurs in the automotive industry.
Bumiputras previously received certain privileges in public tertiary education, such as ethnic quotas. In 2004, Dr. Shafie Salleh, the newly appointed Higher Education Minister, stated that he "will ensure the quota of Malay students' entry into universities is always higher."
Since 2000, the Government has discussed phasing out certain affirmative action programs and reinstating "meritocracy
". In 2003 it began the system of "Malaysian model meritocracy" for university admission. Admission to public universities was not based upon a common examination such as the SAT
or A-Levels, but rather upon a two parallel systems of either an one-year matriculation course or a two-year STPM (Malaysian Higher School Certificate
) programme. Bumiputras compose an overwhelming majority of entrants to the matriculation programme. Critics say that the public university entry requirements are easier for matriculation students.
Quotas also exist for Public Services Department (JPA) scholarships, full scholarships offered to students to study in leading universities worldwide. These scholarships are given on the basis of SPM (Malaysian Education Certificate, the equivalent of O-Levels) results, ethnic group, and certain quotas. The JPA scholars are sent to selected pre-university programmes offered by the government — from there, they apply to universities. Malay supremacy and affirmative action are two different concepts, affirmative is time-bound.
, Singapore
's Prime Minister
Lee Kuan Yew
(who was also a Member of that Parliament) questioned the implementation of Malay rights as proposed. Lee asked, "How does the Malay in the kampung find his way out into this modernised civil society? By becoming servants of the 0.3 per cent who would have the money to hire them to clean their shoe, open their motorcar doors?" and "How does telling a Malay bus driver that he should support the party of his Malay director (UMNO) and the Chinese bus conductor to join another party of his Chinese director (MCA) — how does that improve the standards of the Malay bus driver and the Chinese bus conductor who are both workers in the same company?"
Lee closed with "Meanwhile, whenever there is a failure of economic, social and educational policies, you come back and say, oh, these wicked Chinese, Indian and others opposing Malay rights. They don't oppose Malay rights. They, the Malay, have the right as Malaysian citizens to go up to the level of training and education that the more competitive societies, the non-Malay society, has produced. That is what must be done, isn't it? Not to feed them with this obscurantist doctrine that all they have got to do is to get Malay rights for the few special Malays and their problem has been resolved."
, which is the largest member of the governing coalition, deputy chair Badruddin Amiruldin cautioned against questioning the Bumiputras' special rights, which met with approval from the delegates: "Let no one from the other races ever question the rights of Malays on this land. Don’t question the religion because this is my right on this land." In 2004, Mohd. Johari Baharum, parliamentary secretary of the Prime Minister's Department, stated that the PSD scholarships would remain quota based. He added that there were no plans to convert this to a merit based system, and that the total value of the PSD scholarship since 1996 was 2.4 billion Ringgit
. There have been reported cases of students who failed to get PSD scholarships, but were later admitted to leading universities. Malay Supremacy and affirmative action are two different concepts, affirmative action is a precaution measure for ethnic riots and is time-bound.
In former Malaysian journalist Rehman Rashid
's autobiographical book, A Malaysian Journey, first published in the early 1990s
, he claimed teachers are pressured in universities to give favourable grades to Bumiputra students, even if unwarranted. He also suggested that many grants given by private corporations to students could be unofficially earmarked for the Bumiputra.
Another controversial aspect is that the Orang Asli
of peninsular Malaysia are not considered Bumiputra under the Federal constitution. As their settlement predates that of the Malays, this is considered unfair by many, especially as they are also much worse off than the Malays. As such, various groups including SUHAKAM, the Malaysian Commission of Human Rights have called for the government to recognise Orang Asli as Bumiputra Others argue that the Orang Asli
are in fact considered Bumiputra.
Recently, members of the Indian community have also been vocal in demonstrating for Hindu rights and protesting that their community has long been worse off than the Malay community, a situation compounded by unfavorable treatment as non-Bumiputras. Several members of the Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF
) are currently in detention under the Internal Security Act
(ISA).
On the 1st of March 2009, Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat
, the spiritual leader of the opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party stated that the term “bumiputera” is racist and the policy prevented other races from receiving government aid. Nik Aziz’s remarks were made in response to the criticisms and threats made by UMNO against Democratic Action Party
’s Dr Boo Cheng Hau, the opposition leader in Johor
when Dr Boo was reported to have compared “bumiputeraism” with state apartheid.
However, as of 2007, Chinese Malaysians dominate the professions of accountants, architects and engineers while Indian Malaysians dominate the professions of veterinarians, doctors, lawyers and dentists well exceeding their respective population ratios compared to Bumiputra.
However, the manufacturing sector is exempted from the Foreign Investment Committee (FIC) Guidelines. The 30% Bumiputera equity and restrictions in market entry have been removed for all sub-sectors.
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
term widely used in Malaysia, embracing indigenous people of the Malay Archipelago
Malay Archipelago
The Malay Archipelago refers to the archipelago between mainland Southeastern Asia and Australia. The name was derived from the anachronistic concept of a Malay race....
. The term comes from the Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
word bhumiputra, which can be translated literally as "son of land" (bhumi= earth or land, putra=son). It is also translated as "sons of the soil".
In the 1970s, the Malaysian government implemented policies which The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
called "racially discriminatory" designed to favour bumiputras (including affirmative action
Affirmative action
Affirmative action refers to policies that take factors including "race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin" into consideration in order to benefit an underrepresented group, usually as a means to counter the effects of a history of discrimination.-Origins:The term...
in public education) to create opportunities, and to defuse inter-ethnic tensions following the extended violence against Chinese Malaysians in the May 13 Incident
May 13 Incident
The 13 May Incident is a term for the Sino-Malay sectarian violences in Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia, which began on 13 May 1969...
in 1969. These policies have succeeded in creating a significant urban
Urban area
An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...
Malay middle class
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
. They have been less effective in eradicating poverty among rural
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
communities. Some analysts have noted a backlash of resentment from excluded groups, in particular the sizeable indigenous non-Muslim Orang Asli
Orang Asli
Orang Asli , is a generic Malaysian term used for people indigenous to Peninsular Malaysia...
, Chinese and Indian Malaysian minorities.
Definition
The concept of a bumiputra ethnic group in Malaysia was coined by activist Tunku Abdul RahmanTunku Abdul Rahman
Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah, AC, CH was Chief Minister of the Federation of Malaya from 1955, and the country's first Prime Minister from independence in 1957. He remained as the Prime Minister after Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore joined the...
. It recognized the "special position" of the Malays provided in the Federal Constitution of Malaysia
Constitution of Malaysia
The Federal Constitution of Malaysia, which came into force in 1957, is the supreme law of Malaysia. The Federation was initially called the Federation of Malaya and it adopted its present name, Malaysia, when the States of Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore joined the Federation...
, in particular Article 153
Article 153 of the Constitution of Malaysia
Article 153 of the Constitution of Malaysia grants the Yang di-Pertuan Agong responsibility for “safeguard[ing] the special position of the ‘Malays’ and natives of any of the States of Sabah and Sarawak and the legitimate interests of other communities” and goes on to specify ways to do this, such...
. But, the constitution does not use the term "bumiputra"; it defines only "Malay" and "indigenous peoples
Orang Asli
Orang Asli , is a generic Malaysian term used for people indigenous to Peninsular Malaysia...
" (Article 160(2)), "natives" of Sarawak (161A(6)(a)), and "natives" of Sabah (Article 161A(6)(b)). Definitions of bumiputra in public use vary among different institutions, organizations, and government departments and agencies.
In the book Buku Panduan Kemasukan ke Institusi Pengajian Tinggi Awam, Program Pengajian Lepasan SPM/Setaraf Sesi Akademik 2007/2008 (Guidebook for entry into public higher learning institutions for SPM/equivalent graduates for academic year 2007/2008), the Malaysian Higher Education Ministry defined bumiputra as follows, depending on the region of origin of the individual applicant:
- Peninsular MalaysiaPeninsular MalaysiaPeninsular Malaysia , also known as West Malaysia , is the part of Malaysia which lies on the Malay Peninsula. Its area is . It shares a land border with Thailand in the north. To the south is the island of Singapore. Across the Strait of Malacca to the west lies the island of Sumatra...
- "If one of the parents is Muslim Malay as stated in Article 160 (2) Federal Constitution of Malaysia; thus the child is considered as a Bumiputra"
- SabahSabahSabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...
- "If one of the parents is a Muslim Malay or indigenous native of Sabah as stated in Article 160A (6)(a) Federal Constitution of Malaysia; thus his child is considered as a Bumiputra"
- SarawakSarawakSarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
- "If both of the parent are indigenous natives of Sarawak as stated in Article 160A (6)(b) Federal Constitution of Malaysia; thus their child is considered as a Bumiputra"
In addition to the interpretation given above, some activists have proposed a broader definition of bumiputra to include groups such as the Thai
Thai people
The Thai people, or Siamese, are the main ethnic group of Thailand and are part of the larger Tai ethnolinguistic peoples found in Thailand and adjacent countries in Southeast Asia as well as southern China. Their language is the Thai language, which is classified as part of the Kradai family of...
Malaysians, Muslim Indian Malaysians, Straits Chinese or Peranakan
Peranakan
Peranakan Chinese and Baba-Nyonya are terms used for the descendants of late 15th and 16th-century Chinese immigrants to the Indonesian archipelago of Nusantara during the Colonial era....
and the Kristang people
Kristang people
The Kristang are a creole ethnic group of people of mixed Portuguese and Malaccan descent based in Malaysia and Singapore. People of this ethnicity have strong Dutch heritage, some British as well as Chinese and Indian heritage due to intermarriage, which was common among the Kristang...
of Portuguese-Eurasian descent. Others favour a definition encompassing all children of Bumiputra; there have been notable cases of people with one Bumiputra parent and one non-Bumiputra parent being dismissed as non-Bumiputra.
History
At the time of Malaya's independence from the British in 1957, the population included many first or second-generation immigrants who had come to fill colonial manpower needs as indentured labourers. Chinese entrepreneurs, who typically settled in urban areas, played a significant role in the commercial sector. The Communities Liaison CommitteeCommunities Liaison Committee
The Communities Liaison Committee was established in 1949 by the British rulers of Malaysia, comprising the top echelon of Malayan politicians from different communities, to address sensitive issues, especially those related to ethnicity...
(CLC), comprising leading politicians from different racial backgrounds, supported the promotion of economic equality for the Malays, conditional on political equality for the non-Malays. CLC member E.E.C. Thuraisingham later said, "I and others believed that the backward Malays should be given a better deal. Malays should be assisted to attain parity with non-Malays to forge a united Malayan Nation of equals."
As a result, Article 153
Article 153 of the Constitution of Malaysia
Article 153 of the Constitution of Malaysia grants the Yang di-Pertuan Agong responsibility for “safeguard[ing] the special position of the ‘Malays’ and natives of any of the States of Sabah and Sarawak and the legitimate interests of other communities” and goes on to specify ways to do this, such...
of the Constitution states that,
Article 160
Article 160 of the Constitution of Malaysia
Article 160 of the Constitution of Malaysia defines various terms used in the Constitution. It has an important impact on Islam in Malaysia and the Malay people due to its definition of a Malay person under clause 2...
defines a Malay as being one who "professes the religion of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, habitually speaks the Malay language, conforms to Malay customs and is the child of at least one parent who was born within the Federation of Malaysia before independence of Malaya on the 31st of August 1957."
Article 8 of the Constitution, states that all Malaysian citizens shall be equal under the law, and "Except as expressly authorised by this Constitution, there shall be no discrimination against citizens on the ground only of religion, race, descent or place of birth in any law or in the appointment to any office or employment under a public authority or in the administration of any law relating to the acquisition, holding or disposition of property or the establishing or carrying on of any trade, business, profession, vocation or employment." Article 153 itself expressly forbids particular forms of discrimination; clause 5 states that "All persons of whatever race in the same grade in the service of the Federation shall, subject to the terms and conditions of their employment, be treated impartially," while clause 9 states: "Nothing in this Article shall empower Parliament to restrict business or trade solely for the purpose of reservations for Malays."
The term of the Bumiputras' special position has been disputed. The Reid Commission
Reid Commission
The Reid Commission was an independent commission responsible for drafting the Constitution of the Federation of Malaya prior to Malayan independence from Britain on 31 August 1957.-History:...
, which drafted the Constitution, initially proposed that Article 153 expire after 15 years unless renewed by Parliament
Parliament of Malaysia
The Parliament of Malaysia is the national legislature of Malaysia, based on the Westminster system. The bicameral parliament consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The King as the Head of State is the third component of Parliament....
. This qualification was struck from the final draft. After the May 13 Incident
May 13 Incident
The 13 May Incident is a term for the Sino-Malay sectarian violences in Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia, which began on 13 May 1969...
in 1969, representatives within the government argued over whether the special position of the bumiputras ought to have a sunset clause.
Ismail Abdul Rahman
Ismail Abdul Rahman
Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman was a Malaysian politician from the United Malays National Organisation . He held several Malaysian ministerial posts and was appointed as the second Deputy Prime Minister in 1970 by then Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak. Three years later, Tun Dr Ismail died in office due...
argued that "the question be left to the Malays themselves because ... as more and more Malays became educated and gained self-confidence, they themselves would do away with this 'special position'." Ismail believed the special position was "a slur on the ability of the Malays." In 1970, however, one member of the Cabinet
Cabinet of Malaysia
The Cabinet of Malaysia is the executive branch of Malaysia's government. Led by the Prime Minister, the cabinet is a council of ministers who are accountable collectively to the Parliament. According to the Article 43 of the Constitution, members of the Cabinet can only be selected from members...
said that Malay special rights would remain for "hundreds of years to come."
In the 1970s, the government implemented the New Economic Policy
Malaysian New Economic Policy
The Malaysian New Economic Policy , was an ambitious and controversial socio-economic restructuring affirmative action program launched by the Malaysian government in 1971 under the then Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak. The NEP ended in 1990, and was succeeded by the National Development Policy in...
(NEP), designed to be a more aggressive form of affirmative action for the Bumiputra than Article 153. Article 153 provides specifically for the use of quotas in the granting of scholarships, positions in the civil service, and business licences, as well as native reservations of land. Policies under the rubric of the NEP include subsidies for real estate purchases, quotas for public equity shares, and general subsidies to Bumiputra businesses.
Former Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Malaysia
The Prime Minister of Malaysia is the indirectly elected head of government of Malaysia. He is officially appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the head of state, who in HM's judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of that House of Representatives , the...
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Tun Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi is a Malaysian politician who served as Prime Minister from 2003 to 2009. He was also the President of the United Malays National Organisation , the largest political party in Malaysia, and led the governing Barisan Nasional parliamentary coalition...
and his predecessor Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad
Mahathir bin Mohamad
Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad . is a Malaysian politician who was the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia. He held the post for 22 years from 1981 to 2003, making him Malaysia's longest serving Prime Minister. His political career spanned almost 40 years.Born and raised in Alor Setar, Kedah, Mahathir...
have both suggested that Malays should depend less on government assistance. Many observers believe full abolition of bumiputra privileges is unlikely, especially in view of the constitutional issues involved, although successive administrations since Mahathir have attempted to reform the system of government aid for the bumiputra. Some bumiputra groups believe further affirmative action is necessary.
Parliament
Parliament of Malaysia
The Parliament of Malaysia is the national legislature of Malaysia, based on the Westminster system. The bicameral parliament consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The King as the Head of State is the third component of Parliament....
began to use the term bumiputra in 1965. Following debate of the act to create the Majlis Amanah Rakyat
Majlis Amanah Rakyat
The Majlis Amanah Rakyat is a Malaysian government agency. It was formed to aid, train, and guide Bumiputra in the areas of business and industry. MARA was formed on March 1, 1966 under the Rural and National Development Ministry...
(MARA), the government founded an agency to preserve bumiputra interests.
Policy
Certain but not all pro-bumiputra policies exist as affirmative actionAffirmative action
Affirmative action refers to policies that take factors including "race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin" into consideration in order to benefit an underrepresented group, usually as a means to counter the effects of a history of discrimination.-Origins:The term...
for bumiputras, for NEP is racial-based and not deprivation-based. For instance, all Bumiputra, regardless of their financial standing, are entitled 7 percent discount on houses or property, including luxurious units; whilst a low-income non-Bumiputra receives no such financial assistance. Other preferential policies include quotas for the following: admission to government educational institutions, qualification for public scholarships, positions in government, and ownership of businesses. Most of the policies were established in the Malaysian New Economic Policy
Malaysian New Economic Policy
The Malaysian New Economic Policy , was an ambitious and controversial socio-economic restructuring affirmative action program launched by the Malaysian government in 1971 under the then Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak. The NEP ended in 1990, and was succeeded by the National Development Policy in...
(NEP) period. Many policies focus on trying to achieve a bumiputra share of corporate equity, comprising at least 30% of the total. Ismail Abdul Rahman
Ismail Abdul Rahman
Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman was a Malaysian politician from the United Malays National Organisation . He held several Malaysian ministerial posts and was appointed as the second Deputy Prime Minister in 1970 by then Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak. Three years later, Tun Dr Ismail died in office due...
proposed this target after the government was unable to agree on a suitable policy goal.
Examples of such policies include:
- Companies listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (Bursa Saham Kuala Lumpur) must have 30% bumiputra ownership of equity to satisfy listing requirementsStock exchangeA stock exchange is an entity that provides services for stock brokers and traders to trade stocks, bonds, and other securities. Stock exchanges also provide facilities for issue and redemption of securities and other financial instruments, and capital events including the payment of income and...
. Foreign companies that operate in Malaysia also must adhere to this requirement.
- For a limited period, a certain percentage of new housing in any development has to be sold to bumiputra owners. Housing developers are required to provide a minimum 7% discount to bumiputra buyers of these lots. This is required regardless of the income level of the potential buyer. Remaining unsold houses after a given time period are allowed to be sold to non-bumi if the developer proves attempts have been made to fulfill the requirement. There is no bumiputra discount on existing housing.
- A basket of government-run (and profit-guaranteed) mutual fundMutual fundA mutual fund is a professionally managed type of collective investment scheme that pools money from many investors to buy stocks, bonds, short-term money market instruments, and/or other securities.- Overview :...
s are available for purchase by bumiputra buyers only. The Amanah Saham Nasional (ASN) has return rates approximately 3 to 5 times that of local commercial banks.
- Many government-tendered projects require that companies submitting tenders be bumiputra owned. This requirement has led to non-bumiputras teaming up with bumiputra companies to obtain projects, in a practice known as "Ali BabaAli Baba (Malaysia)Ali Baba is a business practice in Malaysia, where a Malay company obtains a contract from the government-sponsored affirmative action system for the Bumiputera and subcontracts it to an ethnically Chinese-owned company. The “Ali” refers to the Malay; the “Baba” the Chinese, from the Baba-Nyonya ...
". Ali, the bumiputra, is included solely to satisfy this requirement, and Baba (the non-bumiputra) pays Ali a certain sum in exchange.
- Projects were earmarked for bumiputra contractors to enable them to gain expertise in various fields.
- Approved Permits (APs) for automobiles preferentially allow bumiputra to import vehicles. Automotive companies wishing to bring in cars need to have an AP to do so. APs were originally created to allow bumiputra participation in the automotive industry, since they were issued to companies with at least 70% bumiputra ownership. In 2004, The Edge (a business newspaper) estimated that APs were worth approximately RM 35,000 each. They also estimated that the late Nasimuddin Amin, the former chairman of the NazaNazaNaza Group of Companies is a Malaysian business conglomerate associated with motor trading, automotive franchises and property development, which began operations in 1974...
group, received 6,387 in 2003, making him the largest single recipient of APs. More than 12,200 APs were issued in 2003. In addition to APs, foreign car marquees are required to pay between 140% to 300% import duty.
As a result of these policies, many bumiputera with good connections quickly became millionaires. According to Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz
Rafidah Aziz
Tan Sri Rafidah binti Abdul Aziz is a Malaysian politician and the current Member of Parliament for the Kuala Kangsar constituency since 1986....
, former Minister of Trade and Industry, the policy was to create "Towering Malays". In 2005 she gave a speech that stated: "If there are young Malay entrepreneurs whose companies are successful, then we appreciate their success, we want Towering Malays of glokal (global and local) standard". She also said that the policy of Approved Permits (APs) had produced many bumiputera entrepreneurs in the automotive industry.
Bumiputras previously received certain privileges in public tertiary education, such as ethnic quotas. In 2004, Dr. Shafie Salleh, the newly appointed Higher Education Minister, stated that he "will ensure the quota of Malay students' entry into universities is always higher."
Since 2000, the Government has discussed phasing out certain affirmative action programs and reinstating "meritocracy
Meritocracy
Meritocracy, in the first, most administrative sense, is a system of government or other administration wherein appointments and responsibilities are objectively assigned to individuals based upon their "merits", namely intelligence, credentials, and education, determined through evaluations or...
". In 2003 it began the system of "Malaysian model meritocracy" for university admission. Admission to public universities was not based upon a common examination such as the SAT
SAT
The SAT Reasoning Test is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is owned, published, and developed by the College Board, a nonprofit organization in the United States. It was formerly developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service which still...
or A-Levels, but rather upon a two parallel systems of either an one-year matriculation course or a two-year STPM (Malaysian Higher School Certificate
Higher School Certificate
The Higher School Certificate, or HSC, is the credential awarded to secondary school students who successfully complete senior high school level studies in New South Wales, Australia. It was first introduced in 1967, with the last major revision coming into effect in 2001. It is currently...
) programme. Bumiputras compose an overwhelming majority of entrants to the matriculation programme. Critics say that the public university entry requirements are easier for matriculation students.
Quotas also exist for Public Services Department (JPA) scholarships, full scholarships offered to students to study in leading universities worldwide. These scholarships are given on the basis of SPM (Malaysian Education Certificate, the equivalent of O-Levels) results, ethnic group, and certain quotas. The JPA scholars are sent to selected pre-university programmes offered by the government — from there, they apply to universities. Malay supremacy and affirmative action are two different concepts, affirmative is time-bound.
Early debate
In the 1965 session of ParliamentParliament of Malaysia
The Parliament of Malaysia is the national legislature of Malaysia, based on the Westminster system. The bicameral parliament consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The King as the Head of State is the third component of Parliament....
, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
's Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Singapore
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore is the head of the government of the Republic of Singapore. The President of Singapore appoints as Prime Minister a Member of Parliament who, in his opinion, is most likely to command the confidence of a majority of MPs.The office of Prime Minister...
Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew, GCMG, CH is a Singaporean statesman. He was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, governing for three decades...
(who was also a Member of that Parliament) questioned the implementation of Malay rights as proposed. Lee asked, "How does the Malay in the kampung find his way out into this modernised civil society? By becoming servants of the 0.3 per cent who would have the money to hire them to clean their shoe, open their motorcar doors?" and "How does telling a Malay bus driver that he should support the party of his Malay director (UMNO) and the Chinese bus conductor to join another party of his Chinese director (MCA) — how does that improve the standards of the Malay bus driver and the Chinese bus conductor who are both workers in the same company?"
Lee closed with "Meanwhile, whenever there is a failure of economic, social and educational policies, you come back and say, oh, these wicked Chinese, Indian and others opposing Malay rights. They don't oppose Malay rights. They, the Malay, have the right as Malaysian citizens to go up to the level of training and education that the more competitive societies, the non-Malay society, has produced. That is what must be done, isn't it? Not to feed them with this obscurantist doctrine that all they have got to do is to get Malay rights for the few special Malays and their problem has been resolved."
Present debate
At the 2004 annual general assembly of the United Malays National OrganisationUnited Malays National Organisation
The United Malays National Organisation, is Malaysia's largest political party; a founding member of the National Front coalition, which has played a dominant role in Malaysian politics since independence....
, which is the largest member of the governing coalition, deputy chair Badruddin Amiruldin cautioned against questioning the Bumiputras' special rights, which met with approval from the delegates: "Let no one from the other races ever question the rights of Malays on this land. Don’t question the religion because this is my right on this land." In 2004, Mohd. Johari Baharum, parliamentary secretary of the Prime Minister's Department, stated that the PSD scholarships would remain quota based. He added that there were no plans to convert this to a merit based system, and that the total value of the PSD scholarship since 1996 was 2.4 billion Ringgit
Ringgit
Ringgit mostly refers to the Malaysian ringgit, which is the local currency in Malaysia, but it can also refer to the Brunei dollar or Singapore dollar in the Malay language. The word ringgit was originally used to refer to the serrated edges of Spanish silver dollars widely circulated in the area...
. There have been reported cases of students who failed to get PSD scholarships, but were later admitted to leading universities. Malay Supremacy and affirmative action are two different concepts, affirmative action is a precaution measure for ethnic riots and is time-bound.
In former Malaysian journalist Rehman Rashid
Rehman Rashid
Rehman Rashid is a prominent Malaysian journalist and writer.-Personal life and career:Born in Taiping, Perak, Rehman's father is of Arab-Indian stock while his mother is Tamil-Eurasian parentage . He studied in the Malay College Kuala Kangsar, before pursuing a degree in Marine Biology at...
's autobiographical book, A Malaysian Journey, first published in the early 1990s
1990s
File:1990s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope floats in space after it was taken up in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields and the USA Lexie in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War; The signing of the Oslo Accords on...
, he claimed teachers are pressured in universities to give favourable grades to Bumiputra students, even if unwarranted. He also suggested that many grants given by private corporations to students could be unofficially earmarked for the Bumiputra.
Another controversial aspect is that the Orang Asli
Orang Asli
Orang Asli , is a generic Malaysian term used for people indigenous to Peninsular Malaysia...
of peninsular Malaysia are not considered Bumiputra under the Federal constitution. As their settlement predates that of the Malays, this is considered unfair by many, especially as they are also much worse off than the Malays. As such, various groups including SUHAKAM, the Malaysian Commission of Human Rights have called for the government to recognise Orang Asli as Bumiputra Others argue that the Orang Asli
Orang Asli
Orang Asli , is a generic Malaysian term used for people indigenous to Peninsular Malaysia...
are in fact considered Bumiputra.
Recently, members of the Indian community have also been vocal in demonstrating for Hindu rights and protesting that their community has long been worse off than the Malay community, a situation compounded by unfavorable treatment as non-Bumiputras. Several members of the Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF
HINDRAF
HINDRAF or Hindu Rights Action Force ; Chinese:兴权 with its slogan of People's Power மக்கள் சக்தி ) began as a coalition of 30 Hindu non-governmental organizations committed to the preservation of Hindu community rights and heritage in a multiracial Malaysia...
) are currently in detention under the Internal Security Act
Internal Security Act (Malaysia)
The Internal Security Act 1960 is a preventive detention law in force in Malaysia. The legislation was enacted after Malaysia gained independence from Britain in 1957. The ISA allows for detention without trial or criminal charges under limited, legally defined circumstances...
(ISA).
On the 1st of March 2009, Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat
Nik Aziz Nik Mat
Dato' Bentara Setia Haji Nik Abdul Aziz bin Nik Mat is a Malaysian politician, a Muslim ulama and currently the Menteri Besar of the state of Kelantan...
, the spiritual leader of the opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party stated that the term “bumiputera” is racist and the policy prevented other races from receiving government aid. Nik Aziz’s remarks were made in response to the criticisms and threats made by UMNO against Democratic Action Party
Democratic Action Party
The Democratic Action Party, or DAP is a secular, multi-racial, social democratic Malaysian political party.The DAP is one of the three major opposition parties in Malaysia, along with the PKR and PAS, that are seen as electable alternatives to the Barisan Nasional coalition of parties...
’s Dr Boo Cheng Hau, the opposition leader in Johor
Johor
Johor is a Malaysian state, located in the southern portion of Peninsular Malaysia. It is one of the most developed states in Malaysia. The state capital city and royal city of Johor is Johor Bahru, formerly known as Tanjung Puteri...
when Dr Boo was reported to have compared “bumiputeraism” with state apartheid.
Present condition of the Bumiputra
In 2006, the then Minister of Higher Education, Mustapa Mohamad, has stated that he wants public universities to recruit more non-bumiputra academic staff in order to "strive for world-class institutions", which may signal a move toward less racial profiling in academia.However, as of 2007, Chinese Malaysians dominate the professions of accountants, architects and engineers while Indian Malaysians dominate the professions of veterinarians, doctors, lawyers and dentists well exceeding their respective population ratios compared to Bumiputra.
However, the manufacturing sector is exempted from the Foreign Investment Committee (FIC) Guidelines. The 30% Bumiputera equity and restrictions in market entry have been removed for all sub-sectors.
See also
- Article 153 of the Constitution of MalaysiaArticle 153 of the Constitution of MalaysiaArticle 153 of the Constitution of Malaysia grants the Yang di-Pertuan Agong responsibility for “safeguard[ing] the special position of the ‘Malays’ and natives of any of the States of Sabah and Sarawak and the legitimate interests of other communities” and goes on to specify ways to do this, such...
- Ketuanan MelayuKetuanan MelayuKetuanan Melayu is a political concept emphasizing Malay preeminence in present day Malaysia. The Malays of peninsular Malaysia claimed a special position and special rights owing to their long domicile and the role of the Malay rulers of the nine Malay states...
- PribumiPribumiNative Indonesians are also known as Pribumi, literally meaning "sons of the soil", is a term that refers to a population group in Indonesia that shares a similar sociocultural heritage...
- Social contract (Malaysia)Social contract (Malaysia)The social contract in Malaysia refers to the agreement made by the country's founding fathers in the Constitution. The social contract usually refers to a quid pro quo trade-off through Articles 14–18 of the Constitution, pertaining to the granting of citizenship to the non-Bumiputera of...
- Tāngata whenuaTangata WhenuaTāngata whenua is a Māori term of the indigenous peoples of New Zealand and literally means "people of the land", from tāngata, 'people' and whenua land.-Meanings:...