Mahathir administration Ketuanan Melayu

1 mahathir administration

1.1 affirmative action , chinese protests
1.2 reviewing , reworking economic policies
1.3 bangsa malaysia , political liberalisation

mahathir administration
affirmative action , chinese protests

the longest-serving prime minister of malaysia mahathir mohamad.

the affirmative action policies of nep continued under mahathir. political pundits considered administration, in period, continuation of hegemonic control of malaysian politics malays, , umno in particular. during time, mahathir focused on consolidating power within umno , government. result, there little active confrontation between malays , non-malays on issue of ketuanan melayu @ time.

in 1981, mca assessed nep , other government policies chinese point of view. findings expressed concern on number of problems, including alleged disrespect of citizenship of malaysian chinese , malay-dominated civil service, claiming nep s goal of eradicating identification of race economic function had been abrogated. in addition, argued non-malays under-represented in parliament , cabinet because of gerrymandering; malay rural parliamentary constituencies outnumbered heterogeneous urban constituencies, despite total population of urban constituencies exceeding of rural ones. however, umno avoided directly confronting mca on issue.

tensions rose after 1986 general election when appeared umno on own commanded working parliamentary majority, allowing govern without support of other parties. several umno leaders discussed possibility of governing alone; one, abdullah ahmad, publicly espoused permanent malay supremacy , relegating non-malays second-class citizenship. such calls unilateralism disregarded, , barisan nasional government continued. however, umno officials warned non-malay parties avoid playing fire questioning malays special rights , privileges or hak keistimewaan orang melayu. @ umno general assembly year, mahathir stated: not wish rob other people of rights. let no 1 try rob of our rights. when parliament reconvened, dap began raising objections alleged division of malaysians first , second class citizens . in response, umno mps began referring non-malays pendatang asing (foreign immigrants, or aliens) in parliament. when dap attempted enquire distribution of economic equity among races evaluate nep s progress, standing orders of parliament amended forbid such inquiries. led dap allege nep s aims had been met, , allowed expire in 1990.

some, such petaling jaya city councillor richard yeoh, believe abdullah ahmad, aide of mahathir s, first use term ketuanan melayu . yeoh described context in ahmad used benign speech , of might have had no problem it, has been taken mean malay supremacy umno leaders don t know means.

ethnic tension continued grow shortly after mahathir narrowly defeated tengku razaleigh hamzah umno presidency in 1987. around time, several deposit-taking co-operatives (dtcs), associated mca, collapsed. save chinese investors, mca asked government bail out dtcs, citing previous bailout of bumiputra financial institutions. umno s reluctance acquiesce led mca deputy president lee kim sai warn mca might quit government. later year, government posted several non-chinese-educated staff senior positions in chinese vernacular schools. anwar ibrahim, education minister, refused yield protests mca, , stated decision final, despite previous informal agreement on issue between malay , chinese communities.

the gerakan, mca , dap held rallies , boycotted classes in chinese primary schools protest move; umno youth held own rallies assert ketuanan melayu, hosting banners slogans such revoke citizenship of opposed malay rulers , 13 may has begun , , soak [the keris, malay dagger] chinese blood . future deputy prime minister , umno youth chief najib razak (the son of tun razak) threatened bathe keris chinese blood. flames fanned further when in unrelated incident, malay soldier ran amok in predominantly chinese area, killing 1 , injuring two.

the government launched operation lalang (weeding operation), detaining 55 people under isa. more arrested on next few months. although opposition politicians — including parliamentary opposition leader lim kit siang — few bn included. bn politicians released detention after 2 months, while opposition remained in custody longer. government later justified these detentions on grounds of security, stating detainees had played issue of chinese education incite racial sentiment. of mahathir s supporters saw vindication of rejection of tunku s compromise non-malays, teaching non-malays not criticise government , pro-malay policies.

many critics did not take explanation seriously. umno in crisis @ time, mahathir s faction narrowly defeating razaleigh s in party elections. razaleigh s supporters filed lawsuit alleging irregularities in election process appeared succeed, triggering new party elections. in context, 1 mca politician charged government had pursued hidden agenda, deflecting public attention umno s crisis deviation in implementation of chinese education policy. tunku himself claimed mahathir used issue mobilise malays united force common enemy — , imaginary enemy in case chinese community.

the lord president of supreme court, salleh abas, sacked mahathir after agreed hear appeal of mahathir s opponents within umno.

in end, mahathir s camp won court case when held party illegal organisation under societies act due of branches not being formally registered, plaintiffs case invalid; illegal society not hold new elections leaders. mahathir set umno (baru) (new umno), transferring of old umno s assets new party. of supporters joined umno (baru), , (baru) dropped, making it, intents , purposes, same old umno. when supreme court agreed hear appeal on case, government suspended , later sacked lord president salleh abas , 5 other supreme court judges, triggering 1988 malaysian constitutional crisis. new supreme court later dismissed case.

razaleigh formed semangat 46 (spirit of 46) party challenge government. in 1990 general election, ketuanan melayu used issue, umno accusing semangat 46, pas, dap , other opposition parties of conspiring end malay supremacy. government repeatedly warned 13 may riots repeated if did not maintain two-thirds majority in parliament. full-page advertisements depicting bloodshed , carnage published in major national newspapers. tensions rose further when tunku called on voters support semangat 46 instead of new umno, several umno politicians demanding title of bapa kemerdekaan (father of independence) withdrawn, , statue removed parliament house. despite this, government retained two-thirds parliamentary majority, semangat 46 winning 8 seats.

reviewing , reworking economic policies

prior expiration of nep in 1990, there debate on whether policy should renewed, replaced, or scrapped altogether. government organised official review of nep in years leading expiration. nep had been faced number of criticisms throughout lifetime, of them related political corruption , other inefficiencies.

one point of dispute calculation of malay equity. although officially, of 1992, malays controlled 18% of economy, dismissed figure misleading. argued in reality, of amount comprised equity held government agencies, therefore belonged malaysians whole. practice of awarding public works contracts bumiputras argued stifling malay competency providing little incentive improve. many bumiputra contractors in turn subcontracted jobs others, in cases chinese; ali baba arrangements malay [ali] using privileges acquire licences , permits denied non-malay, accepting fee front-man while non-malay [baba] ran business, prevalent. suggested nep might have worked, if malay had wanted learn ropes. more not, wanted rich.

some said disbursement of shares favoured politically connected, many of whom sold shares @ market price, reaping arbitrage instead of holding on , increasing malay share of equity, policy intended do. although nep managed create class of malay millionaires, charged due cronyism, benefiting politically connected. agreed, argued against taking action; 1 pas politician stated: malays not want justice affect interests. other commentators have suggested although of benefits under nep accrued politically connected, government intended them trickle down malay masses , , malay nouveau riche provide entrepreneurial role models other malays.

during 1980s, concern continued grow discrimination in higher education. @ point, education minister told parliament of dissatisfaction , disappointment among non-malays concerning lessening opportunities higher education. later in 1997, education minister najib tun razak defended quotas necessary, claiming 5% of local undergraduates malays if quotas abolished.

another criticism nep , other affirmative action had reduced malays self-confidence, despite mahathir s intention of building malay business class serve role models impoverished malays. 1 malay journalist opined: [u]nder new economic policy, no bumiputra ever sure such victories came way deserved. nep criticised seeking improve malays overall share of economy, if share held small number of malays. quarters accused nep of being heavy-handed in approach towards affirmative action, maintaining had deprived qualified non-malays of opportunities higher education , job promotions , forcing many non-malays emigrate instead. this, combined impressions of nep corrupt , associated ketuanan melayu, led deep resentment , particularly among chinese. nep criticised set[ting] malaysians honoured above rest, granting them preferential treatment of nep, while divid[ing] malaysians first- , second-class citizens .

in 1990, nep replaced national development policy (ndp), continued of nep-era policies. malay share of economy, though substantially larger, not near 30% target according government figures. in review of nep, government found although income inequality had been reduced, important targets related overall malay corporate ownership had not been met. both mahathir , tunku had expressed concern malays remained reliant on chinese economically.

claims nep had retarded economic growth dismissed; posited nep had managed avert further racial rioting, have hurt economic growth more nep. nep defended having created malay middle class , improving standards of living without compromising non-bumiputra share of economy in absolute terms; statistics indicated chinese , indian middle classes grew under nep, albeit not as malays . overall malaysian poverty rate had shrunk 50% @ independence 7%. argued ethnic stereotypes had been largely stamped out due nep s success in creating malay upper class. although many of nep s goals restated ndp, new policy appeared geared more towards wealth retention , creation, opposed simple redistribution. nevertheless, many of policies nep era retained under ndp, set expire in 2020.

bangsa malaysia , political liberalisation

during 1990s, mahathir , umno made public about-face on government s cultural policies, formation of wawasan 2020 (vision 2020) , bangsa malaysia (malaysian race) plans. mahathir named 1 obstacle establishing malaysia developed nation year 2020 as: challenge of establishing matured, liberal , tolerant society in malaysians of colours , creeds free practice , profess customs, cultures , religious beliefs , yet feeling belong 1 nation. mahathir proposed establishment of 1 bangsa malaysia political loyalty , dedication nation . after government s 1995 general election victory, mahathir elaborated: bangsa malaysia means people able identify country, speak bahasa malaysia (the malaysian or malay language) , accept constitution.

mahathir later explained idea before people should become 100 per cent malay in order malaysian. accept multi-racial country. should build bridges instead of trying remove barriers separating us. such dramatic change perceived non-malay communities complete retraction of earlier policies emphasising assimilation of non-malays. government took measures stress change, decreasing emphasis on malay 1 , national language permitting local universities use english medium of instruction subjects. diplomas mca-sponsored , chinese-majority tunku abdul rahman college (tarc) officially recognised government employment in civil service. first time, religions other islam given airtime on state radio , television, although not allowed proselytise. lion dances — traditional chinese performance had been banned decades — not permitted attended mahathir , other top government officials.

although 1990s saw marked economic growth, commentators suggested mahathir s liberal policies had played key role in popularity , barisan nasional s landslide 1995 election victory. 1 pundit wrote malaysians not remember time of greater prosperity or lesser inter-ethnic recrimination. ... economic indicators alone not have captured pride malaysians had discovered, perhaps [the] first time, in being malaysian.

lim kit siang attributed opposition s defeat mahathir s liberalism , government s adoption of dap s stance on issues language, culture , education . some, however, doubted mahathir s sincerity. 1 umno youth official suggested barisan government s flexible move ... shows enjoying highest level of tolerance purely based on level of confidence in terms of political , economic position of malays. share political power chinese. when need increase political support community important them serve main concerns of chinese. so, why shouldn t allow that? can ... achieve win-win situation. purely political move. ... umno youth have seen racialist political group fighting malay interests. ... however, finished agendas have done, such islam, bahasa melayu [the malay language] , special status of malays, should not questioned in circumstance because these sensitive issues.

in latter part of 1990s, government policies loosened combat asian economic crisis encouraging foreign investment. in 1999, new opposition party supported mahathir s former deputy, anwar ibrahim (who had been jailed sodomy after controversial sacking) led revival of 13 may warnings. however, government maintained parliamentary majority. in 2003, mahathir officially resigned prime minister, , succeeded deputy, abdullah ahmad badawi.