Bumiputra or Bumiputera (Sanskrit, translated literally, it
means "sons of the Earth"; Malay, translated literally, it means
"princes of the Earth" ), is an official definition widely used in
Malaysia, embracing ethnic Malays as well as other indigenous
ethnic groups.
Public questioning of rights
At the 55th annual general assembly of the largest political party
in Malaysia, the United Malays National Organisation, the deputy
chairperson Badruddin Amiruldin cautioned against questioning the
Bumiputra's special rights, and was met with approval from the
delegates: "Let no one from the other races ever question the
rights of Malays on this land. Dont question the religion because
this is my right on this land."
Definition
In Malaysia, by convention, it is generally considered that all
Malays are Bumiputras and that all Bumiputras are Malay. This is
technically incorrect, as there are cases of non-Malays declared as
Bumiputra, and similarly of non-Muslim Malays who are considered
Bumiputra. However, the definition of
Bumiputra clearly excludes ethnic Chinese. However, other
indigenous groups are included as Bumiputra including the Iban and
other Bornean groups.
This confusion is compounded by the fact that different ministries
of the government may have different definitions themselves. What
is not obscure is that preferential treatment of Bumiputras versus
other races is built into the Malaysian Constitution. Racial
policies were a major component of Mahathir bin Mohamad's policies
during his tenure as Prime Minister from 1981 until 2003.
Bumiputras were given special rights in the constitution after the
Malays agreed to share political power with minorities, including
the Chinese, as a prerequisite to gaining independence from British
rule. Many of the non-Malays at that time were first and second
generation migrants who had been brought by the British to fill
colonial manpower needs as indentured labourers, a form of
limited-term post-emancipation slavery, and the Malays were facing
a situation where they were close to a minority in their own
country. The Malaysian Federal Constitution has clauses
specifically addressing the area of Malay rights but does not
explicitly protect any Bumiputra rights per se. Article 153 states
that:
"the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (The King of Malaysia) shall exercise
his functions... in such a manner as may be necessary to safeguard
the special position of the Malays... to ensure the reservation...
of such proportion... in the public service... and of
scholarships... and other similar educational... privileges or
special facilities given... by the Federal Government".
The constitution defines a Malay as being one who "professes the
religion of Islam, habitually speaks the Malay language, conforms
to Malay customs and is the child of at least one parent who was
born within the Federation of Malaysia before independence on the
31st of August 1957".
The word "Bumiputra" was first used in Parliament in 1965 during
the debate of the act which would create the Majlis Amanah Rakyat
(MARA), a government agency formed to preserve Bumiputra interests.
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Policy
Some institutes of higher learning, such as the Open University
Malaysia, have enacted admission policies favouring Bumiputra
students.Certain pro-bumiputra policies known as the Bumiputra Laws
exist as a means of affirmative action for bumiputras. Such
policies include quotas for the following: admission to government
educational institutions, qualification for public scholarships,
positions in government and ownership in business. Most of them
were established in the Malaysian New Economic Policy (NEP).
Examples of such policies include:
Companies listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (Bursa Saham
Kuala Lumpur) must find Bumiputras to take up a minimum 30% of
equity to satisfy listing requirements. MSC status companies listed
on MESDAQ (Malaysia's latest stock exchange, modelled on the NASDAQ
and other 'tech' stock exchanges) are not subject to this
requirement.
A certain percentage of new housing in any development has to be
sold to Bumiputra owners. Housing developers are required to
provide a minimum 7% discount to Bumiputra buyers of these lots.
There is no bumiputra discount on established housing.
A basket of government guaranteed and run mutual funds are
available for purchase by Bumiputra buyers only.
Many government tendered projects require that companies submitting
tenders be bumiputra owned. This requirement has led to
non-Bumiputras teaming up with Bumiputra companies to obtain
projects in a practice known as "Ali Baba" where Ali (the
Bumiputra) exists solely to satisfy this requirement and Baba (the
non Bumiputra) gives Ali a certain sum in exchange.
Projects were earmarked for Malay contractors to gain expertise in
various fields. Often these projects would be sold as the bidders
were not interested in the work, only in the gains that could be
made from winning such a tender.
Approved Permits (APs) for automobiles preferentially allow
Bumiputra to import vehicles. Automotive companies wishing to bring
in cars need to have an AP to do so. APs were originally created to
allow Bumiputra participation in the automotive industry since they
were issued to companies with at least 70% Bumiputra ownership. In
2004, the Edge (a business newspaper) estimated that APs were worth
approximately RM 35,000 a piece. They also estimated that
Nasimuddin Amin, chairman of the Naza group received 6,387 for
2003, making him the largest recipient of APs. 12,234 APs were
issued in 2003. In addition to APs, foreign car marquees are
required to pay between 140% to 300% as an import duty.
Most of these advantages only exist in public policy. Private
sector implementation is often to satisfy legal requirements and is
considered by some to be mere tokenism.
In addition to the above economic advantages, Bumiputras also
receive other privileges in public tertiary education:
Racial quotas exist for entry into public education. In 2004, Dr.
Shafie Salleh, the newly appointed Higher Education Minister,
stated that he "will ensure the quota of Malay students' entry into
universities is always higher". This was demonstrated in 2004 when
Non-Bumiputra students who scored 5As in the STPM (the highest
possible grade) were denied admission to their first choice of
study in public universities while Bumiputra students with lesser
grades were nonetheless admitted.
Since 2000, the Government has discussed phasing out certain
advantages, and reinstating a "meritocracy". The eventual result
was the system of "Malaysian model meritocracy" begun in 2003. In
the implementation, admission to public universities was not based
upon a common examination like the SAT or A-Levels but rather upon
two parallel systems of a one-year matriculation course and a
two-year STPM (literally translated as "Malaysian Higher School
Certificate (disambiguation)" ) programme. Bumiputras compose an
overwhelming majority of entrants to the matriculation programme,
leading to some complaints from the public, as the public
university entry requirements are suggested to be easier for
matriculation students.
Quotas also exist for Public Services Department (JPA)
scholarships, which are full scholarships offered to students to
study in leading universities worldwide. These scholarships are
given on the basis of SPM (translated as "Malaysian Education
Certificate", the equivalent of O-Levels) results, race and certain
quotas. The JPA scholars then are sent to selected pre-university
programmes offered by the government from there, they apply to
universities.
