Ketuanan Melayu - Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Meritocracy, and ketuanan Melayu - Political Watershed

Political Watershed

In the 2008 general election, BN was returned to power for the first time without its customary 2/3 supermajority in the Dewan Rakyat, meaning it could no longer pass constitutional amendments without the support of opposition parties. The election results were widely seen as reflecting discontent about the state of the country's economy and increasing ethnic tensions within the country; the three main opposition parties had campaigned on a platform condemning the NEP and the government's response to widening economic disparities. The month after, the Crown Prince of Kelantan Tengku Faris Petra said during an assembly organised by the newly-formed Malay Unity Action Front that since the Malays had given into granting the non-Malays citizenship, the latter should not seek equality or special treatment. In his speech, the prince also called for Malay unity to ensure that Malay sovereignty and supremacy was preserved.

Anwar Ibrahim, former UMNO deputy President and former Deputy Prime Minister, whose Parti Keadilan Rakyat became the second-largest party in Parliament after the elections, and the de facto leader of the opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition, chose to instead reject ketuanan Melayu in favour of "ketuanan rakyat" (people's supremacy). Celebrating the end of his five-year ban from political activity on 15 April 2008, he told reporters: "We are here to counter the massive propaganda campaign by Umno leaders, who are talking on Malay supremacy. And giving clear definitive answer in reply of this, to say that what we want, what we desire for is a new Malaysia, is supremacy for all Malaysians." A week later, his wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, president of PKR, told the press that "we should not keep talking about Malay supremacy or marginalising a certain race, which is not what the people want to see," urging instead the adoption of ketuanan rakyat.

Not long thereafter, Hishammuddin himself apologised for his brandishing of the keris at the three previous UMNO annual general assemblies, saying he was sorry "if it had affected the non-Malays". He refused to comment on whether he would repeat the act in the future. His conditional apology was met with heavy criticism from within UMNO; one media outlet described the reaction as such: "The sentiment among many in the party is that the Chinese and Indians betrayed the BN when they voted for Pakatan Rakyat. There is hurt. There is anger. So why should Hishammuddin be too concerned about what non-Malays think of the keris act?" Many felt that the apology itself threatened Malay supremacy. Abdullah welcomed the apology, saying it was brave and "made it clear to the non-Malays the important role the keris had in the Malay community". In response to questions about the diminishing of Malay supremacy post-elections, he said that it was more about parity for the Bumiputra communities, rejecting the notion of political dominance:

So when we talk about (Malay supremacy), we mean we must be successful in many fields. It is never about ruling over others, or forcing our power upon them... We are not going to be a race that dominates others. We want to be a party that represents the Malays and that is ready to co-operate for the future of Malays and the people, as Malays will also succeed when all Malaysians are successful. ... That is Malay supremacy and I hope people will understand it.

Shortly thereafter, Information Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek insisted that ketuanan Melayu did not imply a master-slave relationship in any sense between the Malays and non-Malays. Instead, he suggested, it referred to the institution of the Malay monarchs, who had once been the "masters", but gave up their primacy when the Federal Constitution was adopted at independence. Shabery cited Article 182 of the Constitution, which grants the royalty certain legal immunities, as an example of Malay supremacy. However, some prominent members of the royalty such as the Raja of Perlis and former Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Putra Syed Jamalullail have themselves been critical of ketuanan Melayu; in early 2009, the Raja stated that "In Malaysia, every race is tuan ... I believe that if everyone understands that every individual of any race, should not be deprived of their rights, then the efforts of certain parties who think that the supremacy or rights should only be given to a particular race can be stopped."

In late 2009, the Cabinet decided to change the curriculum of Biro Tata Negara (National Civics Bureau, or BTN) programmes, which are mandatory for public servants and students studying on public funds. Many, especially politicians from Pakatan Rakyat, had previously criticised BTN programmes as propaganda for ketuanan Melayu; citing this, the Selangor state government banned its civil servants and students from attending BTN courses. Some Ministers and former Prime Minister Mahathir defended BTN as necessary to imbue participants with the values of discipline and honesty, denying they had anything to do with ketuanan Melayu. Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Aziz insisted the Cabinet was right to demand a change in BTN, calling Mahathir a racist and saying:

They all know what the syllabus is all about so who are we to say that it did not happen? You want to lie? You make people laugh. I mean there are people who attended the courses who came out very angry. There were many instances of the use of words like ketuanan Melayu. It is ridiculous...