There are still some so-called scholars in Singapore and elsewhere who support Malaysia’s bumiputera policy. Some of them even compare it to the dzimmi system previously. This is a false analogy and ignores the inconvenient aspects of the policy that are contradictory to Islam. It feeds endemic racism and institutionalises it. There is nothing remotely Islamic about it. ‘Bumiputera’ is a Malaysian term to describe the Malay race and indigenous tribal peoples of Southeast Asia. This term is used particularly in Malaysia. The term is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘bhumiputra’, which is normally translated ‘son of the soil’. In the 1970s, the Malaysian government implemented policies which have been criticised by many noted economists, in particular in The Economist itself, as being racially discriminatory. It was designed to favour mainly the Malays, and specifically the Malays who wre politically connected to UMNO, disguised as a form of affirmative action. It is not an economic policy and has nothing to do with anything in Islam because the implementation of this so-called affirmative action is race-based, and not deprivation-based. For example, all bumiputera, regardless of their financial standing, are entitled 7 percent discount on houses or property, including luxurious units; whilst a low-income non-Bumiputra receives no such financial assistance. Preferential policies include quotas for admission to government educational institutions, qualification for public scholarships, positions in government, and ownership of businesses. There is no such similar assistance for non-bumiputera who are economically needy. A Chinese or an Indian who converts to Islam, for example, is not eligible. It has got nothing to do with religion. There are more than enough reports by economist detailing aspects of the policy, its use as a political tool, its institutionalisation of racial discrimination and its obvious contravention of the principles of Islam. For any asatidzah, for any scholar, for any person who claims some form of religious authority to defend such a policy on the basis of religious is outrageous. This calls into question their integrity, their knowledge of religion, and their knowledge of economics. For any of them to say that it is permissible because Singapore discriminates against the Malays contravenes the basis of the religion where two wrongs do not make a right. For any to claim that the Malays need to defend themselves otherwise they would become like the Rohingya in Burma and the Palestinians in Gaza have deluded themselves considering that they have political power and are the majority whereas the examples they provide do not. For any to claim that in China, the Muslims are discriminated against, they have failed to understand that China is not a Muslim-majority nation and their actions are an example for us. They have also, falsely equated the bumiputera policy with something that has a basis in Islam. That is deception. Malaysia, as a sovereign nation, has a right to create its own policies and it is for its citizens to address it. But no one should use Islam as a false basis for this. It is a form of hypocrisy.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Dec 2014 12:09:08 +0000
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