Bumiputera (Malaysia)

Bumiputera (Malaysia)

Bumiputera or Bumiputra (Jawi: بوميڤوترا) is a Malaysian term to describe Malay race and the indigenous peoples of Southeast Asia, and particularly in Malaysia. The term comes from the Sanskrit word bhumiputra, which can be translated literally as "son of the land" (bhumi= earth or land, putra=son). It is also translated as "Son of the soil". "Putra" in Sanskrit means "Son" and "Bumi" or "Bhumi" or "Bhoomi" means "Earth" or "Soil". So "Bumiputra" literally in Sanskrit means "Son of the Soil".

In the 1970s, the Malaysian government implemented policies which The Economist called "racially discriminatory" designed to favour bumiputras (including affirmative action in public education) to create opportunities, and to defuse inter-ethnic tensions following the extended violence against Chinese Malaysians in the 13 May Incident in 1969. These policies have succeeded in creating a significant urban Malay middle class. They have been less effective in eradicating poverty among rural communities. Some analysts have noted a backlash of resentment from excluded groups, in particular the sizeable Chinese and Indian Malaysian minorities.