| Part of a series on |
| Discrimination |
|---|
 |
Anti-Malay sentiment or Malayophobia refers to feelings of hostility, prejudice, discrimination or disdain towards Malay people, Malay culture, the Malay language or anything perceived as Malay.
It is notable in Singapore, where there is a large Malay community, and in Malaysia, where the Malay people form the majority of the population. Anti-Malay sentiment has also been observed in Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.
In October 2021, Sri Wahyuni, a financial bureau employee of the Nahdlatul Ulama University of North Sumatra, stated that "the toilets are dirty because the janitors are Malays", while her institution conducted a complementary study at an elementary school at Lubuk Pakam, Deli Serdang Regency, North Sumatra. This statement caused protests by the Students' Reform Fighters Front of North Sumatra on 29 October. [1]
The Malays are one of the major ethnic groups in multiracial Malaysia. In the May 13 Incident on May 13, 1969, a major racial riot broke out between ethnic Malays and Chinese in Kuala Lumpur that suspended the Malaysian parliament for 22 months. UMNO Politician Tunku Abdul Rahman maintains the cause of the riots as parades organised by Chinese Democratic Action Party and Gerakan supporters celebrating anticipated general election victory, chanting provocative anti-Malay slogans such as: "Semua Melayu kasi habis" (Finish off all the Malays), "Kuala Lumpur sekarang Cina punya" (Kuala Lumpur now belongs to the Chinese). [2] Worse still, as the parades passed through Malay communities such as Kampung Baru, the attendees began chanting: "Melayu mati" (death to Malays) and calling the Malays stupid. [3] Some of them carried brooms, allegedly to symbolise the sweeping out of the Malays from Kuala Lumpur, while others chanted inflammatory slogans about the "sinking" of the Alliance boat — the coalition's logo. [4]
Prior to the 1969 general election, a Malay political worker was killed by a Chinese gang in Penang, and a Chinese Labour Party activist was shot and killed in a clash with police in Kuala Lumpur. [5] [6] A funeral procession was held for the shot activist on May 9 but the arrangements were taken over by non-family members, which caused the initially peaceful funeral procession degenerating into unruly mobs just within an hour in which those attendees who were predominantly Chinese chanting and singing incendiary slogans including the Chinese revolutionary song "The East Is Red" while displaying portraits of Mao Zedong and the Red Flag, as well as provoking Malay bystanders with chants of: "Malai si" (death to Malays). [6] [7] [3]
Nevertheless regardless of the cause, the May 13 Incident became the worst racial riot in Malaysian history. According to police figures, 196 people died and 149 were wounded. [2] 753 cases of arson were logged and 211 vehicles were destroyed or severely damaged. An estimated 6,000 Kuala Lumpur residents — 90% of them Chinese — were made homeless. [2] Various other casualty figures have been given, with one thesis from a UC Berkeley academic, as well as Time, putting the total dead at ten times the government figure. [2] Since then, the Malaysian government aims to stabilise the economy by introducing the New Economic Policy (NEP) citing income disparity as the main reason for the riots. [8]
Singapore was once a thriving Malay fishing village prior to British colonisation. According to the Malay Annals, a Sumatran prince called Sang Nila Utama was known to have founded ancient Singapore in 1299. [9] However, the modern city of Singapore stemmed from 1819 when established by Sir Stamford Raffles. Under the British administration, Singapore experienced an influx of immigrants particularly from China and India. Singapore joined the Federation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963, along with the present Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak. Since Singapore's separation from Malaysia on 9 August 1965, it became a sovereign, multi-racial republic of which the Chinese community formed the majority.
In the 1970s, Mandarin was promoted over other Chinese dialects. [10] SAP Schools were created to provide Mandarin among the Chinese. The reference to Confucian society by former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew marked a shift in policy of neutral multiculturalism to Chinese-dominated society. [10] Chinese schools began receiving government aids while other schools were neglected. [10]
The former Prime Minister had once sparked a debate on the loyalty of the Malays to Singapore. He stated that the Malays might have conflict when it comes to loyalty. [11] Earlier, former Indonesian President Habibie's alleged that the Singapore Armed Forces discriminate against the Malays. [12] [13] The Singaporean government has been cautious in issue of Malay loyalty. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is a supporter of this policy. [10] For the same reason, the Malays have been nearly absent from armed force scholarship list and top positions in armed forces. [10]
Also with a number of Muslim youths being radicalized by ISIS and the Muslim community in Singapore consists mostly of Malays, non-Malays have issues trusting them with one incident of an unknown vandalizer drawing a woman in hijab with the word "terrorist" on her at the Marine Parade MRT station construction site. [14]
In January 2019, a 30-year-old man was arrested following a vandalism incident in which hateful slurs against the Malay community were scrawled on poles just outside Aljunied MRT station, Geylang which is near a primary and secondary school. [15] The racial slurs contained words like: "Malay mati" (death to Malays) and other slurs displaying graphic sexual acts and one seemed to refer to Malaysian politician Anwar Ibrahim, although it is not independently verifiable if it actually did refer to Anwar. [16]
There was also an incident where an 8-year-old Malay child who was attending a school bus gets mocked as "Malai chu" (Malay pig) by the school-bus driver. [17]
Southern Thailand and particularly the historical region of Patani is the home of the ethnic Malays in Thailand. In the 18th century after the Thais captured the Malay-dominated provinces in the south, the Thai consciously avoided referring to the people as Malays, instead preferring the term Thai Muslim. [18] For the purpose of integration, Malay identity was discouraged by the Thai state and Malay school children would be fined if they were found speaking in their mother tongue. [18] [19] Due to such policy, there is a diminishing Malay proficiency among young Malays. [20] This had led to prejudice against Muslims in general instead of specifically against the Malays. [20]
At present, there are Malay separatists in southern Thailand demanding that the Malay-Muslim dominated provinces be granted independence. This has led to decades of fatal clashes between Thai security forces and the separatists. Indiscriminate arrest of Malays has fuelled distrust and resentment against the Thai authority among the locals. [21]
Thaksin had declared a militant law in southern Thailand. Former Prime Minister Thaksin has been blamed for action that lead to an incident at Tak Bai that led to the death of a number of Malays. [22] [23] [24]
Kuala Lumpur, officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur and colloquially referred to as KL, is a federal territory and the capital city of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of 243 km2 (94 sq mi) with a census population of 2,075,600 as of 2024. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 8.8 million people as of 2024. It is among the fastest growing metropolitan regions in Southeast Asia, both in population and economic development.
Politics of Malaysia takes place in the framework of a federal representative democratic constitutional monarchy, in which the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is head of state and the Prime Minister of Malaysia is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the federal government and the 13 state governments. Legislative power is vested in the federal parliament and the 13 state assemblies. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature, though the executive maintains a certain level of influence in the appointment of judges to the courts.
Malays are an Austronesian ethnoreligious group native to eastern Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula and coastal Borneo, as well as the smaller islands that lie between these locations. These locations are today part of the countries of Malaysia, Indonesia, the southern part of Thailand, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam.
The 13 May incident was an episode of Sino-Malay sectarian violence that took place in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, on 13 May 1969. The riot occurred in the aftermath of the 1969 Malaysian general election when opposition parties such as the Democratic Action Party and Gerakan made gains at the expense of the ruling coalition, the Alliance Party.
The 1964 race riots in Singapore involved a series of communal race-based civil disturbances between the Malays and Chinese in Singapore following its merger with Malaysia in 16 September 1963, and were considered to be the "worst and most prolonged in Singapore's postwar history". The term is also used to refer specifically to two riots on 21 July 1964 and 2 September 1964, particularly the former, during which 23 people died and 454 others suffered severe injuries.
Ketuanan Melayu is a political concept that emphasises Malay preeminence in present-day Malaysia. The Malays of Malaysia have claimed a special position and special rights owing to their longer history in the area and the fact that the present Malaysian state itself evolved from a Malay polity. The oldest political institution in Malaysia is the system of Malay rulers of the nine Malay states. The British colonial authorities transformed the system and turned it first into a system of indirect rule, then in 1948, using this culturally based institution, they incorporated the Malay monarchy into the blueprints for the independent Federation of Malaya.
Harun bin Idris was a Malaysian politician and the 8th Menteri Besar of Selangor. Apart from his career in politics, Harun Idris was heavily involved in sports particularly organising the Muhammad Ali vs Joe Bugner fight in Kuala Lumpur as well as overseeing Malaysia and Selangor football teams' most successful periods. Harun was the president of the Football Association Selangor from 1961 to 1983 and was the manager of the Malaysian National team in the 1972 Olympics. Harun is widely acknowledged to be responsible for unearthing some of Malaysia’s best talents such as Santokh Singh, Soh Chin Ann and even the late Mokhtar Dahari.
Kampung Baru or Kampong Bharu is a Malay enclave in central Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. One of the most valuable tracts of land in the capital, it has been estimated to be worth up to US$1.4 billion.
Singapore, officially the State of Singapore, was one of the 14 states of Malaysia from 1963 to 1965. Malaysia was formed on 16 September 1963 by the merger of the Federation of Malaya with the former British colonies of North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore. This marked the end of the 144-year British rule in Singapore which began with the founding of modern Singapore by Sir Stamford Raffles in 1819. At the time of merger, it was the smallest state in the country by land area, but the largest by population.
Malaysian Malays are Malaysians of Malay ethnicity whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in the Malay world. According to the 2023 population estimate, with a total population of 17.6 million, Malaysian Malays form 57.9% of Malaysia's demographics, the largest ethnic group in the country. They can be broadly classified into two main categories; Anak Jati and Anak Dagang.
The 1969 race riots of Singapore were one of the two riots encountered in post-independence Singapore. The seven days of communal riots from 31 May to 6 June 1969.
Malay Indonesians are ethnic Malays living throughout Indonesia. They are one of the indigenous peoples of the country. Indonesian, the national language of Indonesia, is a standardized form of Riau Malay. There were numerous kingdoms associated with the Indonesian Malays along with other ethnicities in what is now Indonesia, mainly on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. These included Srivijaya, the Melayu Kingdom, Dharmasraya, the Sultanate of Deli, the Sultanate of Siak Sri Indrapura, the Riau-Lingga Sultanate, the Sultanate of Bulungan, Pontianak Sultanate, and the Sultanate of Sambas. The 2010 census states that there are 8 million Malays in Indonesia; this number comes from the classification of Malays in East Sumatra and the coast of Kalimantan which is recognized by the Indonesian government. This classification is different from the Malaysia and Singapore census which includes all ethnic Muslims from the Indonesian archipelago as Malays.
Thai Malays, with officially recognised terms including 'Malayu-descended Thais' and 'Malay', is a term used to refer to ethnic Malay citizens of Thailand, the sixth largest ethnic group in Thailand. Thailand is home to the third largest ethnic Malay population after Malaysia and Indonesia and most Malays are concentrated in the Southern provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala, Songkhla, and Satun. Phuket Ranong, and Trang home to a sizeable Muslim population, also have many people who are of Malay descent. A sizeable community also exists in Thailand's capital Bangkok, having descended from migrants or deportees who were relocated from the South from the 13th century onwards.
Kedahan Malays or commonly known as Orang Utara ('Northerners'), are a sub-group of Malays native to northern Malay Peninsula in areas of both current and historical area of Kedah. They are among the oldest ethnic groups in the Malay peninsula with a history dating back 2,800 years as proven by the discovery of sites in Bujang Valley and historical documents from India, China and Arabia. Kedahan Malays are one of the largest Malay sub-groups in Malaysia, comprising at least 15% of the total Malaysian Malay population including those with Kedahan ancestry.
Peninsular Malaysia, historically known as Malaya, also known as West Malaysia or the "Malaysian Peninsula", is the western part of Malaysia that comprises the southern part of the Malay Peninsula on Mainland Southeast Asia and the nearby islands. Its area totals approximately 132,490 km2 (51,150 sq mi), which is nearly 40% of the total area of the country; the other 60% is in East Malaysia on the island of Borneo.
Dato' Seri Dr. Burhanuddin bin Muhammad Nur al-Hilmi, commonly known as Burhanuddin al-Helmy, was a Malaysian politician. He was President of the Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) from 1956 to his death in October 1969.
Malayisation or Malayization is a process of assimilation and acculturation, that involves acquisition or imposition of elements of Malay culture, in particular, Islam and the Malay language, as experienced by non-Malay populations of territories fully controlled or partially influenced by historical Malay sultanates and modern Malay-speaking countries. It is often described as a process of civilisational expansion, drawing a wide range of indigenous peoples into the Muslim, Malay-speaking polities of Maritime Southeast Asia. Examples of Malayisation have occurred throughout Asia including in Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Sri Lanka.
Kassim Ahmad was a Malaysian Muslim philosopher, intellectual, writer, poet and an educator. He was also a socialist politician in the early days of Malaya and later Malaysia and was detained without trial from 1976 to 1981 under Malaysia's Internal Security Act.
Dato' Hajji Azwanddin Hamzah is a Malaysian businessman, philanthropist and political activist, known to be a critic on the issues of corruption in Malaysia.
Anarchism in Malaysia arose from the revolutionary activities of Chinese immigrants in British Malaya, who were the first to construct an organized anarchist movement in the country, reaching its peak during the 1920s. After a campaign of repression by the British authorities, anarchism was supplanted by Bolshevism as the leading revolutionary current, until the resurgence of the anarchist movement during the 1980s, as part of the Malaysian punk scene.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
