13 May and the New Economic Policy Ketuanan Melayu

1 13 may , new economic policy

1.1 issues of language
1.2 13 may
1.3 malay dilemma , new economic policy
1.4 constitutional amendments , other policy changes
1.5 politics , malay dominance

13 may , new economic policy
issues of language

the constitution specified ten-year delay after independence in changing national language english malay. scheduled date in 1967 drew near chinese began agitate more liberal language policy permitting instances of mandarin in public affairs. extremists umno , pas lashed out against them, alliance proposed compromise in national language bill establishing malay official language, permitting english under circumstances , use of non-malay languages non-official purposes. tunku described course guaranteeing peace , bill derided many malays, formed national language action front in hope of repealing or amending it. leadership of tunku openly questioned.

13 may

in 1969, general election held. first contested on major scale non-malay-based opposition parties, other 1964 election pap challenged alliance in peninsular malaysia. 2 main opposition parties on front in 1969 democratic action party (dap) — malaysian successor pap, seen chinese-based — , parti gerakan rakyat malaysia (gerakan), ostensibly multiracial party led former mca stalwart, lim chong eu, , other middle-class intellectuals tan chee khoon , syed hussein alatas. both proposed policies on language, education, , malay rights diametrically opposed of government, dap continuing lee kuan yew had left off malaysian malaysia campaign. some, dap, called elevation of english, mandarin , tamil official language status, along malay. stronger government support chinese education stream demanded.

pas, on other hand, attempted garner votes accusing umno of selling out malays indigenous rights pendatang asing . when results released, pas had made minor inroads, dap , gerakan managed topple alliance power in 3 states, , eradicated alliance s traditional two-thirds majority in parliament. large part of these gains came @ expense of mca, announced not participate in new government after election, mca no longer had mandate represent chinese interests in government. jubilant dap , gerakan organised victory parades in national capital of kuala lumpur on 11 , 12 may, participants taunted malays while bearing slogans such semua melayu kasi habis ( finish off malays ). apology issued after rallies. nevertheless, shocked malays blamed chinese voters betraying alliance formula voting opposition had revived fundamental questions of language , malay special rights .

malay extremists welcomed mca s move, feeling umno- , malay-dominated government better serve purposes. umno held own rally, became riot, on 13 may. later euphemistically labelled 13 may incident . umno supporters gathered @ harun s house on evening of 13 may, rally due start, many brandishing parangs (machetes) , other weapons. leaders condemned insults of infidels @ previous victory parades, calling counter-rally means teach chinese lesson challenging malay supremacy. soon, crowd began attacking passing chinese motorists, , launched arson attacks on chinese homes , shops. rioting spread, and, despite military being called in, continued 2 days.

as result of riots, parliament suspended, , state of national emergency declared. national operations council (noc) formed oversee administration of country under emergency rule. although rioting had died down, tensions continued simmer. non-malay boycott of malay goods , services received near total support, while many malays, such mahathir mohamad , raja muktaruddin daim began calling autocracy led umno alone, , removal of tunku. according sources, 1 group of ultras , comprising syed nasir ismail, musa hitam, , tengku razaleigh, felt power-sharing constitution had failed, , agreed country had returned malays. allegedly agreed summon mahathir kuala lumpur, led anti-tunku campaign.

mahathir wrote open letter tunku, accusing him of giving chinese demand ... have given them face. soon, students @ higher educational institutions across country began hold mass demonstrations, calling tunku step down in favour of leader restore malay sovereignty . sporadic rioting, believed have been instigated tunku s opponents, broke out.

instead of bowing demands, tunku had mahathir , musa hitam expelled umno. minister of home affairs, ismail abdul rahman, alleged these ultras believe in wild , fantastic theory of absolute dominion 1 race on other communities, regardless of constitution. ... polarisation has taken place in malaysian politics , extreme racialists among ruling party making desperate bid topple present leadership.

the malay dilemma , new economic policy

mahathir spent political exile writing malay dilemma, contended malays original or indigenous people of malaya , people can claim malaya 1 , country. in accordance practice on world, confers on malays inalienable rights on forms , obligations of citizenship can imposed on citizens of non-indigenous origin. (referring social contract.)

mahathir expressed discomfort far many non-malay citizens can swamp malays when ...suddenly has dawned upon malay cannot call malaya land. there no more tanah melayu — land of malays. different person, malaysian, malay malaysian authority in malaya — land — not shared others, shared unequally. , if not enough, being asked give more , more of share of influence. mahathir s defence of malay rights focused both on definitive people line of reasoning , argument in favour of affirmative action, reid commission had chosen: not... reasons of malay superiority preferential treatment malays in scholarship awards insisted upon. ... means of breaking down superior position of non-malays in field of education. malays not proud of treatment. shortly after becoming prime minister, mahathir denied had altered of views since wrote book.

mahathir , musa hitam later rejoined umno , government under tun abdul razak, second prime minister, new economic policy (nep), based on of reforms mahathir s book had advocated. nep s stated goal elimination of identification of race economic function . achieve this, targeted 30% share of economy bumiputra — sons of soil, term referring malays , other indigenous peoples — 1990. became known 30 per cent solution setting bumiputra quota many items, including new public share listings , new private housing schemes. commentators alleged fostered close zero-sum attitude chiefly between malays , chinese . nep s stated aim, however, not directly redistribute wealth enlarge economic pie while providing larger share of gains malays, increasing participation in economy all.

the main rationale nep set out in second malaysia plan address economic imbalance between chinese , malays. in 1969, malay share of equity reportedly stood @ 1.5% while chinese held 22.8%; rest largely in foreign hands. detractors argued while chinese share of economy had increased @ malays expense, more significant growth in inequality had occurred between richest , poorest malays — between 1957 , 1970, wealthiest 20% of malays share in malay portion of economy reportedly increased 42.5% 52.5% while poorest 40% saw decrease 19.5% 12.7%.

the noc issued report of own analysing root causes of 13 may violence, suggesting in civil service, traditional malay employer, non-malays outnumbered malays in many areas, substantial malay majorities in police , armed forces. report concluded: allegations non-malays excluded regarded malays deliberate distortion. malays felt excluded in country s economic life, began feel threat place in public services. no mention ever made non-malay politicians of closed-door attitude malays non-malays in large sections of private sector in country.

according second malaysia plan, nep aimed create malay commercial , industrial community through wholly owned enterprises , joint ventures . prior this, government had, in words of local economist, played administrative, supportive, , regulatory roles in attempting address economic imbalance, avoided represent[ing] direct , active efforts in promoting malay interests. now, government not [limit] access of chinese , indian population universities, public jobs , public money, actively intervene in economy give [the bumiputra] bigger piece of business action . 1 criticism of increased intervention umno supposedly became major beneficiary of expanded role of state .

there had been limited affirmative action programmes before. however, these focused on civil service, article 153 of constitution did. admission higher education largely merit-based. tunku government preferred laissez-faire policies, minimising economic intervention. although agencies, such rural industrial development agency (rida), attempted aid malay entrepreneurs, existed, programs criticised being based on handouts , favouring politically connected. rida renamed majlis amanah rakyat (the indigenous people s trust council) or mara in 1965, , came symbolise development of malay entrepreneurship.

although nep aimed @ addressing economic imbalances, became associated ketuanan melayu. while 2 directly equated, mentioned together, implication nep derived ketuanan melayu. nep s greater intervention in economy led equate umno s monolithic image undisputed champion of malay supremacy party s ability shore lucrative business deals.

constitutional amendments , other policy changes

parliament passed several amendments constitution after 13 may incident, limiting free speech , entrenching articles related bumiputra special rights.

parliament reconvened again in 1971. although nep passed without approval, parliament s consent required amend constitution. government-tabled constitution (amendment) act 1971, in conjunction amendments sedition act, limited freedom of speech on sensitive issues such national language, malay special rights, malay rulers, , provisions citizenship. these restrictions applied members of parliament, over-ruling previous parliamentary immunity. amendments clarified article 152 s meaning, , included natives of of states of sabah , sarawak under article 153, extending formerly malay-only rights bumiputra. in addition, yang di-pertuan agong (king) direct university or college implement proportion-based quota system favouring bumiputra. higher educational institutions enacted quota systems on orders of education ministry; later questioned move s constitutionality on grounds king himself had not issued directive.

to cap this, amendment of articles touching on sensitive issues mentioned, clause governing rule on amendments, forbidden without consent of conference of rulers. entrenching sensitive articles, heavily criticised opposition mps. claimed if parliament prevented discussing particular issue, parliamentary sovereignty undermined. unclear if ban speaking on sensitive issues applied ban itself. nevertheless, provisions passed. internal security act (isa), allows government detain deems threat national security indefinite period without judicial review, amended in 1971 stress preservation of intercommunal harmony .

many of these changes saw fierce opposition in parliament , abroad. when proposed changes first announced, british press charged preserve immutable feudal system dominating malay society giving archaic body of petty constitutional monarchs incredible blocking power . censorship of sensitive issues labelled paradoxical when contrasted tun abdul razak s speaking of full realization important matters must no longer swept under carpet... other critics argued article 153 nothing more paper rice bowl , , in case, did not include orang asli (native people) or aborigines within scope of privileges, rendering rationale suspect.

another important policy change came in field of education. in 1970, government made malay medium of instruction primary, secondary, , tertiary education, replacing english. although government funding chinese , tamil education streams continued, many non-malays considered new policy discriminatory far. government s rationale provide better educational opportunities malays, formerly had make transition malay-medium primary , secondary schools english-medium universities. argued uniting students under 1 language provide greater racial harmony, while indirectly underscoring malay nature of state .

the same year medium of instruction changed malay, national culture policy (ncp) announced. syed nasir ismail described government s policies aimed @ creating bumiputra muslim identity (identiti islam kebumiputraan) malaysians. in essence, ncp s goal assimilate non-indigenous peoples indigenous malaysian identity. despite stiff opposition chinese pressure groups, government refused withdraw ncp. foster national unity, rukunegara, or national ideology, introduced. although rukunegara contains no references ketuanan melayu or social contract, government commentary mentioned position of malays , other natives, legitimate interests of other communities, , conferment of citizenship key aspects of constitution while insisting: no citizen should question loyalty of citizen on ground belongs particular community. 1 political pundit described formal declaration of social contract or racial bargain .

politics , malay dominance

the old alliance model, each race represented 1 party, repudiated formation of barisan nasional (bn, or national front) in 1974. several former opposition parties, including gerakan, ppp , pas, joined umno-led bn. although mca , mic included, influence diluted other non-malay parties in coalition. in 1977, pas expulsion left umno sole malay representative in bn, although ostensibly multiracial parties provided token malay representation. after departure, pas took different approach malay privileges, denouncing nep racial discrimination , unislamic .

in 1974, mahathir appointed minister in tun razak s cabinet. became deputy prime minister 2 years later, under tun hussein onn, had succeeded tun razak upon latter s sudden death.

during 1970s — heyday of nep — malay dominance largely accepted fact of life malaysians. whereas 1957 1969 period viewed time when malay dominance @ least tempered form of inter-ethnic bargaining within alliance government, 13 may incident onwards, political pundits argued political environment under marked hegemonic control malays , umno; in 1970, 1 cabinet member pronounced malay special rights remain hundreds of years come . tunku observed in 1977 appears in minds of non-bumiputras being turned second-class citizens in country. government s ethnic policies continued based on , justified 2 basic arguments mahathir had applied in dilemma; historical status of malay primacy on malaya, , special needs of malays. public discussion or questioning of these issues had been criminalised, there few locally published works critically discussing malay supremacy, complicating attempts evaluate or establish further grounds government policy beyond main 2 traditionally put forth.

the ultras had allegedly plotted exploit post-13 may chaos in control of country. razaleigh, finance minister, hailed father of bumiputra economy . musa hitam , mahathir, both rising stars on political scene, maintained image ultras , although unclear if intention. journalist k. das once claimed musa had told him young malaysian politician has play race card hilt if there not single chauvinistic bone in body. after retiring, musa said national leaders tend scapegoat when faced desperate crisis situation , use racial tactics fill empty stomach .

umno youth in particular maintained ultra image 1960s. 1 of vice-presidents said in response discussion of opening different teams in umno based on political ideology original cause of umno fight interests of malay race , must continue. not want factions in umno. in 1980, tun hussein onn announced handing power on mahathir due poor health. mahathir took office in 1981, musa hitam deputy.