172-397: [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Race and politics Ketuanan Melayu ( Jawi : كتوانن ملايو ; lit. "Malay Overlordship " or "Malay Supremacy ") is a political concept that emphasises Malay power and preeminence in present-day Malaysia . The Malaysian Malays have claimed a special position and special rights owing to their longer history in the area and the fact that
344-688: A "National Birthright" of the Malays, PUTERA joined the AMCJA in championing equal political rights for non-Malays. After the British refused to heed the PUTERA-AMCJA coalition, it pulled out of talks with the British, later launching a major hartal (general strike) to protest perceived defects in the new polity. After the Federation was formed over their objections, the coalition disbanded. Prior to
516-451: A "bargain" between the Malays and non-Malays was formulated; in return for giving up ketuanan Melayu , the Malays would be assisted in closing the economic gap between the Malay and non-Malay communities. 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
688-454: A 30:40:30 ratio. This was to be done by redistributing the wealth to increase the ownership of enterprise by Bumiputra from a 2.4% to 30% of the share of national wealth. The 30% target for Bumiputra equity was proposed by Ismail Abdul Rahman after the government was unable to come to a consensus on an appropriate policy goal. Alongside this redistribution of wealth was the goal of increased economic growth. This economic growth would allow
860-478: A Malay government. By 1961, however, Singapore had grown receptive to the idea of joining Malaysia, largely because of the prevailing idea at the time that industrial Singapore could not survive without access to Malayan markets. The Malayan government was not keen on having the Chinese Singaporean population push the Malays into a minority position in the new Malaysia. Many Malays felt that upsetting
1032-461: A Malayan would be the same as being a Malay — and in the eyes of many, gave Malaya a Malay identity. One academic suggested that "The Malays have a deep-rooted feeling that they alone are the bumiputras, the sons of the soil, and as such have certain special rights over the land." Indeed, the Tunku said in 1964 that "It is understood by all that this country by its very name, its traditions and character,
1204-425: A Malaysian. This is the doubt that hangs over many minds, and ... [once] emotions are set in motion, and men pitted against men along these unspoken lines, you will have the kind of warfare that will split the nation from top to bottom and undo Malaysia." At times, however, Lee worsened things by making racial comments of his own. Many of his speeches harped on the ethnic composition of Malaysia, reminding listeners that
1376-446: A UMNO Youth Executive Committee member, stated, "Badruddin did not pose the question to all Chinese in the country. Those who are with us, who hold the same understanding as we do, were not our target. In defending Malay rights, we direct our voice at those who question them." Agreement on the continued implementation (or reimplementation) is not always unanimous within the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition. In 2005, Khairy Jamaluddin ,
1548-540: A bulwark against the non-Malays. Others began calling for an independent and sovereign Malay nation, such as " Greater Indonesia ". After the end of the Second World War, the British announced the establishment of the Malayan Union , which would loosen immigration policies, reduce the sovereignty of the Malay rulers, and abstain from recognising Malay supremacy, establishing Malaya as a protectorate of
1720-458: A commercial enterprise. By 1911, labour imported from India involved in the rubber plantation sector totaled 126,665 people and Malaya became the world's largest producer of natural rubber. Educated Indians were employed in the estates' hospitals and clinics while the majority worked as rubber tappers. Before independence in 1957, Malaya's economy was recovering from the destruction brought about by World War II, entailing huge reconstruction costs to
1892-486: A common destiny." This was about to change. In 1961, when the Malayan government began discussing a possible merger with neighbouring Singapore , Sabah , Sarawak and Brunei , problems of ethnic power relations arose again. The "Malaysia" proposal sans Sabah and Sarawak went back more than a decade; earlier negotiations had proved fruitless. The Singaporeans themselves were not anxious to be ruled by what they considered
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#17327940875222064-664: A common syllabus with national schools. Vernacular secondary schools would not be sanctioned; only national secondary schools would be funded. The Chinese community strenuously objected to the Razak Report as well, launching an organised campaign against it; the MCA's refusal to oppose the Report cost it politically in some Chinese constituencies. Nevertheless, the Razak Report's recommendations were largely successful, and many of them remain in place as of 2006. According to many historians,
2236-513: A competent administrative workforce, the British established Malay schools to teach to basic clerical knowledge. The discovery of tin in Malaya in 1820s led to an influx of Chinese miners. This discovery led to disputes among the Malay Rulers, Chinese miners, affluent chieftains and villagers, resulting in formal British colonial rule in 1874. By 1885, Malaya became the largest tin producer in
2408-523: A few times. Premises that fail to comply with this order will be fined up to a maximum of RM250, with the possibility of revocation of their business licences if they still do not comply afterwards. In the early stage, usage of Jawi stickers are allowed to put on existing signage instead of replacing the whole signage. Indonesia, having multiple regional and native languages, uses the Latin script for writing its own standard of Malay in general. Nonetheless,
2580-431: A great proportion of general mentality and social behaviour, is succeeded through the mother tongue and religion. Article 160 unites Malays from different ethnic groups as the prevailing race and thus embraces them with the political prowess to dominate and rule over other races: Chinese, Indians, Kadazan , Iban , Orang Asli etc. This is also apparent from the name of UMNO (United Malays National Organisation), who are
2752-779: A greater role in Malayan government. Much of the Chinese community, which now made up 45% of the Malayan population, still comprised transient laborers . Nevertheless, the Straits Chinese — which comprised the bulk of local-born Chinese — wanted to be given government positions and recognised as Malayans. One Straits Chinese leader asked, "Who said this is a Malay country? ... When Captain [Francis] Light arrived, did he find Malays, or Malay villages? Our forefathers came here and worked hard as coolies — weren't ashamed to become coolies — and they didn't send their money back to China. They married and spent their money here, and in this way
2924-479: A lack of loyalty to Malaya among non-Malays, he demanded they clarify their allegiance before being accorded citizenship, going on to state: "For those who love and feel they owe undivided loyalty to this country, we will welcome them as Malayans. They must truly be Malayans, and they will have the same rights and privileges as the Malays." Not long after, in 1952, however, he appeared to contradict himself, and insisted that Malays safeguard their special position: "Malaya
3096-558: A laid-back attitude among the Bumiputra ;; it is racial-based and not deprivation based. Several policies of the NEP which give economic advantage to the rich Bumiputra, such as Bumiputra quotas in ownership of public company stock, and housing being sold exclusively to Bumiputra, are viewed as discriminatory. Many of the NEP policies strive for equality of results rather than equality of opportunity, with NEP proponents justifying
3268-468: A major dispute arose when the Asian Strategic and Leadership Institute (ASLI) issued a report calculating Bumiputra-held equity at 45% – a stark difference from the official figure of 18.9%. The report's publication triggered a relatively vocal public debate about the status of the NEP and its related policies, with many from UMNO questioning the methodology used by ASLI. One strongly disputed issue
3440-615: A marriage of convenience, the Alliance won 51 out of 52 seats available. The sole remaining seat went to the Pan-Malayan Islamic Party (PMIP; later known as PAS), a Malay-based party and strong advocate of ketuanan Melayu . The total defeat of non-communal parties led the Alliance to perceive the political atmosphere as inhospitable for multi-racial parties. A coalition government comprising mono-racial parties in which party leaders privately brokered compromise decisions
3612-588: A multiracial government, and the Alliance was considered to meet this requirement. The Federation of Malaya became officially independent from the British Empire in 1957. The new state's Constitution contained provisions, such as Article 153 , guaranteeing the Malays certain privileges as a form of affirmative action . The Reid Commission , which drafted the Constitution, stated that Article 153
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#17327940875223784-476: A part of Austronesian expansion from Taiwan to Southeast Asia . However, a recent genetic studies carried out by HUGO ( Human Genome Organisation ) involving almost 2,000 people across Asia, points to another theory of Asian migration pattern. The HUGO findings support the hypothesis that Asia was populated primarily through a single migration event from the south and that the South East Asian region
3956-532: A rate double that of Malays'. Intra-ethnic income differences also increased markedly, especially among Malays. Bumiputra participation in the professions and private sector increased as well, although Bumiputra remain somewhat under-represented. Between 1970 and 1990, the Bumiputra share of accountants doubled from 7 to 14 per cent, engineers from 7 to 35 per cent, doctors from 4 per cent to 28 per cent, and architects from 4 to 24 per cent. The Bumiputra portion of
4128-776: A significant role in defining the Malay identity . The close identification of the Malays with Islam continued until the 20th century and was finally entrenched in the Article 160 of the Constitution of Malaysia as well as in the national philosophy of Brunei known as the Malay Islamic Monarchy . The present-day Malaysian Malays are divided broadly into "Malays proper" or "Peninsular Malays" ( Melayu Anak Jati or Melayu Semenanjung ) and "foreign Malays" or "Islander Malay" ( Melayu Anak Dagang or "Melayu Kepulauan"). The Malays proper consist of those individuals who adhere to
4300-567: A staunch political proponent of this role. Malay nationalism as an organised political movement existed since the invasion by foreign powers. However, the ethnic Chinese and Indian immigrants, forming a minority of the population, did not see themselves as Malayans. A report by the Permanent Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies in the early 1930s found that "the number of non-Malays who have adopted Malaya as their home
4472-832: A tombstone discovered in Phan Rang , Vietnam dated 431 AH (1039 CE); a tombstone dated 440 AH (1048 CE) found in Bandar Seri Begawan , Brunei ; and a tombstone of Fatimah Binti Maimun Bin Hibat Allah found in Gresik , East Java dated 475 AH (1082 CE). Islam was spread from the coasts to the interior of the island and generally in a top-down process in which rulers were converted and then introduced more or less orthodox versions of Islam to their peoples. The conversion of King Phra Ong Mahawangsa of Kedah in 1136 and King Merah Silu of Samudra Pasai in 1267 were among
4644-458: A united Malayan Nation of equals." Problems continued to crop up. Many Chinese Malayan youths drafted into the army to stave off communist attacks fled the country; most participants were English- and not Chinese-educated. To the Malays, this indicated that the Chinese had no particular loyalty towards Malaya and justified ketuanan Melayu , heightening similar perceptions caused by the apparent racial dichotomy between those in fierce opposition to
4816-543: Is Javanese Krama word to refer to the Java Island or Javanese people . According to Kamus Dewan , Jawi ( جاوي ) is a term synonymous to ' Malay '. The term has been used interchangeably with 'Malay' in other terms including Bahasa Jawi or Bahasa Yawi ( Kelantan-Pattani Malay , a Malayan language used in Southern Thailand ), Masuk Jawi (literally "to become Malay", referring to
4988-497: Is Malay. ... In any other country where aliens try to dominate economic and other fields, eventually there is bitter opposition from the indigenous people. But not with the Malays. Therefore, in return, they must appreciate the position of the Malays..." It has been suggested that a Malaysian nationality did not emerge because "all the national symbols in Malaysia were derived from the Malay tradition". The Constitutional restraint on
5160-831: Is a writing system used for writing several languages of Southeast Asia , such as Acehnese , Magindanawn , Malay , Mëranaw , Minangkabau , Tausūg , and Ternate . Jawi is based on the Arabic script , consisting of all 31 original Arabic letters, six letters constructed to fit phonemes native to Malay, and one additional phoneme used in foreign loanwords, but not found in Classical Arabic , which are ca ( ⟨ چ ⟩ /t͡ʃ/ ), nga ( ⟨ ڠ ⟩ /ŋ/ ), pa ( ⟨ ڤ ⟩ /p/ ), ga ( ⟨ ݢ ⟩ /ɡ/ ), va ( ⟨ ۏ ⟩ /v/ ), and nya ( ⟨ ڽ ⟩ /ɲ/ ). Jawi
5332-539: Is also not clear if the government calculations included the 2.7 million unincorporated businesses in the country. At the UMNO General Assembly that year, Education Minister and UMNO Youth Chief Hishamuddin Hussein quoted a local study indicating that at current rates, it would take the Malays "120 years to achieve income parity". He also cited a 2004 statistic indicating that for every RM 1 earned by
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5504-589: Is also used as an alternative script among Malay communities in Indonesia and Thailand. Until the early 20th century, there was no standard spelling system for Jawi. The earliest orthographic reform towards a standard system was in 1937 by The Malay Language and Johor Royal Literary Book Pact. This was followed by another reform by Za'aba , published in 1949. The final major reform was the Enhanced Guidelines of Jawi Spelling issued in 1986 , which
5676-696: Is another derivative that carries the meaning 'Malay script'. Prior to the onset of Islamisation , the Pallava script , Nagari, and old Sumatran scripts were used in writing the Malay language. This is evidenced from the discovery of several stone inscriptions in Old Malay , notably the Kedukan Bukit inscription and Talang Tuo inscription . The spread of Islam in Southeast Asia and the subsequent introduction of Arabic writing system began with
5848-570: Is based on the Daftar Kata Bahasa Melayu (DKBM): Rumi-Sebutan-Jawi dictionary. Older texts may use different spellings for some words. Nonetheless, even different modern sources may use different spelling conventions; they may differ especially in the usage of the matres lectionis ( alif ا , wau و and ya ي ) and the hamzah tiga suku ء , as well as in the spelling of vowels and consonant clusters in loanwords from English . One source tends to use
6020-565: Is currently in general usage. Today, Jawi is one of two official scripts in Brunei . In Malaysia, the position of Jawi is protected under Section 9 of the National Language Act 1963/67 , as it retains a degree of official use in religious and cultural contexts. In some states, most notably Kelantan , Terengganu and Pahang , Jawi has co-official script status as businesses are mandated to adopt Jawi signage and billboards. Jawi
6192-454: Is for the Malays and it should not be governed by a mixture of races." During this period, some Straits Chinese began taking interest in local politics, especially in Penang , where there was an active Chinese secessionist movement. Identifying more with the British than the Malays, they were especially angered by references to them as pendatang asing (foreigners). Avoiding both UMNO and
6364-519: Is no moderation to ensure the difficulty of achieving a grade standard is the same between both programmes. The Malaysian High Certificate of Education (STPM) is open to all races, but the Matriculation programme has a 10% quota for non-Bumiputra (meaning that 90% of students admitted must be Bumiputra). In practice significantly more Bumiputra enter the matriculation program, even after normalising for ethnic demographics. These differences predate
6536-421: Is one thing UMNO will never accept at present." Others have argued that the debate over inter-ethnic disparities has obscured intra-ethnic inequities, citing the increased Gini coefficient for Bumiputra (from 0.433 in 1999 to 0.452 in 2004), Chinese (0.434 to 0.446) and Indians (0.413 to 0.425). A major point of dispute was the government's use of par value (as opposed to market value ) of shares to calculate
6708-434: Is only a very small proportion of the whole population". Although the British effectively held de facto control over Malaya, de jure the country was governed by the Malays themselves, and merely being temporarily administered by the British. The High Commissioner, Sir Hugh Clifford made a speech outlining the British ideology during their rule in Malaysia, in which he urged "everyone in this country [to] be mindful of
6880-579: Is usually cited by politicians, particularly those from the United Malays National Organisation ( UMNO ). The phrase Ketuanan Melayu did not come into vogue until the early 2000s decade. Historically, the most vocal political opposition towards the concept has come from non-Malay-based parties, such as the Malaysian People's Movement Party (Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia) and Democratic Action Party (DAP); in
7052-533: Is widely used in Riau and Riau Island province, where road signs and government building signs are written in this script. A sister variant called Pegon is used to write Javanese, Sundanese, and Madurese and is still widely used in traditional religious schools across Java , but has been supplanted in common writing by the Latin alphabet and, in some cases, Javanese script and Sundanese script . Modern Jawi spelling
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7224-498: The Javanese , Minangkabau and Bugis Malays. Article 160 of the Constitution of Malaysia defines a Malay as a Malaysian citizen born to a Malaysian citizen who professes to be a Muslim, habitually speaks the Malay language, adheres to Malay customs, and is domiciled in Malaysia or Singapore. Though this definition is not according to ancestry lineage, it is however correct in the sense of social behaviours. Culture, which controls
7396-589: The Malay Peninsula , including the southernmost parts of Thailand , the east coast of Sumatra , the coast of Borneo , and the smaller islands which lie between these locations. The true origin of ethnic Malays is still the subject of studies among historians, anthropologists and linguists. A popular theory suggested that the people who spoke Austronesian languages first arrived in Maritime Southeast Asia between 2,500BCE and 1,500BCE, as
7568-532: The Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) began re-emphasising the phrase, as they deemed such rights as being threatened under a Pakatan Harapan (PH)–led government, and publicly chastised government ministers from the coalition who questioned the concept as being in violation of the supposed social contract. Ethnic Malays which make up the majority population of Malaysia at 50.4%, are an ethnic group of Austronesian people predominantly inhabiting
7740-609: The New Economic Policy (NEP). The National Culture Policy , also introduced in 1970, emphasised an assimilation of the non-Malays into the Malay ethnic group. During the 1990s, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad toned down this approach, with his Bangsa Malaysia policy emphasising a Malaysian instead of Malay identity for the state. However, since the 2010s, politicians particularly from the Malaysian United Indigenous Party (BERSATU) and
7912-661: The Royal Malaysia Police obtained a court injunction against it on the grounds it would trigger ethnic tensions. The state government of Kedah in Malaysia has long defended the use of Jawi in the state. The Menteri Besar of Kedah has denied the allegation that the state government was trying to create an Islamic state ambience by promoting the use of Jawi in 2008, saying that it is a normal occurrence evidenced by Chinese coffeeshops and pawnshops having signboards written in Jawi. This can further be seen later on when
8084-656: The Srivijaya empire , a kingdom centred in Palembang , Sumatra . By the 15th century, the Malacca Sultanate , whose hegemony reached over much of the western Malay archipelago, had become the centre of Islamization in the east. The Malaccan tradition was transmitted onwards and fostered a vigorous ethos of Malay identity. Since this era, the Islamic faith became closely identified with Malay society and played
8256-580: The United Kingdom . As local-born residents, most Chinese and Indians qualified for citizenship under the Union's principle of jus soli . With equal rights guaranteed to all, the Malays became dissatisfied with that. Even their traditional stronghold, the civil service, would be open to all Malayans. In the first place, the Malays did not consider themselves to be included under the label of "Malayans". The Malays became politically conscious, protesting
8428-528: The United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) to protest the Malayan Union's formation. Although the Union was established as planned, the campaign continued; in 1948, the British replaced the Malayan Union with the Federation of Malaya . The Federation restored sovereignty to the Malay rulers, tightened immigration and citizenship restrictions, and gave the Malays special privileges. Nevertheless,
8600-554: The federal election of 1964 . This was known as the ' Malaysian Malaysia ' campaign. As communal tension threatened to turn violent, the federal government decided to expel Singapore from the Federation of Malaysia. In the wake of the riots, the government declared a state of national emergency and Parliament was suspended. A caretaker government, the National Operations Council (NOC), was formed and chaired by Tun Abdul Razak . After restoring order and setting
8772-469: The social contract , of which one historian wrote: "At the elite level, non-Malays recognized that Malays were politically superior by virtue of their indigenous status and that the Malaysian polity would have a Malay character ... Malays were to be assured of safe majorities in both the state and federal parliament ... Malays would control the highest positions of the government and ... dominate members of
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#17327940875228944-559: The "undisputed leader of the Chinese in the Malayan peninsula". Nevertheless, UMNO leaders were furious with the PAP. New problems soon cropped up. Lee Kuan Yew , the leader of the Singaporean government and the PAP, declared his open opposition to ketuanan Melayu , calling for a " Malaysian Malaysia " instead of the implied Malay Malaysia. He argued that "Malays began to migrate to Malaysia in noticeable numbers only about 700 years ago. Of
9116-657: The 15th century and lasted right up to the 19th century. Other forms of Arabic-based scripts existed in the region, notably the Pegon alphabet used for Javanese in Java and the Serang alphabet used for Buginese in South Sulawesi . Both writing systems applied extensive use of Arabic diacritics and added several letters which were formed differently from Jawi letters to suit the languages. Due to their fairly limited usage,
9288-458: The 2000s decade, the multiracial ( Parti Keadilan Rakyat , or PKR) also positioned itself against Ketuanan Melayu , advocating instead Ketuanan Rakyat (supremacy of the people). The idea of Malay nationalism gained attention in the 1940s, when the Malays organised themselves to protest the Malayan Union 's establishment by the British , and later fought for independence. During the 1960s, there
9460-409: The 30% target, writing in the 1980s that "[a]n attempt was made to fill the target without thought for the ability and the capability of attaining it. ... Some became rich overnight while others became despicable Ali Babas and the country suffered economic setbacks". The NEP is also criticised for not dealing directly with issues of wealth distribution and economic inequality; that it no longer helps
9632-598: The 39% Malays in Malaysia today, about one-third are comparatively new immigrants like ( Syed Jaafar Albar ), who came to Malaya from Indonesia just before the war at the age of more than thirty. Therefore, it is wrong and illogical for a particular racial group to think that they are more justified to be called Malaysians and that the others can become Malaysian only through their favour." Lee later lamented: "Malaysia — to whom does it belong? To Malaysians. But who are Malaysians? I hope I am, Mr Speaker, Sir. But sometimes, sitting in this chamber, I doubt whether I am allowed to be
9804-545: The AMCJA until its breaking up. Its initial goals achieved, UMNO established itself as a political party to fight for independence. At the same time, the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) launched an armed insurgency to form a communist government in Malaya, culminating in the Malayan Emergency which lasted until after independence. The insurgency was marked by a clear racial divide; opposition to
9976-441: The British and other communities expanded their interest in commercial agricultural production and dominated the export crop economy. After independence, the Federation of Malaya government pursued a diversification policy to promote other economic activities. The government also acknowledged that dependency on rubber and tin as the main contributors to the national income could not be immediately reduced. The poverty rate up to 1970
10148-550: The British colonisers. As the British sought to consolidate Malaya's economic policy between the Malay States, the Malayan Union was proposed to unify the Federated and Unfederated Malay States into a single entity. This proposal was met with objection from the Malay community as they were angered by the way in which the Malay Rulers' assent was sought. Furthermore, there were concerns about citizenship and economic policies if
10320-417: The Bumiputra were allotted a significantly lower percentage of places originally intended, as the population figures used to calculate the quotas were based on 1970s numbers. Despite this, the quotas were still considered by many non-Bumiputra as unfairly rewarding the Bumiputra. The government removed these quotas in 2003. The removal of the quotas has done little to remedy the perceptions of Bumiputra bias in
10492-471: The Chinese as "indigenous inhabitants of British Malaya ". Just before the Second World War , Malay nationalism began emphasising ketuanan Melayu , which had once been taken for granted. It was feared that British policies now seemed geared towards creating a common Malayan nationality inclusive of the Chinese and Indians. Some Malays thus sought to preserve the status quo with the British as
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#173279408752210664-534: The Chinese as having "a tendency to permanent settlement"; the locally born Indian community — comprising 20% of the Indian population, the rest being manual labourers having migrated for similar reasons as the Chinese at around the same time — was likewise largely ignored. The colonial government ensured that the Malays would continue to maintain their "traditional" peasant lifestyle as much as possible, restricting movement, economic enterprises and education. This policy
10836-692: The Chinese citizenship or other political rights. A number of Indonesian ethnic groups such as the Javanese and Bugis had migrated within the Malay Archipelago throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and were most quickly assimilated into the Malay cultural identity. Eventually, the Chinese-Malayan appeals appeared to have some impact on the British. In 1927, the Governor of the Straits Settlements referred to
11008-437: The Constitution , most of them were not Malay; the natives were mainly animists or Christians instead of Muslims as required. To resolve this issue, the government expanded its informal definition of "Malay" to include these people. Sabahans and Sarawakians could not see how they would benefit from merger. Many regarded Malaya as being only for the Malays, a group they did not include themselves in. The spectre of "Malaysia" —
11180-434: The Federation — was also granted, albeit without retrospective effect ; it was a major concession by the Malays, who had vigorously campaigned against jus soli citizenship in the Malayan Union. On the other hand, Malay and Islam became the national language and official religion, while the Malay rulers remained. This was taken to mean that the Malays were accorded deference as the definitive people of Malaya — i.e. being
11352-457: The Federation, non-Malays were generally uninvolved in Malayan politics and nationalism, both essentially Malay in nature; being more interested in the politics of their respective homelands, non-Malays never significantly backed the Malayan Union openly but their silence was a support to it. The AMCJA, though mostly non-Malay, did not represent a large section of the non-Malay communities in Malaya. The lack of interest in or loyalty to Malaya amongst
11524-494: The Fifth Malaysia Plan (1986–1990), had three main objectives, namely: The NEP was conceived as a two-pronged strategy for eradicating poverty for all Malaysians as well as reducing and subsequently eliminating identification of race by economic function and geographical location. The policy sought to achieve its objectives through rapid expansion of the economy over time and set its target of substantially reducing
11696-517: The Government was able to open up the country from jungle to civilization. We've become inseparable from this country. It's ours, our country..." Malay intellectuals objected to this reasoning, claiming that such reasoning is totally absurd and proposing an analogy with the Chinese as masons and Malaya as a house. A paid mason, they argued, was not entitled to a share in the ownership rights to a home he built. As such, they opposed any attempt to grant
11868-509: The Jawi script does have a regional status in native Malay areas such as Riau , Riau archipelago , Jambi , South Sumatra (i.e Palembang Malay language ), Aceh , and Kalimantan (i.e. Banjar language ). This is due to the fact that regional and native languages are compulsory studies in the basic education curriculum of each region (examples include Javanese for Javanese regions, Sundanese for Sundanese regions, Madurese for Maduranese regions, and Jawi for Malay regions). Jawi script
12040-655: The Jawi script was then deemed as the writing of the Muslims. The oldest remains of Malay using the Jawi script have been found on the Terengganu Inscription Stone , dated 702 AH (1303 CE), nearly 600 years after the date of the first recorded existence of Arabic script in the region. The inscription on the stone contains a proclamation issued by the "Sri Paduka Tuan" of Terengganu, urging his subjects to "extend and uphold" Islam and providing 10 basic Sharia laws for their guidance. This has attested
12212-419: The Jawi script. Additionally local religious scholars later began to elucidate the Islamic teachings in the forms of original writings. Moreover, there were also individuals of the community who used Jawi for the writing of literature which previously existed and spread orally. With this inclusion of written literature, Malay literature took on a more sophisticated form. This was believed to have taken place from
12384-642: The Kedah state government has shown its support with Johor state government's move to use Jawi in official matters in 2019. The exco of local authority of the state of Kedah had also stated that the Jawi script in billboards in Kedah is not forbidden, but rather recommended. He claims that the recommendation to use Jawi script has been gazetted in the state law, and that it has been part of the state identity to have billboards in Jawi script in addition to other scripts. He also stated that there are high demands in incorporating Jawi script in billboards in Kedah. Kuantan ,
12556-596: The MCA, they believed that while UMNO and Malay extremists were intent on extending Malay privileges and restricting Chinese rights, the MCA was too "selfish", and could not be relied on. Uncomfortable about the merger of the Straits Settlements with Malaya, they did not feel a sense of belonging in a "Malaya for the Malays" where they were not considered bumiputra ("sons of the soil"). One Straits Chinese leader indignantly declared, "I can claim to be more anak Pulau Pinang [a son of Penang] than 99 per cent of
12728-459: The Malay culture which has developed in the Malay Peninsula . Among notable groups are Kedahan Malays , Kelantanese Malays and Terengganuan Malays . The foreign Malays consist of descendants of immigrants from other part of Malay Archipelago who became the citizens of the Malay sultanates and were absorbed and assimilated into Malay culture at different times, aided by similarity in lifestyle and common religion ( Islam ). Among notable groups are
12900-579: The Malay's hypothesis, a majority of the non-Malays remained, thus proving their allegiance to Malaya. They are the ancestor of modern-day non-Malay Malaysian. As Malaya moved to self-government, the British initiated the Member System , modelled on the cabinet system ; like the CLC, it drew on members of different communities, and was later described as setting a precedent for the power-sharing multiracial Malayan and Malaysian cabinets post-independence. At
13072-530: The Malay-dominated nature of the armed forces and police might place them in a dangerous situation. It was also argued that the inferior economic position of the Malays would be emphasised by the entry of even more rich Chinese, setting the stage for major discontent. The Malayans decided to resolve this by merging with Sabah and Sarawak; both of these colonies had large native populations whom the colonial authorities considered "Malay". Under Article 160 of
13244-494: The Malays had improved relative to both the Chinese and Indian communities. However, some have used 1997 statistics with 70.2 percent of households in the bottom 40 percent income group as Bumiputra, and 62.7 percent of households in the top 20 percent income bracket as non-Bumiputra, to argue that inequities remain. The Gini index also began to increase in the 1990s, going from 44.6 to 46.4 between 1990 and 1995; meanwhile, 1997 figures indicated that Chinese incomes were increasing at
13416-529: The Malays living here today." With the government's stout rejection of secession, the movement eventually petered out. Some suggested that the non-Malays did not feel loyal to Malaya because they did not consider themselves to be of Malayan nationality and adhere strictly to their own ethnic cultural backgrounds. To counter this, in 1952 citizenship was granted to nearly all local-born non-Malays, and dual citizenship prohibited, forcing non-Malays to choose between their ancestral homeland and Malaya. In contrast to
13588-521: The Malays'..." Although UMNO supported ketuanan Melayu , it formed an "Alliance" with the MCA and the Malayan Indian Congress (MIC) to contest the 1955 Federal Legislative Council elections. This took many by surprise, as the MCA had strenuously insisted on equal political rights for all citizens. Its President, Tan Cheng Lock , was himself a Straits Chinese, albeit not as extremist as the secessionists. Although initially dismissed as
13760-577: The Ming Dynasty and the sultanate, and of Malay sovereignty. At the time, most were rich merchants during British rule instead of manual labourers and many habitually spoke Malay, dressed in the Malay style, and preferred Malay cuisine. The British educational policies regards the different races in Malaysia — providing minimal public education for Malays, and leaving non-Malays to their own devices — did not help matters. The Malays, predominantly rural-dwellers, received no encouragement to socialise with
13932-407: The NEP as a necessary evil to avoid Indonesian-style aggression, which the ruling party consistently instigate and deemed appropriate as their threat based policy. Furthermore, the Chinese community generally moved away from the public sector and set up businesses in the private sector, where the impact of the NEP was less pronounced. In spite of the policies implemented under the NEP, the share of
14104-511: The NEP has also contributed to a brain drain . Others suggest that the NEP has contributed to racial polarisation and a feeling of marginalisation among the non-Malays. 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. Some Bumiputra have spoken of reducing or eliminating
14276-576: The NEP was replaced by the National Development Policy (NDP), which ran from 1990 to 2000. The NDP was supposed to have then been replaced by the National Vision Policy (NVP), which would reportedly have lessened the aggressive affirmative action of the NEP and NDP. However, UMNO later called for the NEP to be reinstated. In recent years, the NEP has come under attack as being an inefficient system that promotes
14448-414: The NEP, it has been feared that the NEP may indirectly contribute to a decrease in foreign investment. In 2005, foreign investment fell by US$ 4 billion, or 14% which some commentators attributed to the controversy over the government's ethnic policies. The calculation of Bumiputra-held economic equity has been frequently disputed, with a number of allegations that the government intentionally underestimated
14620-513: The NEP. Not all Bumiputra political leaders shared Badawi's views. For example, Badruddin Amiruldin , who was elected as UMNO's Deputy Permanent chairman, waved a book about the 13 May incident at the assembly during his speech while declaring, "No other race has the right to question our privileges, our religion and our leader", continuing that any such action would be akin to "stirring up a hornet's nest". The following day, Dr. Pirdaus Ismail ,
14792-616: The NEP. Among these was a requirement that all initial public offerings (IPOs) set aside a 30% share for Bumiputra investors. These investors could be selected by the company being listed on the stock exchange , or the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, which would normally recommend such state-owned trust agencies as Permodalan Nasional or the Armed Forces pension fund. These shares were initially heavily discounted, as IPO prices were often significantly lower than prices after
14964-533: The NEP; for example, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi , Prime Minister of Malaysia, in his maiden speech as United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) president to the UMNO general assembly in 2004 stated "Let's not use the crutches for support all the time, the knee will become weak". Badawi went on to state that continued usage of crutches would eventually result in needing a wheelchair instead. As of October 2004, Badawi has not addressed any significant concerns about
15136-624: The Singapore Alliance, contending that Singaporean Malays were being treated as second-class citizens under the Chinese-dominated, though ostensibly multiracial, PAP government. However, all of the UMNO-backed Malay candidates lost to the PAP. The PAP politicians, who saw this as a betrayal of an earlier agreement with the Alliance not to contest elections in Malaya and Singapore (respectively), decided to run on
15308-441: The UMNO deputy youth chief was debated by then MCA (the major Chinese component party of the ruling Barisan Nasional ) vice-president Chua Jui Meng on a nationally televised debate – both leaders agreed to Chua's proposal to set up a national committee to review the NEP. However, as of 8 March 2008 general elections, this has yet to be implemented. Because of the controversy over affirmative action policies in Malaysia, especially
15480-437: The Union's formation. At one gathering, placards declared that "Malaya Belongs to the Malays. We do not want the other races to be given the rights and privileges of the Malays." One Malay organisation informed the British that the Union's citizenship provisions would lead to "the wiping from existence of the Malay race along with their land and Rulers". A group of Malay royalists and civil servants led by Dato' Onn Ja'afar formed
15652-553: The World, are among the countless epics written by the Malay people. The Sufic poems by Hamzah Fansuri and many others contributed to the richness and depth of the Malay civilisation. Jawi script was the official script for the Unfederated Malay States when they were British protectorates. Today, Jawi is one of the official scripts of Brunei . In Malaysia, it is used for religious and cultural administration in
15824-551: The actual implementation of the NEP. The manufacturing sector is exempted from the Foreign Investment Committee (FIC) Guidelines, the 30 per cent Bumiputera equity and restrictions in market entry have been removed for all sub-sectors. The education policy of the NEP is one of the plan's more controversial points. Bumiputra were accorded quotas for admission to public universities until 2002. These quotas were fixed, however, and in later years meant that
15996-637: The arrival of Muslim merchants in the region since the seventh century. Among the oldest archaeological artefacts inscribed with Arabic script are; a tombstone of Syeikh Rukunuddin dated 48 AH (668/669 CE) in Barus, Sumatra ; a tombstone dated 290 AH (910 CE) on the mausoleum of Syeikh Abdul Qadir Ibn Husin Syah Alam located in Alor Setar , Kedah ; a tombstone found in Pekan , Pahang dated 419 AH (1026 CE);
16168-478: The association of Malay and other indigenous races with subsistence agriculture. To dissociate Malay and other indigenous races with traditional agriculture, the policy called on the Malaysian Government to provide assistance to all Malaysians in: As Malay and other indigenous races progressed in the modern economic sector, other Malaysians were encouraged to introduce modern agriculture to eliminate
16340-635: The avowed goal of the British remained the same as in 1946: to introduce "a form of common citizenship open to all those, irrespective of race, who regarded Malaya as their real home and as the object of their loyalty." Limited opposition to ketuanan Melayu and UMNO during this period came from a coalition between the All-Malaya Council of Joint Action (AMCJA) and the Pusat Tenaga Rakyat (PUTERA). Although one of PUTERA's constituent organisations had insisted on ketuanan Melayu as
16512-416: The basis of, say, intellectual ability or geographical accident, but in order to ensure the dominance of a particular group." The constitutional provisions, which have been referred to as the " Malay Agenda ", evoked little sentiment from non-Malays, despite most of them gaining citizenship and thus becoming theoretically equal to Malay citizens under the Constitution. This could be attributed to acceptance of
16684-711: The communists and those supporting the MCP. In the early 1950s, Onn Ja'afar proposed to open UMNO membership to all Malayans, and renaming it the United Malayan National Organisation, which would have diluted its identity as a champion of ketuanan Melayu . Defeated in an internal power struggle, he resigned in 1951 to found the Independence of Malaya Party (IMP). He was succeeded by Tunku Abdul Rahman (often known as "the Tunku"), who insisted on initial Malay sovereignty. Expressing concern over
16856-653: The concentration on results rather than opportunity as by pointing out that measuring equality of opportunity is difficult or impossible. When the NEP was implemented, for example, it was announced that one of its goals was to have 30% of all equity in Bumiputra hands. NEP critics have argued that setting a target of 30% of Bumiputra trained and certified to run companies would represent a better equality in terms of opportunity. Still others suggest this target may not work as training and certification does not necessarily guarantee equality of opportunity. Tun Abdul Razak's predecessor as prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman , also opposed
17028-583: The constitutional framework, the New Economic Policy was announced in the Second Malaysia Plan. The socio-political justification for NEP was: National Unity is unattainable without greater equity and balance among Malaysia's social and ethnic groups in their participation in the development of the country and in the sharing of the benefits from modernization and economic growth. National Unity cannot be fostered if vast sections of
17200-404: The country grew; per capita GNP went from RM1,142 in 1970 to RM12,102 in 1997. During the same period, absolute poverty in the population as a whole dropped from 50% to 6.8%. It is unclear what role the NEP played in these changes. The effects of the NEP on wealth distribution are disputed. The Gini index declined from 51.3 in 1970 to 44.6 in 1997, and 1987 figures indicated the mean income of
17372-690: The earliest examples. At the early stage of Islamisation, the Arabic script was taught to the people who had newly embraced Islam in the form of religious practices, such as the recitation of Quran as well as salat . The Arabic script was accepted by the Malay community together with their acceptance of Islam and was adapted to suit spoken Classical Malay . Six letters were added for sounds not found in Arabic: ca , pa , ga , nga , va and nya . Some Arabic letters are rarely used as they represent sounds not present in modern Malay however may be used to reflect
17544-481: The end, the Barnes Report's recommendations for English-medium "national schools" were implemented by the 1952 Education Ordinance, over vocal Chinese protests, who were upset by the lack of provision for non-Malay vernacular schools. In 1956, a committee headed by Tun Abdul Razak re-evaluated the education system. The "Razak Report" recommended that vernacular primary schools be permitted to continue, but share
17716-470: The equity held by Bumiputra. Many questioned the ASLI study on the basis that it had not used par value; conversely, others criticise the government for not using market value. On another note, some critics later noted that a 1997 University of Malaya study had calculated the Bumiputra share of equity to stand at 33.7%, using par value. UMNO critics contend that the official figure does not take into account
17888-441: The fact that this is a Malay country, and we British came here at the invitation of Their Highnesses the Malay Rulers, and it is our duty to help the Malays to rule their own country." The colonial authorities adopted an open "Pro-Malay" policy so the Malays could, in the words of High Commissioner Sir Laurence Guillemard , be equipped "to take their proper place in the administrative and commercial life of these States." In reality,
18060-586: The federal cabinet." A Malay historian wrote that "In return the Chinese gained more than overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia had dreamed of — equal citizenship, political participation and office holding, unimpaired economic opportunity, and tolerance for their language, religion, and cultural institutions." Some expressed trepidation at Article 153; shortly before independence, the China Press suggested that while special rights "may be excusable at
18232-447: The flames of Malay nationalism. Two Malay historians wrote that "The Japanese hostile acts against the Chinese and their apparently more favourable treatments of the Malays helped to make the Chinese community feel its separate identity more acutely..." A foreign commentator agreed, stating that "During the occupation period ... Malay national sentiment had become a reality; it was strongly anti-Chinese, and its rallying cry [was] 'Malaya for
18404-970: The following conventions; there are numerous exceptions to them nonetheless. Akin to the Arabic script, Jawi is constructed from right-to-left . Below is an exemplification of the Jawi script extracted from the first and second verse of the notable Ghazal untuk Rabiah , غزال اونتوق ربيعة ( English : A Ghazal for Rabiah). کيلاون اينتن برکليڤ-کليڤ دلاڠيت تيڠݢي⹁ دان چهاي مناري-ناري دلاڠيت بيرو⹁ تيدقله داڤت مننڠکن ڤراسا ء نکو⹁ يڠ ريندوکن کحاضيرن کاسيه. ݢمرسيق ايراما مردو بولوه ڤريندو⹁ دان ڽاڽين ڤاري٢ دري کايڠن⹁ تيدقله داڤت تنترمکن سانوباري⹁ يڠ مندمباکن کڤستين کاسيهمو. Kilauan intan berkelip-kelip di langit tinggi, Dan cahaya menari-nari di langit biru, Tidaklah dapat menenangkan perasaanku, Yang rindukan kehadiran kasih. Gemersik irama merdu buluh perindu, Dan nyanyian pari-pari dari kayangan, Tidaklah dapat tenteramkan sanubari, Yang mendambakan kepastian kasihmu. The glimmer of gems twinkling in
18576-479: The huge volume of shares, amounting to 7.9 percent in 1999, that is held by nominee companies. Independent studies have revealed that politicians and political parties, including UMNO, have resorted to using nominee companies to conceal their ownership of corporate equity from public scrutiny. Also, branded conglomerates like Proton and Petronas are not regarded by the government as Bumiputra companies. This approach tends to exaggerate non-Malay purchasing power. It
18748-479: The identification of Malay and other indigenous races with subsistence agriculture. The overarching principle of the policy was the creation of "a socio-economic environment in which individual Malaysians find self-fulfilment within a system which provides for proportional participation, management and control in the economic life of the nation". During British colonial rule in Malaya, the Malays had always been in close contact with British officials by virtue of being
18920-461: The incidence of absolute poverty by 1990. To achieve this, the policy called for aggressive improvement of economic status and quality of life for all Malaysians through: Concurrently, the policy also called for fairer distribution of opportunities to participate in the widening range of economic activities. The policy opined that the core problem that stood in the way of national unity was the division of racial groups by economic function; particularly
19092-427: The inclusion of the phrase "Malay" being considered frightening — with its official religion of Islam and official language of Malay, did nothing to soothe their fears of "Malay domination". For merger to come about, they insisted the natives of Sabah and Sarawak be awarded the same privileges as Malays. A 20-point agreement between Sabah and the Malayan government, and a slightly different 18-point agreement by Sarawak,
19264-416: The independent Federation of Malaya . The term Tanah Melayu in its name, which literally means "Malay homeland", assumes proprietorship of the Malay states. In this method, the colonial government strengthened Malay ethno-nationalism, Malay ethnicity and culture and Malay sovereignty in the new nation-state. Though other cultures would continue to flourish, the identity of the emerging political community
19436-528: The insurrection was almost entirely Malay, while Chinese dominated the communist ranks. The British encouraged the establishment of the Communities Liaison Committee (CLC), comprising the top echelon of Malayan politicians from different communities, to address sensitive issues, especially those related to race. Compromises on a number of issues, including citizenship, education, democracy, and Malay supremacy, were agreed on. Eventually,
19608-458: The letter from Sultan Iskandar Muda of Acèh Darussalam to King James I of England (1615), and the letter from Sultan Abdul Jalil IV of Johor to King Louis XV of France (1719). Many literary works such as epics, poetry and prose use the Jawi script. It is the pinnacle of the classic Malay civilisation. Historical epics such as the Malay Annals , as listed by UNESCO under Memories of
19780-479: The lingua franca of the region, alongside the spread of Islam. It was widely used in the Sultanate of Malacca , Sultanate of Johor , Sultanate of Maguindanao , Sultanate of Brunei , Sultanate of Sulu , Sultanate of Pattani , the Sultanate of Aceh to the Sultanate of Ternate in the east as early as the 15th century. The Jawi script was used in royal correspondences, decrees, poems and was widely understood by
19952-507: The listing had taken place. However, this advantage has disappeared in recent years. Nevertheless, this regulation has been criticised, especially as the 30% target continues to apply after the IPO has occurred; if the Bumiputra investors divest their shares, the company must issue new shares to maintain the proportion of Bumiputra shares above 30%. Wealth in the hands of the bumiputras went from 4% in 1970 to about 20% in 1997. The overall wealth of
20124-475: The lofty sky, And light that dances across upon the azure sky, Are not able to soothe my heart, That pines for the presence of the Beloved. The melodious rhythm of the reed flute, And the chorus of nymphs from Heaven, Are not able to calm the soul, That craves the certainty of your Love. Malaysian New Economic Policy The New Economic Policy ( NEP ) ( Malay : Dasar Ekonomi Baru (DEB) )
20296-512: The lucrative rubber industry and large tracts of land were dominated by British corporations such as Dunlop Plantation, Guthrie Plantation and Harrisons & Crossfield . However, the British agricultural policy during that period discouraged the participation of indigenous communities in the export crop economy, despite interest in smallholding rubber plantations. This development left the indigenous population in subsistence agriculture producing largely for domestic production and consumption, while
20468-468: The mainland in the 1964 general election . Although the PAP attracted large crowds at its rallies, it won only one seat — that by Devan Nair , who represented the Bangsar constituency. It is thought by some historians that Finance Minister and MCA President Tan Siew Sin 's appeal to the Chinese to avoid challenging the Malay special rights and risk merger with Indonesia helped the MCA retain its status as
20640-528: The merchants in the port of Malacca as the main means of communication. Early legal digests such as the Undang-Undang Melaka Code and its derivatives including the Codes of Johor, Perak, Brunei, Kedah, Pattani and Aceh were written in this script. It is the medium of expression of kings, nobility and the religious scholars. It is the traditional symbol of Malay culture and civilisation. Jawi
20812-503: The more urban non-Malays. The economic impoverishment of the Malays which set them apart from the better-off Chinese also fanned racial sentiments. Another contributing factor to ketuanan Melayu was the World War II Japanese occupation. The war "awakened a keen political awareness among Malayan people by intensifying communalism and racial hatred". Japanese policies "politicised the Malay peasantry", intentionally fanning
20984-540: The national wealth owned by the non-Bumiputra races increased beyond the 40% mark. This figure, however, does not reflect that certain parts of the non-bumiputra population live in dire poverty. The Malaysian Indian and Orang Asli in particular form the lowest strata of the population in terms of economic ownership. The Orang Asli of Peninsular Malaysia are not considered Bumiputra under the Federal Constitution despite their indigenous status. Officially
21156-702: The non-Bumiputra share of the economy to decrease, while permitting the growth of non-Bumiputra business interests in absolute terms. In some quarters, this was referred to as "expanding pie theory": the Bumiputra share of the pie would increase, without reducing the size of the non-Bumiputra slices of the pie. This theory was first enunciated in the Second Malaysia Plan . In 1975 the government created incentives to expand large-scale manufacturing industries and energy-intensive industries, targeting these industries and building policies around them. The Heavy Industries Corporation of Malaysia (HICOM), for example,
21328-476: The non-Malays seemed to justify ketuanan Melayu — Malay self-rule. Some historians have argued the Union's failure made the Chinese aware of the need for political representation. The Malayan Chinese Association (MCA) — a communal political party campaigning for Chinese political rights — was formed soon after the Federation's formation. Others claim that the main driving force behind non-Malay involvement in Malayan politics, and their assertion of certain rights,
21500-590: The non-Malays were now in the majority, with 61% of the population to the Malays' 39% asking at one point, "Why should we go back to old Singapore and once again reduce the non-Malays in Malaya to a minority?" Lee exacerbated deteriorating PAP–UMNO relations by constantly demanding that the federal government "smack down their ' ultras '", whose ranks included prominent UMNO leaders such as Syed Jaafar Albar and Syed Nasir Ismail . Jawi script Jawi ( جاوي ; Acehnese : Jawoë ; Kelantan-Pattani : Yawi ; Malay pronunciation: [d͡ʒä.wi] )
21672-481: The non-elite Malays felt marginalised by the economic and political policies of the colonial government, and felt increasingly separated and disconnected from the Malay elite. The local-born non-Malay communities soon began a campaign for self-rule. In 1936, the Malayan-born Indian community asked High Commissioner Sir Shenton Thomas to grant them a share of administrative appointments. Thomas rejected
21844-474: The original spelling of Arabic loanwords. The sounds represented by these letters may be assimilated into sounds found in Malay's native phoneme inventory or in some instances appear unchanged. Like the other Arabic scripts, some letters are obligatorily joined while some are never joined. This was the same for the acceptance of Arabic writing in Turkey , Persia and India which had taken place earlier and thus,
22016-506: The papers contributed to this criticism. The removal of quotas was largely reported to have resulted in an increase in the percentage of Bumiputra entering public universities. The perceived bias towards Bumiputra has meant that non-Bumiputra who can afford to do so choose to enter private colleges or to go overseas to further their education. There is a significant proportion of non-Bumiputra who do not enter into contention for admission to public universities. Critics argue that this policy of
22188-421: The poor but is instead an institutionalised system of handouts for the largest ethnic community in Malaysia as the NEP does not discriminate based on economic class. Bumiputra of high and low economic standing are entitled to the same benefits. The statistical problems of categorising wealthy and disadvantaged Bumiputra in one group also meant that the NEP's goal of having 30% of the national wealth held by Bumiputra
22360-428: The population remain poor and if sufficient productive employment opportunities are not created for the expanding labour force The NEP had the stated goal of poverty eradication and economic restructuring to eliminate the identification of ethnicity with economic function. The initial target was to move the ratio of economic ownership in Malaysia from a 2.4:33:63 ratio of Bumiputra, Other Malaysian, Foreigner ownership to
22532-559: The practice of circumcision to symbolise the coming of age ), and Jawi pekan or Jawi Peranakan (literally 'Malay of the town' or 'Malay born of', referring to the Malay-speaking Muslims of mixed Malay and Indian ancestry). With verb-building circumfixes men-...-kan , menjawikan (literally ' to make something Malay ' ), also refers to the act of translating a foreign text into Malay language. The phrase Tulisan Jawi that means ' Jawi script '
22704-400: The present Malaysian state itself evolved from a Malay polity. The oldest political institution in Malaysia is the system of Malay rulers of the nine Malay states . The British colonial authorities transformed the system and turned it first into a system of indirect rule , then in 1948, using this culturally based institution, they incorporated the Malay monarchy into the blueprints for
22876-408: The pro-Malay policies as designed merely to preserve the position of the colonial authorities, rather than to strengthen that of the Malays; some have characterised the approach as keeping "the races at just the right distance from each other to have the disparate elements of Malaya work in remote harmony". In the 1920s, the local-born Chinese, who retained significant economic power, began pushing for
23048-514: The proposed union were to materialise. After a short period of union, the British dissolved the Malayan Union and replaced it with the Federation of Malaya, with Tunku Abdul Rahman as its first Chief Minister. By that time, rubber and tin were the main source of income for the federation and it was one of the more prosperous economies in the region. Its per capita income was ranked third in Asia, after Japan and Singapore. British corporations dominated
23220-466: The public tertiary education system. Most Bumiputra opt to enter a one-year matriculation programme, which is considered by some to be less intensive than the two-year Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) or Malaysian High Certificate of Education, which is equivalent to the British A-levels . Although the 'grade' standards required for admission are the same for both programmes, there
23392-515: The removal of hard quotas. The difference in academic routes in fact begins in secondary school. Many Bumiputra enter public boarding secondary schools ( sekolah asrama ) whereas most non-Bumiputra remain in normal public secondary schools. The exams taken are the same until form 5 but then most Bumiputra go on to matriculation, whereas non-Bumiputra do STPM. However, even Bumiputra who remain in 'normal' secondary schools usually do matriculation instead of STPM. The lack of public transparency in grading of
23564-423: The request, referring to the local-born Indians as "foreigners". Although the colonial government appeared to view the Chinese as a "transient labor force," with statistics indicating most Chinese migrants eventually returned home, some historians have contended that the local-born Chinese population was steadily growing during the period. Nevertheless, the colonial government insisted it would be dangerous to consider
23736-406: The rise of " ultras " who advocated for a Malay supremacist one-party state led by UMNO, and an increased emphasis on the Malays being the "definitive people" of Malaysia — i.e., only a Malay could be a true Malaysian. The riots caused a major change in the government's approach to racial issues, and led to the introduction of an aggressive affirmative action policy strongly favouring the Malays,
23908-604: The root cause of ethnic strife and ketuanan Melayu was a lack of mixing between the Malays and non-Malays. An exception to this were the Straits Chinese, who managed to assimilate reasonably well, despite the assimilation taking 600 years including intermarriage. According to the Ming Shi-lu , the ancestors of the Straits Chinese were "gifts" given to the Sultan of Malacca as a recognition of both bilateral ties between
24080-409: The same time, the British also began laying the framework for a national education system that would create "a sense of common citizenship". The Barnes Report that they commissioned, however, was strongly objected to by the Chinese community for being "saturated with Malay nationalism" and bolstering ketuanan Melayu . The Fenn-Wu Report , favoured by the Chinese, did not meet with Malay approval. In
24252-535: The share market – a figure frequently cited as "a measurement of overall community wealth", despite claims that it was misleading – increased from 2 to 20 per cent over the same period according to one academic's measurements. The Chinese share also increased from 37 to 46 per cent, at the expense of foreign participation. Official Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange figures from 1998 were even more optimistic, indicating Bumiputra share ownership stood at 28.6% in 1990 and 36.7% in 1996. The Chinese community in Malaysia accepted
24424-516: The share of Bumiputra equity to justify the NEP and its related policies. Although many affirmative action measures of the NEP were continued under the National Development Policy which ran from 1990 to 2000, and later by the National Vision Policy set to run from 2000 to 2010 – leading many Malaysians to refer to the NEP in the present tense – the official Bumiputra equity share remained under the original 30% target. In 2006,
24596-404: The size of rural Parliamentary constituencies was later removed, providing what one commentator called "an indirect buttress" to Malay special rights; as Malays were concentrated in rural areas, this indirectly enhanced Malay political power. The original Constitution had implicitly followed " one man, one vote ". The change was denounced as "giving one man one vote, another a number of votes: not on
24768-463: The spelling system of both scripts did not undergo similar advanced developments and modifications as experienced by Jawi. The script became prominent with the spread of Islam, supplanting the earlier writing systems. The Malays held the script in high esteem as it is the gateway to understanding Islam and its Holy Book, the Quran. The use of Jawi script was a key factor driving the emergence of Malay as
24940-406: The standard script of the Malay language, and gave birth to traditional Malay literature when it featured prominently in official correspondences, religious texts, and literary publications. With the arrival of Western influence through colonization and education, Jawi was relegated to religious education, with the Malay language eventually adopting a form of the Latin alphabet called Rumi that
25112-415: The start of the building of a nation," if "the period of 'special rights' is not restricted, or the scope of special rights is not clearly defined, then endless disputes ... will arise later on," and argued that special rights would eventually divide instead of unite Malayans. Nevertheless, at the time of independence, some historians assert, "there was a genuine sense of common citizenship, common aspirations,
25284-580: The state capital of Pahang in Malaysia has introduced the usage of Jawi on all signage across the city from 1 August 2019. This was done after a recommendation from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, who was then the Regent of Pahang, to uphold usage of the writing system. The Pahang state government has since expanded the order and made it mandatory for every signage statewide including road signs to display Jawi alongside other scripts from 1 January 2020 after being delayed
25456-486: The states of Terengganu , Kelantan , Kedah , Perlis , Penang , Pahang and Johor . Various efforts were in place to revive the Jawi script in Malaysia and Brunei due to its role in the Malay and Islamic spheres. Jawi is also seen on the reverse of Malaysian ringgit and Brunei dollar banknotes. Malays in Patani still use Jawi today for the same reasons. In August 2019, the Malaysian Government's plans to introduce
25628-550: The strong observance of the Muslim faith in the early 14th century Terengganu specifically and the Malay world as a whole. The development of Jawi script was different from that of Pallava writing which was exclusively restricted to the nobility and monks in monasteries. The Jawi script was embraced by the entire Muslim community regardless of class. With the increased intensity in the appreciation of Islam, scriptures originally written in Arabic were translated in Malay and written in
25800-533: The subjects of the Sultans. Administratively, Malays displayed a highly structured system, which enabled the British to embed themselves into the existing structure with ease. To communicate effectively with the Malay Rulers, Malays were employed by the British to work in Resident's Offices as clerical staff. However, Malays were mostly educated in Islamic madrasah, with little exposure to Western education. To ensure
25972-460: The system was developed and derived directly from the Arabic script , while scholars like R. O. Windstedt suggest it was developed with the influence of the Perso-Arabic alphabet . The ensuing trade expansions and the spread of Islam to other areas of Southeast Asia from the 15th century carried the Jawi alphabet beyond the traditional Malay-speaking world. Until the 20th century, Jawi was
26144-443: The teaching of Jawi at the most basic level in ethnic Chinese and Tamil vernacular schools attracted opposition from ethnic Chinese and Indian education groups, which claimed that the move would lead to an Islamization of the Malaysian education system. The Chinese educationist group Dong Jiao Zong organised a conference calling on the Malaysian Government to rescind its decision in late December 2019. Perhaps fearing violence,
26316-568: The term of the NEP ended in 1990. However, much of it remained in effect through other governmental policies; the New Straits Times reported that this was because as of 2007, "the government believes the aim of having 30 per cent Bumiputera equity has yet to be achieved". In 2006, it was reported that the NEP would be reinstated under the Ninth Malaysia Plan , the ninth in a series of five-year economic plans. Originally,
26488-425: The world, accounting for 55% of global tin output. The prosperity brought about by tin mining was primarily shared between the British and the Chinese. As mining towns grew larger and became more economically important, urban infrastructure improved and these mining towns became the seat of administrative power for the British and traditional Malay capitals became insignificant. In 1839, the vulcanisation technique
26660-470: Was ASLI's decision to consider government-linked companies as Bumiputra-owned, inflating the calculated figure of Bumiputra equity. Although ASLI later withdrew the report, citing unspecified errors in its methodology, the debate did not die down. One political analyst suggested that "If Bumiputra equity is 45 per cent, then surely the next question is, why the need for Bumiputera rights? It has implications for government policy and it (removing indigenous rights)
26832-400: Was a social re-engineering and affirmative action program formulated by the National Operations Council (NOC) in the aftermath of the 13 May Incident in Malaysia. This policy was adopted in 1971 for a period of 20 years and it was succeeded by the National Development Policy (NDP) in 1991. The New Economic Policy (NEP) which began with the Second Malaysia Plan (1971–1975) and lasted until
27004-565: Was a substantial effort challenging Malay nationalism led by the People's Action Party (PAP) of Singapore — which was a state in Malaysia from 1963 to 1965 — and the DAP after Singapore's expulsion . However, the portions of the Constitution related to Malay nationalism were " entrenched " after the race riots of 13 May 1969 , which followed an election campaign focused on the issue of non-Malay rights and Malay nationalism . This period also saw
27176-502: Was based on the Za'aba system. Jawi can be typed using the Jawi keyboard . The word Jawi ( جاوي ) is a shortening of the term in Arabic : الجزائر الجاوي , romanized : Al-Jaza'ir Al-Jawi , lit. 'Java Archipelago', which is the term used by Arabs for Nusantara . The word jawi is a loanword from Javanese : ꦗꦮꦶ , romanized: jawi which
27348-506: Was developed during the advent of Islam in Maritime Southeast Asia , supplanting the earlier Brahmic scripts used during Hindu-Buddhist era. The oldest evidence of Jawi writing can be found on the 14th century Terengganu Inscription Stone , a text in Classical Malay that contains a mixture of Malay, Sanskrit and Arabic vocabularies. There are two competing theories on the origins of the Jawi alphabet. Popular theory suggests that
27520-583: Was discovered by Charles Goodyear , which marked the beginning of the extensive use of rubber in industry. In Malaya, Henry Nicholas Ridley, Director of Singapore and Penang Botanical Gardens, introduced rubber plantations in the early 1890s when he convinced the Kinderly Brothers of Inch Kenneth Estate in Selangor and a Chinese tapioca planter, Tan Chay Yan in Malacca to adopt rubber plantations as
27692-483: Was evident that people with similar socioeconomic status were the least affected by the riots. The precursor to the racial riots of 1969 occurred in Singapore in 1964, which led to the expulsion of Singapore from the Federation of Malaysia. The People's Action Party (PAP), Malaysia's main opposition party, called for equality for all Malaysians and challenged the domination of the ruling Alliance Party coalition in
27864-464: Was formed to assist in the manufacture of pig-iron, aluminium die casting, pulp and paper, steel, cement, motorcycle and heavy engineering. At the same time, export incentives were initiated. The abstract policies and goals of the NEP were implemented by the Second , Third , Fourth and Fifth Malaysia Plans . Some specific requirements were introduced to achieve the 30% Bumiputra equity target set by
28036-435: Was high at 49%, with the indigenous communities holding less than 3% of the national economy. The racial riots of 1969 occurred against the backdrop of high poverty rates among the indigenous population and was compounded by communal political tension. Perceptions among the communities persisted and helped fuel mistrust, especially between the Malay and Chinese communities. At the more affluent neighbourhood of Petaling Jaya, it
28208-512: Was later agreed upon. After much negotiation and a show of support from the British for a merger, the impasse was resolved. Although natives of Borneo were denied the privileges of Malays, merger was effected on 16 September 1963. In the 1963 Singapore state elections , the Alliance challenged the governing People's Action Party (PAP) through the Singapore Alliance Party . UMNO politicians actively campaigned in Singapore for
28380-473: Was maintained in the belief that education of Bengalis in India had led to discontent and rebellion. They involved only the Malay ruling class in government and administrative issues. Despite the exclusion of non-Malays from positions of authority, much of the civil service rank and file comprised non-Malays, many of them Indians who were specifically brought in for this purpose. A number of historians have described
28552-460: Was not indicative of a median 60% of Bumiputra holding 28% of the national wealth, but could theoretically translate into one Bumiputra holding 29% of the national wealth, with the remaining Bumiputra sharing 1%. Some have alleged that because of this imbalance, some Malays remain economically marginalised. Criticisms also arose from the fact that there was no planned assistance for Malaysian Chinese and Indian communities to achieve their 40% goal during
28724-729: Was populated first which contained the most diversity, then continuing slowly North with its diversity being lost. Hindu and Buddhist influences arrived through trade contacts with the Indian subcontinent . The beginning of the first Millennium saw the rise of ancient Malay states in the coastal areas of Malay Peninsula , notably the Red Earth Kingdom (1st century), Gangga Negara (2nd century), Langkasuka (2nd century), Kedah (2nd century) and Pahang (5th century). Between 7th and 13th centuries, many of these small, often prosperous peninsular maritime trading states became part of
28896-501: Was the increasing number of local-born non-Malays. The same report from the British Permanent Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies cited earlier stated that Malayan-born non-Malays "have never seen the land of their origin and they claim that their children and their children's children should have fair treatment." The inaugural President of the MCA was Tan Cheng Lock , a local-born Chinese who had led
29068-672: Was thought more stable and better suited to Malayan politics. Prior to the election, Dato' Onn Ja'afar had changed his approach, forming the Parti Negara after IMP suffered crushing losses to the Alliance in local elections. Advocating stronger pro-Malay policies recognising Malay political dominance, the Parti Negara failed to shake the Alliance's grip on power. However, some believe Parti Negara's proposals helped sway UMNO politicians towards more radically pro-Malay policies. The British themselves insisted on handing over power only to
29240-516: Was to be shaped by the "historic" political culture of its dominant Malay ethnic group. The Chinese and Indian immigrants, who form a significant minority in Malaysia, are considered beholden to the Malays for granting them citizenship in return for special privileges as set out in Article 153 of the Constitution of Malaysia . This quid pro quo arrangement is usually referred to as the Malaysian social contract . The concept of ketuanan Melayu
29412-419: Was to be temporary in nature, and should be reviewed by Parliament 15 years after independence. The Constitution itself did not explicitly state this, however, nor did it clarify the purpose of Article 153. It did declare all Malayans equal under the law, without mention of "Malay sovereignty" or any other ideas related to ketuanan Melayu . Jus soli citizenship — the granting of citizenship to anyone born in
29584-404: Was used not only amongst the ruling class, but also the common people. The Islamisation and Malayisation of the region popularised Jawi into a dominant script. Royal correspondences for example are written, embellished and ceremoniously delivered. Examples of royal correspondences still in the good condition are the letter between Sultan Hayat of Ternate and King John III of Portugal (1521),
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