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Racial politics or race politics is the use of race, as a human categorization or hierarchical identifier, in political discourse, campaigns, or within the societal and cultural climate created by such practice. The phenomenon can involve the activity of political actors exploiting the issue of race to forward an agenda.
Rosemary Brown has been described as one of the earliest politicians to attempt to challenge the divisive racial politics of Canada during the 1975 New Democratic Party leadership election. [1]
In 2015, Jagmeet Singh campaigned against police carding, in what Maclean's described was "racial politics were at the crux" of the policy. [2] Ahead of the 2019 Canadian federal election, while describing them as "conditional multiculturalists", a National Observer analysis stated that white Canadians did not easily engage in racial politics. [1]
This section needs additional citations for verification .(June 2023) |
One of the uses of the term Racial politics in the United States is to describe racially charged political actions by Abigail Thernstrom, the vice-chairman of the U.S. commission on civil rights. The practice has been a major part of American government since its creation, and often divides the Republican and Democratic parties.
The United States Government has since the time of its creation been divided, and in many ways developed based upon issues of race. In 1861, the Civil War between the Northern and Southern states of the nation was fought primarily over the Confederacy's practice of enslaving African Americans based solely on their race.
Furthermore, the tension between the Northern Republicans and Southern Democrats continued for many years after as the South created Jim Crow laws and continued the segregation of individuals of color. The racial divide in the nation continued.
In 1896, the Supreme Court of the United States determined that the, "separate but equal", doctrine was constitutional in the case Plessy v. Ferguson . Segregation was legal, so long as the segregated schools and facilities provided to whites and blacks were equal. Plaintiff Homer Plessy, tested the law that required separate accommodations for blacks and whites on railroads.
In 1954, the ruling of Plessy v. Ferguson was overturned in the Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education . The Supreme Court determined that the establishment of separate schools for whites and blacks was inherently unequal and unconstitutional. This was a major success for civil rights advocates, including the NAACP.
In 1967, California Governor Ronald Reagan signed the Mulford Act as reaction to growing racial politics in the country. Supported by the National Rifle Association of America, the motivation of the Act has been described as racially motivated, in relation to the growing Black Panther movement. [3]
In 1997, the interim replacement of Yvonne Gonzalez with a white man as Dallas ISD superintendent, was met with public unrest due to the racial politics of the situation. [4]
Another concept within the discussion of racial politics is the re-drawing and shaping of district lines. The left of the political spectrum argues that this is done to seclude minorities in certain areas.
Under the Bandemer plurality's test, a redistricting plan constitutes an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander only if it "will consistently degrade a voter's or a group of voters' influence on the political process as a whole." [5] In doing this, Republicans and Democrats alike ensure certain trends in voting patterns and constituent concerns, as they place a high concentration of minorities within a voting district. This is a crucial aspect of modern-day politics and is often a major factor in elections.
By 2019, racial politics was being increasingly identified as a reemergent phenomenon, with some media describing it at its most extreme in the history of the United States. [6] In October 2019, on the death of Elijah Cummings, a CNN analysis discussed the congressman's understanding of racial politics in the US, praising his ability to "navigate a white world - how to get along with white Americans as a means of better holding the country to account". [7]
In 2014, Vox reported how "Australia's twisted racial politics created horrific detention camps for immigrants", such as Nauru Regional Processing Centre, describing the country's treatment of immigrants as a return to the racial insecurities of white Australians and the white supremacy of the 20th-century White Australia policy. [8]
Rita Panahi publicly dismissed Australian basketball player Ben Simmons' claim that he was refused entry to Crown Melbourne due to his race in August 2019. Panahi wrote that "He seems to be afflicted by this racial politics that everyone in the US has gone nuts with where they see everything with a filter of race". [9] In October 2019, author Peter FitzSimons stated that his latest book on James Cook, was an attempt to improve the racial politics of the country, which he compared unfavorably with New Zealand's race relations. [10]
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Malaysian politician Chang Ko Youn said "Malaysia has practiced racial politics for 51 years and we know it is divisive as each party only talks on behalf of the racial group it represents... When all races are in a single party, no one person will try to be the champion of the party.... It is easy to be a Malay hero, a Malaysian Chinese hero or a Malaysian Indian hero but it is difficult to be a Malaysian hero.... The country is facing economic problems now and it is important that the Government and political parties come up with a Malaysian agenda on how to unite the people and face these challenges..." [11]
On August 13, 2008, a letter was sent to The Star [12] with the title "Why we can't get our experts to return" saying:
THE most important asset of a country is not its natural resources but its human resources. This is especially true in a knowledge-based economy, which will be the trend in future if it is not already the trend in most Western countries.
Writer A. Asohan wrote: "...you started to grow up, and race increasingly became a factor. You became aware of race politics here. Insidious people would hint that being friends with the "Other" made you a traitor to your own race. The racist rot seems to have intensified over the subsequent generations. The bigotry we learned as adults are now being picked up by our primary schoolkids. Our leaders may, in a fit of progressiveness (by their standards), talk about racial tolerance, but acceptance and appreciation for other races and cultures seem beyond their ken. Racial intolerance in the country is getting worse, we tell ourselves, looking back to a more idyllic past. Bah, what crock! We Malaysians have always been racists. Heck, the entire human race has always found some illusive basis for discrimination. Race, religion, colour, creed, whether you were born north or south of that artificial line called a border – we spend an inordinate amount of our time and resources on delineating our differences rather than celebrating our similarities. If you married someone from a different race in the old days, you faced severe social censure and were treated as an outcast. Parents wrung their hands and tore at their hair, wailing "What did we do wrong? Aiyoh, how can you do this to us?" [13]
Marina Mahathir wrote: "...The same thing happened in our country. Unfortunately, race politics has not really died down yet, and some people reacted as if ethnic cleansing had just taken place...." [14]
Politician Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham when he was asked "What do you dislike most about Malaysians?", he replied: Racial politics. [15]
Chris Anthony wrote: "...After 50 years of living and working together side-by-side, the people have voted to do away with racial politics but unfortunately the politicians are far from showing signs of heeding their calls for multiracialism...." Don’t widen the racial divide - Opinion | The Star Online
Philip Bowring of International Herald Tribune wrote that the political organization of Malaysia has long been largely on racial lines, Islam has at times become a device for use in racial politics, a yardstick for measuring the commitment of competing parties to Malay racial advancement. [16]
In 2019, the Malay Mail reported how the 2019 Tanjung Piai by-election would be an opportunity to move away from racial politics, by respecting the racial pluralism of Mohamed Farid Md Rafik, after his unexpected death. [17]
In the year 2006, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on his release from 6 years of prison said in a number of interviews that the NEP should be abolished and that all races should be given equal opportunities [18] and also that the NEP was bad because only the cronies of UMNO party became rich from it. Khairy Jamaluddin from UMNO party hit back at Anwar Ibrahim. Khairy said: "What cheek he has to speak" and also said that Anwar Ibrahim was the greatest UMNO party member of all and a very rich one too. Khairy, who is also the son-in-law of the nation's 5th prime minister is not without controversy. In 2016, Khairy was slammed over his responsibility as he embroiled in the controversy surrounding the RM100 million corruption scandal plaguing the Youth and Sports Ministry he led when a senior official who had allegedly to have covertly siphoned off the ministry's funds and lived a lavish lifestyle over the past six years was arrested by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) - Khairy Jamaluddin Controversies and issues [ relevant? ]
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.
The National Front is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1973 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties to succeed the Alliance Party. It is the third largest political coalition with 30 seats in the Dewan Rakyat after Pakatan Harapan (PH) with 82 seats and Perikatan Nasional (PN) with 74 seats.
The United Malays National Organisation ; abbreviated UMNO or less commonly PEKEMBAR, is a nationalist right-wing political party in Malaysia. As the oldest national political party within Malaysia, UMNO has been known as Malaysia's "Grand Old Party".
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 New Economic Policy (NEP) was a social re-engineering and affirmative action program formulated by the National Operations Council (NOC) in the aftermath of 13 May Incident in Malaysia. This policy was adopted in 1971 for a period of 20 years and it was succeeded by the National Development Policy (NDP) in 1991. This article looks into the historical context that gave rise to the formulation of this policy, its objectives and implementation methods as well as its impact on the Malaysian economy in general.
Playing the race card is an idiomatic phrase that refers to the exploitation by someone of either racist or anti-racist attitudes in the audience in order to gain an advantage. It constitutes an accusation of bad faith directed at the person or persons raising concerns as regards racism.
Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar often referred to by his initials KJ, is a Malaysian politician, radio presenter and podcaster. Alongside being a radio presenter for Hot FM, he hosts Keluar Sekejap with Shahril Hamdan, a podcast in which they discuss Malaysian politics and current affairs with a variety of guests. Khairy is also one of the Members of the Board and Youth Advisor at JDT, as well as a visiting senior fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute. He most recently served as Minister of Health in the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration under former Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob from August 2021 to November 2022.
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 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.
BERJASA is a political party in Malaysia. The party is part of a Malay-Islam based coalition named "Gerakan Tanah Air".
Article 153 of the Constitution of Malaysia grants the Yang di-Pertuan Agong responsibility for "safeguard[ing] the special position of the 'Malays' and natives of any of the States of Sabah and Sarawak and the legitimate interests of other communities" and goes on to specify ways to do this, such as establishing quotas for entry into the civil service, public scholarships and public education.
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.
The social contract in Malaysia is an artificial political construct first mooted in the 1980s, allegedly to justify the continuation of the discriminatory preferential policies for the majority Bumiputera at the expense of the non-Bumiputeras, most particularly the Chinese and the Indian citizens of the country. Generally describing the envisaged 20-year initial duration of the Malaysian New Economic Policy, proponents of the construct allege that it reflects an "understanding" arrived at – prior to Malaya's independence in 1957 – by the country's "founding fathers", which is an ill-defined term generally taken to encompass Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia's first Prime Minister, as well as V. T. Sambanthan and Tan Cheng Lock, who were the key leaders of political parties representing the Malay, Indian and Chinese populations respectively in pre-independence Malaya.
Datuk Ahmad bin Ismail, is a Malaysian politician and a member of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), serving as the chief of UMNO's Bukit Bendera division in the state of Penang.
Tan Sri Noh bin Haji Omar is a Malaysian politician and lawyer who served as the Minister of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperative for second term in the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration under former Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob from September 2021 to the collapse of the BN administration in November 2022 and the first term in the BN administration under former Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi from March 2008 to April 2009, Minister of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government from June 2016 to the collapse of the BN administration in May 2018, Chairman of the Perbadanan Usahawan Nasional Berhad (PUNB) from June 2020 to September 2021. He also served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tanjong Karang from April 1995 to November 2022. He was a member of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), a component party of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition. He was also the State Chairman of BN and UMNO of Selangor. He is also the father of Nurul Syazwani Noh, Member of the Selangor State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Permatang.
Dato' Sri Dr. Wee Jeck Seng is a Malaysian politician who is the Chairman-designate of the Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) and the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tanjung Piai from March 2008 to May 2018 and again since November 2019. He served as the Deputy Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities I for the second term in the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration under former Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and former Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin from August 2021 to the collapse of the BN administration in November 2022 and the first term in the Perikatan Nasional (PN) administration under former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and former Minister Khairuddin Razali from March 2020 to the collapse of the PN administration in August 2021, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports in the BN administration under former Prime Ministers Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Najib Razak as well as former Ministers Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Ahmad Shabery Cheek from March 2008 to his defeat in the 2010 MCA leadership election in June 2010 and Member of the Johor State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Pekan Nanas from March 2004 to March 2008 as well as Chairman of the Labuan Port Authority (LPA) from March 2017 to June 2018. He is a member and member of the Central Committee of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), a component party of the BN coalition. He has also served as the Vice President of MCA since September 2023.
Pertubuhan Pribumi Perkasa, is a Malay supremacist non-governmental organisation (NGO) that was formed by Ibrahim Ali in the aftermath of the 2008 general election (GE12). This conservative, extreme-right, ethnic Malay organisation is led by its president Ibrahim Ali to influence the unity of Malaysian by refusing to accept any decoration of other ethnic group except Malay decoration. The group is reported to have a membership of 700,000.
Datuk Wira Dr. Mohamed Farid bin Md Rafik was a Malaysian politician who was Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of national unity and social wellbeing in the Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration under former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and former Minister Waytha Moorthy Ponnusamy from July 2018 and the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tanjung Piai from May 2018 to his death in September 2019. He was a member of the Malaysian United Indigenous Party (BERSATU), a former component party of the PH coalition.
The 2019 Tanjung Piai by-election was a by-election held on 16 November 2019 for the Dewan Rakyat seat of Tanjung Piai. It was called following the death of incumbent, Md Farid Md Rafik on 21 September 2019.
Dato' Haji Jefridin bin Haji Atan is a Malaysian politician who has served as Member of the Johor State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Kukup since March 2022. He had served as a Senator from September 2020 to September 2023. He is a member and Division Chief of Tanjung Piai of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), a component party of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.
Hizatul Isham bin Abdul Jalil or more commonly known as Isham Jalil, is a Malaysian politician who was a member of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), a component party of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition. He is a former Member of the UMNO Supreme Council from June 2022 to December 2023, and has previously served as the Information Chief of UMNO from November 2022 to March 2023.
It's surprising to find him so disengaged, given that racial politics in America are as highly charged now as they have ever been.
Dr Md Farid's death was a loss for pluralism, being the deputy minister for unity and national integration. Having the Tanjung Piai by-election as a tipping point away from racial politics would be a great way to honour him.