What is ketuanan Melayu?

Opinion

As a Malay I have been accorded some special privileges by the Federal Constitution. My religion is the official religion of our land, my mother tongue the official language. As a Malay I benefit from various schemes set up by the government back in 1971 to help the Malays economically. These things I understand.

It seems to me though that the special privileges accorded to us Malays after independence and 1971 have crystallised to form a big part of ketuanan Melayu, and amongst certain Malays, to question such things leads to labels like political prostitutes and traitors being freely bandied about.

So let’s examine what appear to be the main constituents of ketuanan Melayu — Islam and its position in our country, the Malay language and the economic benefits that have been bestowed upon the Malays as a group.

Firstly, Islam and its position in our country. As a Muslim I have no problems with this. Muslims constitute the majority of the population, so it is right that Islam is the official religion. However, this shouldn’t mean that those who follow other religions should be persecuted. In fact, as the majority religious group, it is part of our duty as Muslims to take special care in ensuring that non-Muslims are able to go about their lives and worship freely.

Incidents like the cow-head protest and non-Muslims having to jump through various obstacles to set up religious clubs in schools should shame us because these portray Islam in a bad light. I firmly believe that it is incidents like these that are threatening the position of Islam as the official religion — instead of Islam being a benign force in everyone’s lives, non-Muslims may start to view Islam (and, by extension, Muslims) as being oppressive and a threat to their own spiritual (if not physical) well-being.

Therefore, I see it as my duty as a Muslim to speak out when such incidents happen. Rather than eroding Islam’s position as the official religion, speaking out strengthens Islam’s position because it shows that there are Muslims in Malaysia who believe in the Islamic principle of protecting the minority even when it is their fellow Muslims who are in the wrong.

Next, the Malay language. There are many Malays out there who bemoan the lack of good usage of Malay. Without wishing to sound like a language nationalist and recognising my own mastery of the language (i.e. not as good as it should be), I have to agree. Whenever I’m back in Malaysia, I’m appalled at the way some of our public figures maul the national language.

The Malay newspapers are no better. Even as columnists in papers like Utusan Malaysia and Berita Harian lambast us for using the national language badly, they themselves use English-derived words like bajet, rasisme and hab when the equivalent Malay words already exist.

I believe modern languages should evolve to remain relevant and I don’t object to using English-derived words like globalisasi and liberalisasi to describe new concepts. But what is the point of using words like bajet when the Malay word belanjawan exists already (and in fact sounds and looks so much more elegant)?

If Malay-language stalwarts like Utusan Malaysia and Berita Harian pick and choose their form of the Malay language and carry advertisements that are written in a mixture of extremely colloquial Malay and English, then they can hardly blame other Malays if they choose to express themselves in the same way.

Finally, the special privileges that benefit Malays economically. Take away these privileges, say ketuanan Melayu defenders, and the gap between rich (Malays) and poor (Malays) will never close. There are still plenty of poor Malay people — not just the ones who live in kampungs in the back of beyond, but also urban ones — and yes, these people need a helping hand. Their children should receive as much encouragement as possible, financial or otherwise, to continue their education.

However, is it right that a Malay who earns a monthly salary of RM4,000 should qualify for the 10 per cent Bumiputera housing discount, whilst a non-Malay who earns a monthly salary of RM1,500 has to pay the full amount? Is it right that the child of such a Malay parent has the right to qualify for government study loans and scholarships, whilst the non-Malay child of a poorer parent has no such right?

Let’s face it, not all Malays need these privileges anymore (am I a traitor to my race for pointing out the obvious?), and we should help those in need regardless of race. The NEP’s goal of a 30 per cent Bumiputera equity ownership has not yet been met, true, but do those espousing ketuanan Melayu really want to see Malays as a race reduced to a life of expecting government subsidies forever? Is this aspect of ketuanan Melayu in fact an admission that Malays are so weak that we can’t hold our own against other races?

Contrary to what some Perkasa types might think, I am not ashamed to be Malay. I am proud to be both Malaysian and Malay. I am comfortable with the following compromises that our forefathers have made to ensure a stable country: the status of Islam as our official religion (as long as others are free to practise their beliefs); the status of the Malay language as our official language. If ketuanan Melayu is about just that, then I am equally comfortable with it.

But if ketuanan Melayu is also about perpetuating the status of all Malays as the beneficiaries of government help and subsidies at the cost of excluding the needy from other races, then count me out.

Farah Fahmy is based in London, and has written for the media. She is intrigued by trans- and international relations between Malaysia (ns) and the Rest of the World.