By Jared Taylor
Over the course of several trips to the South East Asian country of Malaysia I have been struck by how similar Malaysia’s race relations are to America’s—despite the obvious enormous differences. The official Malaysian policy of dispensing privileges by race may even be a warning of what the future may hold if our current policies and demographic trends continue.
Malaysia is about 60 percent Malay, 25 percent Chinese, and 8 percent Indian.
In the 19th century, the British colonial government found that the native Malays did not want to work in tin mines or on rubber plantations, so they imported people who did: Tamils from India. The British also worried that smart Chinese immigrants would dominate the country. They therefore deliberately steered business to Malays and recruited them for government jobs. They feared—rightly as it turned out—that Malays would turn ugly if they thought Chinese were getting too far ahead. The British wanted Malays to keep getting a leg up even after independence in 1957, so when they drafted a constitution for the new country, they included Article 153 specifically to "safeguard the special position of the Malays and natives" through relatively mild preferences in education, the civil service and business licenses.
The races rubbed along without too much friction until 1969. That year, Chinese political parties nearly upset the ruling Malay coalition and held a victory parade through Malay neighborhoods in the capital city, Kuala Lumpur. The Malays didn’t like Chinese flaunting their power, and rioted, killing hundreds of Chinese. [Race War In Malaysia, Time Magazine, May. 23, 1969]
Violence works. The government responded with a new, stronger pro-Malay preferences program called the New Economic Policy (NEP), designed to increase the Malay share of national wealth. It is also known as the Bumiputra Program, from a Malay word that means "son of the soil" or "native."
All Malaysians are officially divided into bumiputras, who get preferences, and non-bumiputras, who don’t. "Bumis" must be Muslim Malay stock, though they need not be from Malaysia. This means an immigrant from Indonesia gets preferences over Indians or Chinese who have been in Malaysia for generations. Some of the specifics of the NEP are that Malays get a 60 percent quota at universities, discounts on real estate, and a guaranteed 30 percent of all new issues on the Malaysian stock market. The civil service became a bumi reserve, companies owned by non-bumis were barred from government contracts, and it became even harder for Indians and Chinese to get business licenses. The NEP set aside millions of dollars to pay for overseas training for Malay students and executives.
The Bumiputra Program does not take class into consideration, so the children of Malay millionaires get the inside track on boardroom posts, overseas scholarships, business licenses and plum government jobs. Minorities don’t like the system, but there is little they can do in a country that is majority Malay.
The general sense among some Malays is that this is their country and this is the way they will run it; Indians and Chinese are lucky just to be citizens. As the governing Malay party’s Youth Information Chief, Azimi Daim, famously pointed out in 2003:
"In Malaysia, everybody knows that Malays are the masters of this land. We rule this country as provided for in the federal constitution. Anyone who touches upon Malay affairs or criticizes Malays is [offending] our sensitivities." [Abdullah stirs a hornets' nest, By Ioannis Gatsiounis, Asia Times, October 2, 2004]]
Most of the time, Indians and Chinese don’t make a fuss. But all whom I spoke to privately said the system was unfair. Beneath the surface, the country is divided by race, and this makes the Chinese and Indians to not feel emotionally Malaysian.
What does this suggest about the future of the United States? Most Americans can hardly imagine preferences for the majority and—if they even think about it—assume that racial preferences will fade away as the U.S. becomes more diverse and they become a minority.
They shouldn’t count on it. As Malaysia proves, groups don’t have to be minorities to develop a taste for preferences.
Preferences for bumis were supposed to be temporary—just as in the United States—to give them just enough of a boost so they could compete with the Chinese.
In America, blacks and Hispanics will not lose interest in preferences just because they become the majority. Racial preferences may seem to be on the wane now, but when the balance of power shifts they will be back.
Jared Taylor (email him) is the editor of American Renaissance.
Comments (14)Add Comment
...
written by ahmadneil, September 30, 2008 16:19:52
We the malayu baru don't nee this NEP now.NEP was created only for those VVIP's children and relatives.It was never meant to benefit we the ordinary malays.We have been falsely mislead that NEP are design to help us financially inorder to gain advantage over the chinese but it didnt work.Now melayu baru can stand up and be counted among other races base on meritocracy.To hell with NEP.
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written by Limang, September 30, 2008 16:25:52
You, Americans, have a lot to learn from us Malays.
We Malays are truly a supreme race - we now have the best doctor in the world (Mahathir), richer than your richest (Daim), top terrorist (Nordin Top), best car (Proton), highest building (Petronas Twin Tower), biggest and richest company (Petronas), most rulers (11 sultans), etc. - you name it and we got it.
But we are not stopping here - we are going nuclear soon. We have so much money that we don't have to build it - WE JUST BUY IT, LIKE WE HAVE BEEN DOING ALL THESE YEARS. Can you American do this? Our wealth is like a bottomless pit. Wealth is power, don't you agree? We have so much money that we even sent a space tourist into space - we can actually send thousands more as long as they are Muslim! In fact, we are the first Muslim country to do so! We even ahve a book to teach the world's Muslims how to pray in space!
Your US will always lose to us because in our Constituion, we Malays are automatically Muslims, and the supreme ruler of Malaysia. We are now sowing our seeds in all the countries, as we Malay Muslims can have many foreign wives and soon, we will have Ketuan Melayu in the world. Such is our dream, and our Allah is behind us, so says the Qur'an that He will make the permanent believers like us "victoriuous over the unbelievers." Do you know Fiji has even adopted our Constitution? Soon even your America will follow suit. If not, when we Malays in America become majority, we will change your constitution, and you will see the first Malay President of USA permanently! Obama is part of our plan, he has some Malay blood in him, i.e. Indonesian Malay.
We are also the best rulers. Do you know that for 51 years, we rule Malaysia(meaning ruling over other races) and there has been no trouble at all, just peace and prosperity? If any stupid Chinese or Indian dares to be a trouble-maker, no problem, we ISA-ed the bugger, like we did to two stupid Chinese girls and 5 Indian leaders. We don't take kindly to anyone who question our immense power and religion! Let this be a warning to you too. Don't mess with us or else . . . . .
I think I'll stop here now - as you will not like it if I brag some more. If you will contact me at fullofshit.com, Ill be glad to fill you in and maybe, you may decide to become the first Mat Salleh Malay Muslim.
Thnx for your write up. Ketuanan Melayu!!!
Over the course of several trips to the South East Asian country of Malaysia I have been struck by how similar Malaysia’s race relations are to America’s—despite the obvious enormous differences. The official Malaysian policy of dispensing privileges by race may even be a warning of what the future may hold if our current policies and demographic trends continue.
Malaysia is about 60 percent Malay, 25 percent Chinese, and 8 percent Indian.
In the 19th century, the British colonial government found that the native Malays did not want to work in tin mines or on rubber plantations, so they imported people who did: Tamils from India. The British also worried that smart Chinese immigrants would dominate the country. They therefore deliberately steered business to Malays and recruited them for government jobs. They feared—rightly as it turned out—that Malays would turn ugly if they thought Chinese were getting too far ahead. The British wanted Malays to keep getting a leg up even after independence in 1957, so when they drafted a constitution for the new country, they included Article 153 specifically to "safeguard the special position of the Malays and natives" through relatively mild preferences in education, the civil service and business licenses.
The races rubbed along without too much friction until 1969. That year, Chinese political parties nearly upset the ruling Malay coalition and held a victory parade through Malay neighborhoods in the capital city, Kuala Lumpur. The Malays didn’t like Chinese flaunting their power, and rioted, killing hundreds of Chinese. [Race War In Malaysia, Time Magazine, May. 23, 1969]
Violence works. The government responded with a new, stronger pro-Malay preferences program called the New Economic Policy (NEP), designed to increase the Malay share of national wealth. It is also known as the Bumiputra Program, from a Malay word that means "son of the soil" or "native."
All Malaysians are officially divided into bumiputras, who get preferences, and non-bumiputras, who don’t. "Bumis" must be Muslim Malay stock, though they need not be from Malaysia. This means an immigrant from Indonesia gets preferences over Indians or Chinese who have been in Malaysia for generations. Some of the specifics of the NEP are that Malays get a 60 percent quota at universities, discounts on real estate, and a guaranteed 30 percent of all new issues on the Malaysian stock market. The civil service became a bumi reserve, companies owned by non-bumis were barred from government contracts, and it became even harder for Indians and Chinese to get business licenses. The NEP set aside millions of dollars to pay for overseas training for Malay students and executives.
The Bumiputra Program does not take class into consideration, so the children of Malay millionaires get the inside track on boardroom posts, overseas scholarships, business licenses and plum government jobs. Minorities don’t like the system, but there is little they can do in a country that is majority Malay.
The general sense among some Malays is that this is their country and this is the way they will run it; Indians and Chinese are lucky just to be citizens. As the governing Malay party’s Youth Information Chief, Azimi Daim, famously pointed out in 2003:
"In Malaysia, everybody knows that Malays are the masters of this land. We rule this country as provided for in the federal constitution. Anyone who touches upon Malay affairs or criticizes Malays is [offending] our sensitivities." [Abdullah stirs a hornets' nest, By Ioannis Gatsiounis, Asia Times, October 2, 2004]]
Most of the time, Indians and Chinese don’t make a fuss. But all whom I spoke to privately said the system was unfair. Beneath the surface, the country is divided by race, and this makes the Chinese and Indians to not feel emotionally Malaysian.
What does this suggest about the future of the United States? Most Americans can hardly imagine preferences for the majority and—if they even think about it—assume that racial preferences will fade away as the U.S. becomes more diverse and they become a minority.
They shouldn’t count on it. As Malaysia proves, groups don’t have to be minorities to develop a taste for preferences.
Preferences for bumis were supposed to be temporary—just as in the United States—to give them just enough of a boost so they could compete with the Chinese.
In America, blacks and Hispanics will not lose interest in preferences just because they become the majority. Racial preferences may seem to be on the wane now, but when the balance of power shifts they will be back.
Jared Taylor (email him) is the editor of American Renaissance.
Comments (14)Add Comment
...
written by ahmadneil, September 30, 2008 16:19:52
We the malayu baru don't nee this NEP now.NEP was created only for those VVIP's children and relatives.It was never meant to benefit we the ordinary malays.We have been falsely mislead that NEP are design to help us financially inorder to gain advantage over the chinese but it didnt work.Now melayu baru can stand up and be counted among other races base on meritocracy.To hell with NEP.
report abuse
vote down
vote up
Votes: +91
...
written by Limang, September 30, 2008 16:25:52
You, Americans, have a lot to learn from us Malays.
We Malays are truly a supreme race - we now have the best doctor in the world (Mahathir), richer than your richest (Daim), top terrorist (Nordin Top), best car (Proton), highest building (Petronas Twin Tower), biggest and richest company (Petronas), most rulers (11 sultans), etc. - you name it and we got it.
But we are not stopping here - we are going nuclear soon. We have so much money that we don't have to build it - WE JUST BUY IT, LIKE WE HAVE BEEN DOING ALL THESE YEARS. Can you American do this? Our wealth is like a bottomless pit. Wealth is power, don't you agree? We have so much money that we even sent a space tourist into space - we can actually send thousands more as long as they are Muslim! In fact, we are the first Muslim country to do so! We even ahve a book to teach the world's Muslims how to pray in space!
Your US will always lose to us because in our Constituion, we Malays are automatically Muslims, and the supreme ruler of Malaysia. We are now sowing our seeds in all the countries, as we Malay Muslims can have many foreign wives and soon, we will have Ketuan Melayu in the world. Such is our dream, and our Allah is behind us, so says the Qur'an that He will make the permanent believers like us "victoriuous over the unbelievers." Do you know Fiji has even adopted our Constitution? Soon even your America will follow suit. If not, when we Malays in America become majority, we will change your constitution, and you will see the first Malay President of USA permanently! Obama is part of our plan, he has some Malay blood in him, i.e. Indonesian Malay.
We are also the best rulers. Do you know that for 51 years, we rule Malaysia(meaning ruling over other races) and there has been no trouble at all, just peace and prosperity? If any stupid Chinese or Indian dares to be a trouble-maker, no problem, we ISA-ed the bugger, like we did to two stupid Chinese girls and 5 Indian leaders. We don't take kindly to anyone who question our immense power and religion! Let this be a warning to you too. Don't mess with us or else . . . . .
I think I'll stop here now - as you will not like it if I brag some more. If you will contact me at fullofshit.com, Ill be glad to fill you in and maybe, you may decide to become the first Mat Salleh Malay Muslim.
Thnx for your write up. Ketuanan Melayu!!!
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