Ketuanan Melayu - Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Meritocracy, and ketuanan Melayu - "Racial Politics"

"Racial Politics"

Chinese politicians within the government raised issues with the Constitution in late 2005. Lim Keng Yaik of Gerakan asked for a re-examination of the social contract in order to ascertain whether Bangsa Malaysia could be achieved. Lim was severely criticised by many prominent Malay politicians, including Khairy Jamaluddin and Ahmad Shabery Cheek. The Malay press, mostly owned by UMNO, also ran articles condemning the questioning of the social contract. Lim responded: "How do you expect non-Malays to pour their hearts and souls into the country, and to one day die for it if you keep harping on this? Flag-waving and singing the 'Negaraku' (national anthem) are rituals, while true love for the nation lies in the heart."

A year earlier, Abdullah had mentioned the most "significant aspect" of the social contract as "the agreement by the indigenous peoples to grant citizenship to the immigrant Chinese and Indians". Although Abdullah went on to state that the character of the nation changed to "one that Chinese and Indian citizens could also call their own," the speech went largely unremarked. Finally, Lim stated that the Malay press had blown his comments out of proportion and misquoted him. The issue ended with UMNO Youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein warning people not to "bring up the issue again as it has been agreed upon, appreciated, understood and endorsed by the Constitution."

In January 2006, the government announced a Rukunegara awareness campaign. The government press agency, BERNAMA, quoted the Tunku as saying in 1986 that "The Malays are not only the natives but also the lords of this country and nobody can dispute this fact". The articles of the Constitution touching on the official religion of Islam, the monarchy, the status of Malay as the national language, and Malay special rights were described as "clearly spell out the acknowledgment and recognition that the Malays are the indigenous 'pribumi' of this land." It was then stated that the new emphasis on the Rukunegara was to prevent further questioning of the social contract, which "decides on the political polarity and socio-economic standing of Malaysians".

Later, a survey of Malaysians found that 55% of respondents agreed politicians should be "blamed for segregating the people by playing racial politics". Mukhriz Mahathir — Mahathir's son and an UMNO Youth leader — defended UMNO's actions because of economic disparities, insisting that "As long as that remains, there will always be people to champion each race to equalise things." Shahrir Abdul Samad, the chairman of the BN Backbenchers' Club, argued that politicians were simply responding to "a country ... divided into different races," asking, "if you talk about Malay issues to the Malay community, is that playing racial politics?" M. Kayveas, the President of the PPP, disagreed: "Every 12 months, the parties go back to one race championing their own causes and, at the end of the day, when the general election comes, we talk about 'Bangsa Malaysia'."

Reflecting the mutual climate of distrust and racialist policies in both Singapore and Malaysia (in Singapore, the policies allegedly being pro-Chinese), Lee Kuan Yew sparked another debate in September on the role of Malay primacy in Malaysian politics, stating that the Chinese had been "systematically marginalised" in both Malaysia and Indonesia. The resulting diplomatic incident, with ensuing denials of marginalisation from Malaysian government politicians, led to Lee issuing an apology for his remarks which also attempted to justify them. Abdullah indicated he was not satisfied with what he referred to as a "qualified apology", but the Malaysian government accepted it nevertheless.

The following month, a controversy arose after 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%, used by politicians to justify the retention or revival of the NEP. One local 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) is one thing UMNO will never accept at present." The report's methodology was criticised for using market value instead of par value for its calculations of equity, and limiting its scope to a thousand publicly listed companies. It also included government-linked companies (GLCs) as Bumiputra-owned companies. Some, however, criticised the government, alleging that par value did not accurately reflect the value of the enterprises studied, and claimed that a portion of GLC equity should be considered Bumiputra-held. The report was later withdrawn, but the controversy continued after an independent media outlet cited a study following the government methodology that indicated Bumiputra equity had passed the 30% mark in 1997.

At the Johor UMNO convention that same month, Johor Menteri Besar (Chief Minister), Abdul Ghani Othman, criticised the Bangsa Malaysia and "meritocracy" policies. Ghani described Bangsa Malaysia as a threat to the Malays and their Constitutional position, suggesting it could "threaten national stability" as well. Ghani insisted that the policy "be applied in the context ... with the Malays as the pivotal race", and described meritocracy as a "form of discrimination and oppression" because rural Malay students could not compete with their urban counterparts. In the resulting controversy about his remarks, several federal ministers criticised Ghani, with one saying that Bangsa Malaysia "has nothing to do with one race given a pivotal role over others", and another arguing that "It does not impinge on the rights of Bumiputeras or other communities." Ghani stood by his comments, declaring that the proponents of Bangsa Malaysia were also advocating a "Malaysian Malaysia", as Lee Kuan Yew had, even though "the government has rejected it from the start." Najib, the Deputy Prime Minister, suggested that any effort to define Bangsa Malaysia politically would be fruitless, and as such the debate was unnecessary; he also insisted that "It does not question the special rights of the Malays, our quota or anything of that sort." The UMNO Annual General Assembly that year was the first to be televised in full; it became a subject of controversy when delegates such as Hashim Suboh made speeches utilising heavy racial rhetoric; Hishammuddin, who had brandished the kris again, was asked by Hashim when he would "use it". After the assembly, Hishammuddin insisted that the kris was not a symbol of Malay supremacy.

In October 2007, Lee provoked more debate after suggesting that "If they (Malaysia) would just educate the Chinese and Indians, use them and treat them as their citizens, they can equal us (Singapore) and even do better than us and we would be happy to rejoin them." UMNO Information Chief Muhammad Muhammad Taib responded, telling the press that Malaysia implemented policies to assist economically disadvantaged Malays, instead of neglecting them as Singapore did, stating also that at one point the Malays would have to compete on a level playing field with other Malaysians.