Malaysian Malaysia - Contemporary Use

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. 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."