Social contract (Malaysia)

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.

The "social contract" retrospectively creates the notion of a trade-off between the majority and minority ethnic populations of Malaysia.

Proponents of the Malaysian social contract claim that this was both a quid pro quo and a condition precedent for the granting of citizenship to the non-Bumiputera populations of Malaya in 1957, particularly the Chinese and the Indians.

[1] Deemed as a fabrication, the term "social contract" in the Malaysian context was, in fact, first used by the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) politician Abdullah Ahmad in 1986 in a political speech he delivered during his visit to Singapore.

[2] Instead, the social contract is merely asserted to represent a permanent agreement regarding the "special position of the Malays" by the non-Malay population, as the historical and unquestionable price paid in exchange for full citizenship.

In reality, however, especially after the advent of the Malaysian New Economic Policy (NEP) due to the racial riots of the May 13 Incident which occurred in 1969 when Malays controlled only 4% of the Malaysian economy, Bumiputra privileges have extended to other areas; quotas are set for Bumiputra equity in publicly traded corporations, and discounts for them on automobiles and real estate ranging from 5% to 15% are mandated.

These provisions, along with the economic privileges accorded by Article 153 of the Constitution, made up one half of the bargain, and have been referred to as the Malay Agenda.

[6] Some suggest that this bias towards Malays in education and politics is, in part, a response to the ability of the Malaysian Chinese to secure most of the country's wealth.

Meritocracy was also criticised by some in UMNO as being discriminatory, as it caused the rural and less-prepared Malays to fall behind in university entrance rates.

The Reid Commission which prepared the framework for the Constitution stated in its report that Article 153, the alleged backbone of the social contract, would be temporary only, and recommended that it be reviewed 15 years after independence.

They also indicate that they owe their loyalty to their countries of origin, and for that reason they oppose the Barnes Report to make Malay the national language.

Singaporean politician Lee Kuan Yew of the People's Action Party (PAP) publicly questioned the need for Article 153 in Parliament, and called for a "Malaysian Malaysia" pointing out that if Dato' Syed Ja'afar Albar, a UMNO stalwart who came to Malaya from Indonesia just before the war at the age over thirty, could claim to be Malaysian then so should those non-Malays whose families had lived in Malaysia for generations.

Then Finance Minister Tan Siew Sin of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) called Lee the "greatest, disruptive force in the entire history of Malaysia and Malaya."

Lim was severely criticised by many Malay politicians, including Khairy Jamaluddin who is Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's son-in-law and Deputy Chairman of the UMNO Youth wing, and Ahmad Shabery Cheek, a prominent Malay Member of Parliament from the state of Terengganu.

Lim was adamant, asking in an interview "How do you expect non-Malays to pour their hearts and souls into the country, and to one day die for it if you keep harping on this?

A year earlier, Abdullah had given a speech where he mentioned the most "significant aspect" of the social contract as "the agreement by the indigenous peoples to grant citizenship to the immigrant Chinese and Indians".

The Internal Security Act (ISA) also permits the government to detain anybody it desires for practically an indefinite period of time, and many, including politicians from the DAP such as Lim Kit Siang and Karpal Singh have been held under the ISA; it is widely believed this was because of their vehement criticism of Malay privileges.

One wrote that "half a century on, younger non-Malays especially feel they were not parties to deals and contracts (at the time of independence) and should not be beholden to them.

"[11] In 2006, several non-Malay parties in the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition called for a re-examination of the social contract; Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's refusal to do so reportedly triggered "much consternation".

"[13] Others argued that the Bumiputra communities continued to lag behind the rest of the country economically, and called for stronger measures in line with the social contract.