Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.2C meritocracy.2C and ketuanan Melayu Ketuanan Melayu

1 abdullah ahmad badawi, meritocracy, , ketuanan melayu

1.1 new prime minister
1.2 meritocracy
1.3 racial politics
1.4 political watershed

abdullah ahmad badawi, meritocracy, , ketuanan melayu
a new prime minister

prior abdullah s ascension in 2003, although ketuanan melayu had been enunciated several prominent malay leaders, had not been given proper name. around time, term ketuanan melayu — tuan being malay word lord or master — came common usage, entering government-approved secondary school curriculum. universiti kebangsaan malaysia professor of sociology norani othman has said term evocative of notions of enslavement, since in malay classical terms, word ketuanan implies lordship on captives, pre-feudal concept out of sync in 1957, 1963 , today.

a government-approved secondary school history textbook published in 2004 dewan bahasa dan pustaka, government-owned publishing company, defined ketuanan melayu as:

semangat cinta akan apa saja yang berkaitan dengan bangsa melayu seperti hak politik, bahasa, kebudayaan, warisan, adat istiadat dan tanah air. semenanjung tanah melayu dianggap sebagai tanah pusaka orang melayu.

its english translation follows:

a passion related malay race, such political rights, language, culture, heritage, tradition , homeland. malay peninsula regarded malays land birthright.

in 2003, united malays national organisation (umno) political party youth information chief azimi daim stated: in malaysia, knows malays masters of land. rule country provided in federal constitution. 1 touches upon malay affairs or criticizes malays [offending] our sensitivities.

although proponents claimed ketuanan melayu directly derived article 153 of constitution, reid commission drafted framework constitution had stated provisions malay privileges temporary in nature, , abolished, citing reason existence tradition , economic necessity form of affirmative action malays. despite this, challenge ketuanan melayu or malay rights still berated, politicians umno. many umno politicians continued referring non-malays orang pendatang or pendatang asing (foreign immigrants).

meritocracy

before leaving office, mahathir had condemned malays relied on privileges. abdullah continued this, warning malays learn live without crutches or end in wheelchairs. administration began practice of meritocracy, mahathir had tentatively proposed, , university admissions quotas eliminated. however, charged did not eliminate discrimination in education. pre-university stream divided two; 1 course prepared students sijil tinggi persekolahan malaysia (stpm) standardised examination, lasting 2 years, while other comprised various matriculation courses graded individual lecturers, typically lasting year.

critics dismissed meritocracy sham, arguing unfair consider 2 streams equivalent admissions purposes. though ostensibly open non-bumiputra, critics alleged took matriculation malays.

previously, constitutionality of malay- or bumiputra-only matriculation courses had been questioned, amended article 153 prohibited refusal of admission students on grounds of race alone. result, matriculation courses opened non-bumiputra. however, in umno considered meritocracy harsh on rural malay students, disadvantaging them compared urban counterparts, , called restoration of quotas avoid uneven playing field .

at 2004 umno general assembly, deputy permanent chairman badruddin amiruldin waved book on 13 may incident, warning: fifty-eight years ago had agreement other races, in permitted them menumpang [reside temporarily] on land. ... let no 1 other races ever question rights of malays on land. don t question religion, because right on land. higher education minister shafie salleh declared @ assembly non-bumiputras never permitted enter universiti teknologi mara (uitm), bumiputra-only: not compromise on matter.

then @ following year s general assembly, education minister , umno youth head hishammuddin hussein — son of tun hussein onn — brandished keris while calling restoration of nep part of national development policy (ndp) mahathir had initiated. according hishammuddin, keris symbolised role of umno youth in championing malay race. meanwhile, deputy, khairy jamaluddin — abdullah badawi s son-in-law — discussed revival of nep in form of separate entity titled new national agenda (nna). hishammuddin later describe keris unifying symbol , stating young people today no longer see symbol uphold ketuanan melayu.

racial politics

chinese politicians within government raised issues constitution in late 2005. lim keng yaik of gerakan asked re-examination of social contract ascertain whether bangsa malaysia achieved. lim severely criticised many prominent malay politicians, including khairy jamaluddin , ahmad shabery cheek. malay press, owned umno, ran articles condemning questioning of social contract. lim responded: how expect non-malays pour hearts , souls country, , 1 day die if keep harping on this? flag-waving , singing negaraku (national anthem) rituals, while true love nation lies in heart.

a year earlier, abdullah had mentioned significant aspect of social contract agreement indigenous peoples grant citizenship immigrant chinese , indians . although abdullah went on state character of nation changed 1 chinese , indian citizens call own, speech went largely unremarked. finally, lim stated malay press had blown comments out of proportion , misquoted him. issue ended umno youth chief hishammuddin hussein warning people not bring issue again has been agreed upon, appreciated, understood , endorsed constitution.

in january 2006, government announced rukunegara awareness campaign. government press agency, bernama, quoted tunku saying in 1986 malays not natives lords of country , nobody can dispute fact . articles of constitution touching on official religion of islam, monarchy, status of malay national language, , malay special rights described spell[ing] out acknowledgment , recognition malays indigenous pribumi [natives] of land. stated new emphasis on rukunegara prevent further questioning of social contract, decides on political polarity , socio-economic standing of malaysians .

later, survey of malaysians found 55% of respondents agreed politicians should blamed segregating people playing racial politics . mukhriz mahathir — mahathir s son , umno youth leader — defended umno s actions because of economic disparities, insisting long remains, there people champion each race equalise things. shahrir abdul samad, chairman of bn backbenchers club, argued politicians responding country ... divided different races, asking, if talk malay issues malay community, playing racial politics? m. kayveas, president of ppp, disagreed: every 12 months, parties go 1 race championing own causes and, @ end of day, when general election comes, talk bangsa malaysia .

reflecting mutual climate of distrust , racialist policies in both singapore , malaysia (in singapore, policies allegedly being pro-chinese), lee kuan yew sparked debate in september on role of malay primacy in malaysian politics, stating chinese had been systematically marginalised in both malaysia , indonesia. resulting diplomatic incident, ensuing denials of marginalisation malaysian government politicians, led lee issuing apology remarks attempted justify them. abdullah indicated not satisfied referred qualified apology , malaysian government accepted nevertheless.

the following month, controversy arose after asian strategic , leadership institute (asli) issued report calculating bumiputra-held equity @ 45% — stark difference official figure of 18.9%, used politicians justify retention or revival of nep. 1 local analyst suggested if bumiputra equity 45 per cent, surely next question is, why need bumiputera rights? has implications government policy , (removing indigenous rights) 1 thing umno never accept @ present. report s methodology criticised using market value instead of par value calculations of equity, , limiting scope thousand publicly listed companies. included government-linked companies (glcs) bumiputra-owned companies. some, however, criticised government, alleging par value did not accurately reflect value of enterprises studied, , claimed portion of glc equity should considered bumiputra-held. report later withdrawn, controversy continued after independent media outlet cited study following government methodology indicated bumiputra equity had passed 30% mark in 1997.

at johor umno convention same month, johor menteri besar (chief minister), abdul ghani othman, criticised bangsa malaysia , meritocracy policies. ghani described bangsa malaysia threat malays , constitutional position, suggesting threaten national stability well. ghani insisted policy applied in context ... malays pivotal race , , described meritocracy form of discrimination , oppression because rural malay students not compete urban counterparts. in resulting controversy remarks, several federal ministers criticised ghani, 1 saying bangsa malaysia has nothing 1 race given pivotal role on others , , arguing not impinge on rights of bumiputeras or other communities. ghani stood comments, declaring proponents of bangsa malaysia advocating malaysian malaysia , lee kuan yew had, though government has rejected start. najib, deputy prime minister, suggested effort define bangsa malaysia politically fruitless, , such debate unnecessary; insisted not question special rights of malays, our quota or of sort. umno annual general assembly year first televised in full; became subject of controversy when delegates such hashim suboh made speeches utilising heavy racial rhetoric; hishammuddin, had brandished kris again, asked hashim when use . after assembly, hishammuddin insisted kris not symbol of malay supremacy.

in october 2007, lee provoked more debate after suggesting if (malaysia) educate chinese , indians, use them , treat them citizens, can equal (singapore) , better , happy rejoin them. umno information chief muhammad muhammad taib responded, telling press malaysia implemented policies assist economically disadvantaged malays, instead of neglecting them singapore did, stating @ 1 point malays have compete on level playing field other malaysians.

political watershed

in 2008 general election, bn returned power first time without customary 2/3 supermajority in dewan rakyat, meaning no longer pass constitutional amendments without support of opposition parties. election results seen reflecting discontent state of country s economy , increasing ethnic tensions within country; 3 main opposition parties had campaigned on platform condemning nep , government s response widening economic disparities. month after, crown prince of kelantan tengku faris petra said during assembly organised newly formed malay unity action front since malays had given in granting non-malays citizenship, latter should not seek equality or special treatment. in speech, prince called malay unity ensure malay sovereignty , supremacy preserved.

anwar ibrahim, former umno deputy president , former deputy prime minister, parti keadilan rakyat became second-largest party in parliament after elections, , de facto leader of opposition pakatan rakyat coalition, chose instead reject ketuanan melayu in favour of ketuanan rakyat (people s supremacy). celebrating end of five-year ban political activity on 15 april 2008, told reporters: here counter massive propaganda campaign umno leaders, talking on malay supremacy. , giving clear definitive answer in reply of this, want, desire new malaysia, supremacy malaysians. week later, wife wan azizah wan ismail, president of pkr, told press should not keep talking malay supremacy or marginalising race, not people want see, urging instead adoption of ketuanan rakyat.

not long thereafter, hishammuddin himself apologised brandishing of keris @ 3 previous umno annual general assemblies, saying sorry if had affected non-malays . refused comment on whether repeat act in future. conditional apology met heavy criticism within umno; 1 media outlet described reaction such: sentiment among many in party chinese , indians betrayed bn when voted pakatan rakyat. there hurt. there anger. why should hishammuddin concerned non-malays think of keris act? many felt apology threatened malay supremacy. abdullah welcomed apology, saying brave , made clear non-malays important role keris had in malay community . in response questions diminishing of malay supremacy post-elections, said more parity bumiputra communities, rejecting notion of political dominance:

so when talk (malay supremacy), mean must successful in many fields. never ruling on others, or forcing our power upon them... not going race dominates others. want party represents malays , ready co-operate future of malays , people, malays succeed when malaysians successful. ... malay supremacy , hope people understand it.

shortly thereafter, information minister ahmad shabery cheek insisted ketuanan melayu did not imply master-slave relationship in sense between malays , non-malays. instead, suggested, referred institution of malay monarchs, had once been masters , gave primacy when federal constitution adopted @ independence. shabery cited article 182 of constitution, grants royalty legal immunities, example of malay supremacy. however, prominent members of royalty such raja of perlis , former yang di-pertuan agong tuanku syed sirajuddin putra syed jamalullail have been critical of ketuanan melayu; in 2009, raja stated in malaysia, every race tuan [master]... believe if understands every individual of race, should not deprived of rights, efforts of parties think supremacy or rights should given particular race can stopped.

in late 2009, cabinet decided change curriculum of biro tata negara (national civics bureau, or btn) programmes, mandatory public servants , students studying on public funds. many, politicians pakatan rakyat, had criticised btn programmes propaganda ketuanan melayu; citing this, selangor state government banned civil servants , students attending btn courses. ministers , former prime minister mahathir defended btn necessary imbue participants values of discipline , honesty, denying had ketuanan melayu. minister in prime minister s department nazri aziz insisted cabinet right demand change in btn, calling mahathir racist , saying:

they know syllabus did not happen? want lie? make people laugh. mean there people attended courses came out angry. there many instances of use of words ketuanan melayu. ridiculous...