read with disbelief media reports quoting former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir as saying that the Malay community has virtually lost its dominance and been reduced to “beggars” to the Chinese.
Dr Mahathir is reported to have said: “Now Umno, PKR, and PAS have to beg for support from DAP to win the general election. When we become beggars, we no longer have power.”
Threat to the Malays a fallacy
I am greatly saddened by the fact that a leader of Dr Mahathir’s stature has sunk to such lowly depths by describing a scenario that is not only impossible but also nothing more than an exercise in deception.
Contrary to Dr Mahathir’s proposition, Malay dominance in every sphere of Malaysian society is actually at its peak. Politically, every significant government post, from the prime minister of the Federation to 12 out of the 13 state chief ministers, is held by Malays.
Malay dominance is also very visible in other institutions of state, such as the judiciary, the police force, the civil service and the army. If that is not enough, Malays also make up the majority of the Malaysian population, besides recording a fertility rate that is one and a half times more than the Chinese. This means that the Chinese and other races are effectively shrinking in relation to the Malay population.
Economically, while the Malay share of equity in the early years of the New Economic Policy may have been in the single digits, this share has grown by leaps and bounds over the last few decades. According to the Asian Development Bank, Government-linked-companies’ (GLC) share of market capitalisation of the Bursa Malaysia and the benchmark Kuala Lumpur Composite Index stands at 36 per cent and 54 per cent respectively. This means that our economy is effectively dominated by GLCs, which are by and large dominated by Malays.
And if all of the above is not enough, the Malay special position is also constitutionally enshrined. On top of that, not only would any potential amendments to these constitutional provisions require a two-thirds majority in Parliament (which would in essence require full Malay support), they would also require the approval of the Malay Rulers. This failsafe effectively means that there is no conceivable threat to the Malays in this country.
Who is really under threat?
Clearly, the only group that is faced with the prospect of losing power is Umno, especially after their poor performance in last year’s 13th General Election. With only 47 per cent of the popular vote won, the Umno-led coalition is effectively a government without a popular mandate.
Following their disappointing electoral performance, it is Umno that has been grovelling and bending over to right-wing nationalist lobby groups such as Perkasa and Isma. The clearest proof of this is Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Najib Razak’s recent U-turn on his public promise to repeal the Sedition Act.
Unable to fend off right-wing pressure and without a clear economic agenda in the face of a weakening ringgit, depressed commodity prices and the prospect of inflation and suppressed domestic consumption following the implementation of the upcoming GST, it is no surprise that Umno and Dr Mahathir is resorting in desperation to race-baiting and fear-mongering in order to drum up waning support.