Malaysian Malaysia

"Malaysian Malaysia" is a phrase originally used in the early 1960s as the rallying motto of the Malaysian Solidarity Council, a confederation of political parties that formed to oppose the affirmative action Article 153 of the Constitution of Malaysia. Article 153 specifically provides special quotas for the Malays and the Bumiputeras of Malaysia in admission to the public service, awarding of public scholarships, admission to public education institutions, the awarding of trade licences as well as land ownership. It also authorises the government to create Malay exclusive monopolies in particular trades. The idea of a "Malaysian Malaysian" was an egalitarian and civic nationalist concept that espouses equality for all Malaysian citizens regardless of race. It is the antithesis of a "Malay Malaysia", where the Malays are to be favoured over all other citizens.

The idea of a "Malaysian Malaysia" is widely associated with Lee Kuan Yew, one of the founders of the Singapore-based People's Action Party (PAP).

The rationale given by the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO)–led Malaysian government for such affirmative action, even though the Malays make up a majority of the population, is their notion that they along with the other Bumiputeras in Malaysia had been marginalised by the British throughout its colonial rule of Malaya and Borneo. Britain colonised the predecessor entities of what made up Malaysia gradually throughout a period from 1786 to 1957 after the Anglo–Dutch Treaty of 1824. During these years, the British declined to employ and resettle Malay Indonesians and Malay Malaysians away from their traditional villages, as the latter groups preferred to harvest nearby paddy fields and engage in artisanal fishing; the latter groups were reluctant to work and move to new settlements around the then-newly formed tin mines and rubber plantations. As a result, the British preferred to import and employ Chinese and Indian emigrants instead, thus preventing any relocation or lifestyle disturbances to the Malays and other indigenous peoples.[1]

Critics have called such heavy affirmative action for the Malays as racial discrimination against other Malaysian citizens, with the goal of creating a Ketuanan Melayu (Malay Supremacy) Malaysia with non-Malay citizens being treated as second-class citizens in the country. "Malaysian Malaysia" is not a mere tautology, because it distinguishes between nationality and ethnic classification. The complaint was that Malaysia was not being "Malaysian" and egalitarian (by discriminating against non-Malays) and was instead being an ethnocentric "Malay Malaysia".

Overview
Singapore, formerly a state of Malaysia from 1963 to 1965, was expelled from the federation as the federal government viewed the state and its populace a threat in spreading the "Malaysian Malaysia" ideology to the rest of the country.
Onn Jaafar, the founder of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) and an advocate for early Malay nationalism who subsequently became increasingly disillusioned over the marginalization of non-Malay citizens in the country perpetrated by his own party members.

Early use

The phrase "Malaysian Malaysia" is widely associated with Lee Kuan Yew, then leader of the Singapore–based People's Action Party (PAP), the prime constituent in the Malaysian Solidarity Convention, who was foremost a critic against the racial policy. Lee conveyed the idea in the Malaysian Parliament by stating that "Malaysia – to whom does it belong? To Malaysians. But who are Malaysians? I hope I am, Mr Speaker, Sir. But sometimes, sitting in this chamber, I doubt whether I am allowed to be a Malaysian".[2][3]

In other speeches, Lee also scoffed at what he viewed as the discriminatory social contract in the constitution that allowed citizenship to non-Malays while providing for special programs and policies for Malays: "According to history, the Perak Man was believed to survive in Malaysia 10,000 years ago and more skeletons were found in Sarawak indicating the human living there since 3,000 – 4,000 years ago. Of the 50.1% percent Malays in Malaysia today,[4] 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, the supporters of "Malaysian Malaysia" argue that it is wrong and illogical for a particular ethnic group to think that they are more entitled to be called Malaysians than others, and that the others can become Malaysian only through their favour."[5] In response, 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). They began to view Lee as a political threat, with some even viewing him as a "traitor" that should be arrested.

Those against the concept of a Malaysian Malaysia cited the fact that Malaya was progressively colonised by the British from the mid-19th century to its height in 1926. During this period, a large number of immigrant labourers, including the Chinese and Indian peoples, came to Malaysia and Singapore. They suggested that during the colonial era, the Malays were "forced to accommodate" other peoples. Those historic immigrants and their descendants allowed to remain after the nation achieved independence should understand their presence was a privilege, not a right. Such people said that the influx of immigrants had negatively affected the rights and resources of the Malays. However, the argument was made in spite of the existence of Peranakans and Chitty since the late 18th century, which were individuals with both Malay–Chinese and Malay–Indian ancestry respectively, as well as regular Chinese merchant presence in Malaya centuries before the arrival of the British dating back to at least the Ming dynasty.

Expulsion of Singapore

Some politicians in the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) thought Malaysian Malaysia threatened the Malays' special position in Malaysia. They considered Lee to be a dangerous and seditious trouble-maker; one politician called him a traitor to the country. The more moderate Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman, was perturbed by the campaign. He thought it would lead to trouble, as he believed that the Malays were not ready to compete without their special privileges. Eventually, Singapore was expelled from the Federation of Malaysia in 1965, becoming its own sovereign country.[6]

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.

In response, 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 Hishamuddin's grandfather, Dato' Onn Ja'afar, the founder of UMNO, had left the party as he became increasingly disillusioned with what he considered to be UMNO's race-based communalist policies. He subsequently formed the Independence of Malaya Party (IMP) and later the Parti Negara while based on the concept of eliminating special privileges for the Malays.[7]

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.[8] 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."[9]

References
  1. Hirschman, Charles (1986). "The Making of Race in Colonial Malaya: Political Economy and Racial Ideology". Sociological Forum. 1 (2): 330–361. ISSN 0884-8971.
  2. "Text of Mr. Lee Kuan Yew's speech at the Malaysian Solidarity Convention at the National Theatre on 6th June 1965" (PDF). Government of Singapore. National Archives of Singapore. p. 3. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  3. Jeff Ooi (6 November 2005). "Perils of the sitting duck". JeffOoi.com. Archived from the original on 28 December 2005. Retrieved 11 November 2005.
  4. The World Factbook
  5. Ye, Lin-Sheng (2003). The Chinese Dilemma, p. 43. East West Publishing. ISBN 0-9751646-1-9.
  6. Alex Josey (15 February 2013). Lee Kuan Yew: The Crucial Years. Marshall Cavendish International Asia Pte Ltd. pp. 84–. ISBN 978-981-4435-49-9.
  7. Wong Chin Huat (17 August 2007). "Splits in Umno and Opposition unity". The Sun. Retrieved 29 September 2021 – via Malaysian Bar.
  8. Nambiar, Ravi & Nadzmi, Siti Nurbaiyah (7 November 2006). "No Bangsa Malaysia in Constitution, says Najib", p. 6. New Straits Times.
  9. Tan, Marsha, Teh, Eng Hock, Vijayan, Meera & Zolkepli, Farik (7 November 2006). Bangsa Malaysia in mind Archived 25 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine. The Star.
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