Malaysian Malaysia
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The phrase "Malaysian Malaysia" was originally used in the mid-1960s as the rallying motto of the Malaysian Solidarity Convention, a coalition of political parties led by Lee Kuan Yew of the People's Action Party (PAP) that served as an Opposition bloc to the Government of Malaysia, the Alliance Party.
Although Lee Kuan Yew did not object to the special rights of the Malays as accorded in
The rationale for
The State Government of Singapore and the Federal Government of Malaysia both agreed that the economic status of the Malays had to be alleviated, but disagreed on the approach. Although Lee Kuan Yew supported Tunku Abdul Rahman, Abdul Razak Hussein and other primary leaders of UMNO who wanted a gradual transition to non-communal politics, he was wary of the secondary leaders of UMNO, whom he believed used Malay special rights as a red herring to divide the population along racial lines. He believed that special quotas allocated to Malays concerning licenses and the creation of a "Malay capitalist class" alone would only benefit the aristocrats from elite Malay families. Lee believed that the problems of Malay farmers could be solved by education and by raising the standards of Malay farms, such that the profession could be considered lucrative like in Australia and New Zealand. He also argued that if the focus was solely on creating a Malay capitalist class, it would only lead to a widening of the economic gap both within the Malay community and with other communities, which would lead to non-Malays being used as scapegoats.
The ultra Malay nationalists, or 'ultras' as coined by Lee Kuan Yew were operating based on the old demographics of the Federation of Malaya, where Malays made up 65% of the vote, when in fact the demographics after the formation of Malaysia were roughly 40% Malays, 40% Chinese, 20% Indians, Eurasians and others. Additionally, Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak constituted about 35% of the seats in Parliament. Due to this state of affairs, Lee Kuan Yew decided to rally the parties from the Borneo States of Sabah and Sarawak along with like-minded parties in the States of Malaya like Penang and Malacca under the Malaysian Solidarity Convention using 'Malaysian Malaysia' as a slogan to counter the communal politics of the ultras.
Eventually, Singapore was ejected from Malaysia and affirmative action for Malays was strengthed in policies such as the
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 raced-based economic policy.
In a speech, Lee argued that operating based on race was no substitute for sound economic policy. While he acknowledged that the Malay economic status had to be alleviated, he believed that a racial approach alone would not lead to efficient distribution of wealth across the rural class of Malays as anyone could constitutionally become a Malay by professing the religion of Islam and practice Malay customs, whether they were born and bred in Malaya or not: "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,
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). 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 political mudslinging eventually provoked a response from a segment of politicians in the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) who 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 ejected from the Federation in 1965.
Contemporary use
In 1999, controversy was reignited when
In 2006, at the Johor UMNO convention, Johor Menteri Besar (Chief Minister)
In 2023, UMNO Supreme Council member Nur Jazlan Mohamed called for DAP to drop the slogan “Malaysian Malaysia” from its constitution if it wants to gain support from the Malays. UMNO was in a coalition government with DAP when this statement was made.[6]
1Malaysia concept
This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2012) |
Integration under 1Malaysia is different from assimilation concept where the identity of various races were wiped out and replaced by a common national identity. Instead 1Malaysia appreciate and respect principals of Federal Constitution and ethnic identity of various races in Malaysia, and consider it as an asset or an advantage that can be proud of. 1Malaysia stressed an acceptance attitude within multi-racial citizens society, where a race/ethnic accept the racial differences of others in order for all to live together by respecting each other as a citizen in one country.
References
- ISSN 0884-8971.
- ^ The World Factbook
- ISBN 0-9751646-1-9.
- ^ Nambiar, Ravi & Nadzmi, Siti Nurbaiyah (7 November 2006). "No Bangsa Malaysia in Constitution, says Najib", p. 6. New Straits Times.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Yusry, Muhammad (30 August 2023). "Nur Jazlan: Not just Umno, but DAP too has to change by amending its constitution to court Malay voters | Malay Mail". Malay Mail. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
External links
- Adam, Ramlah binti, Samuri, Abdul Hakim bin & Fadzil, Muslimin bin (2004). Sejarah Tingkatan 3. ISBN 983-62-8285-8.
- Goh, Jenny (23 July 1997). "Small spark can create big mess". Straits Times.
- "'Impossible to co-operate with Singapore while Lee is Premier'". (2 June 1965). Straits Times.
- Khaw, Ambrose (1998). "This man is making too much noise". Retrieved 16 November 2005.
- Lim, Kit Siang (1999). "Advice to Hishammuddin to abhor the old politics of bigotry and fear and set an example of the new politics of reason in Malaysia on the threshold of a new millennium". Retrieved 22 October 2004.
- Wong, Douglas (21 May 1999). "Call for a 'New Malaysia'". Straits Times.