Originally posted by boy in blues:
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. DonÂ’t 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. [1]
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.
u talk c0ck la..
bumiputra was never meant to be chinese or indians or anyrace ..
bumiputra means taht..the original inhabitants of this land..which in this case..is the malays...
other taht that..i strongly agree that metriculation IS NOT..i repeat..IS NOT the SAME level as STPM!.and hence!...how can u give palces according to this?definately metriculation students which in this case...is mostly from..ahem ahem...will far out numbered in the JPA scholarship..
i ask u...
a student who enters into a fully paid for education..tuition..hostels..etc etc....(A)
vs a student who is on his own..(B)who will fared better?
common sense definately will point out that student A will fared better than student B..
* pls take note...have a look at the percentage of each race taking STPM...u will see my point....*
then u must wonder..where are all the..AHEM..ahem?....answers lies in the metriculation system...
now lets look at the metriculation system...wow...why so many of this AHEM AHEM one?others le?....all in STPM..
hence..this is TOTALLY NOT A FAIR system. loop sided...how can they choose this kind of system..why not all of them study STPM.?...well the answer is taht...... (see the % passsing rate of those ahem ahem who choose to study STPM)...
case closed...
* unless u are wealthy..forget it )