Malaysian Malaysia

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The phrase "Malaysian Malaysia" was originally used in the early 1960s as the rallying motto of the Malaysian Solidarity Council, a confederation of political parties formed to oppose Article 153 of the Constitution of Malaysia. This article specifically provides special quotas for the Malay and other indigenous peoples of Malaysia in admission to the public service, awarding of public scholarships, admission to public education institutions and the awarding of trade licences. It also authorises the government to create Malay monopolies in particular trades. This form of affirmative action for the Malays has been alleged to be racial discrimination on the basis of ketuanan Melayu (Malay supremacy), making the phrase "Malaysian Malaysia" not a mere tautology because of the distinction between nationality and race.

The complaint was that Malaysia was not being "Malaysian" by discriminating against non-Malay Malaysians, and was rather being a "Malay Malaysia".

[edit] Early use

The phrase "Malaysian Malaysia" is widely associated with Lee Kuan Yew, then leader of the People's Action Party (PAP), the prime constituent in the Malaysian Solidarity Convention; who was foremost a critic against the racial policy.

In a speech, Lee scoffed at what he viewed as a discriminatory social contract: "According to history, Malays began to migrate to Malaysia in noticeable numbers only about 700 years ago. Of the 39 percent Malays in Malaysia today, about one-third are comparatively new immigrants like the secretary-general of UMNO, Dato' Syed Ja'afar 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." ^[1]

The campaign for a "Malaysian Malaysia" was not viewed highly by the government of Malaysia and the parties in the ruling coalition of the Alliance (later the Barisan Nasional). Those against the concept of a Malaysian Malaysia justify their views by citing the fact that Malaya was progressively colonised by the British from mid 19th century to its height in 1926. During this period, a large number of immigrants not of the Malay race including Chinese and Indian peoples came to the Malaysia and Singapore. This is elaborated with idea that the Malays were forced to accommodate other peoples during the colonial era and for them to remain after independence would be a privilege, not a right, with the reason given the influx of immigrants had negatively affected the rights and resources of the Malays. The argument is given in spite of existence of Malay-Chinese Peranakans and regular Chinese presence in Malaya before the British arrival.

Some politicians in the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) thought of the concept as a threat to the Malays' special position in Malaysia, and considered Lee to be a dangerous and seditious trouble-maker; one went as far as to call Lee a traitor to the country. The more moderate Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman, was perturbed by the campaign for a "Malaysian Malaysia" and thought it would lead to trouble, as, in his opinion, the Malays were not ready to be cut loose from their special privileges. Eventually, he decided the best option would be to oust Singapore from Malaysia; Lee agreed, and Singapore seceded from the Federation of Malaysia in 1965.

[edit] Contemporary use

In 1999, controversy was reignited when Lim Kit Siang of the Democratic Action Party (DAP, the former Malaysian branch of the PAP) called for a second campaign for a "Malaysian Malaysia". Then acting UMNO Youth Chief Hishamuddin Hussein angrily responded with a warning not to "play with fire," and accused Lim of politicising an issue that had been decided at independence with the social contract. Lim argued that the concept of a Malaysian Malaysia did not differ much from the government policy of establishing a Bangsa Malaysia (Malaysian race or Malaysian nation). Some noted that ironically, Hishamuddin's grandfather, Dato' Onn Ja'afar, the founder of UMNO, had left the party to form the Independence of Malaya Party based on the concept of eliminating special privileges for the Malays.

In 2006, at the Johor UMNO convention, Johor Menteri Besar (Chief Minister) Abdul Ghani Othman linked the "Malaysian Malaysia" campaign to those advocating the Bangsa Malaysia concept, insinuating that Bangsa Malaysia was a threat to the Bumiputra/Malay privileges granted under Article 153 of the Constitution.^[2] However, others criticised Ghani, with Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak stating: "It (Bangsa Malaysia) does not question the special rights of the Malays, our quota or anything of that sort."^[3]

[edit] Notes and references

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