MALAYSIA
MALAYSIA •• Current Events lonelyplanet.comCURRENT EVENTS
In 1970 a ‘New Economic Policy’ set a target
whereby 30% of Malaysia’s corporate wealth
had to be in the hands of indigenous Malays
(bumiputra) – as opposed to ethnic Indian
and Chinese – within 20 years. Malay com-
panies were heavily favoured for government
contracts; low-interest bumiputra loans were
made easily available; and thousands of Malays
were sent abroad on government scholarships.
A coalition of the major political parties that
backed the bumiputra was renamed the Barisan
Nasional (BN; National Front), and this party
continues to rule Malaysia to this day.
As of 2009 the bumiputra laws still stand
but many Malaysians argue that they are un-
fair and racist. Early this year Datuk Nik Aziz
Nik Mat, the Chief Minister of Kelantan and
an Islamic scholar, was quoted as comparing
bumiputra to apartheid. Meanwhile, members
of the Indian community have been increas-
ingly vocal in demonstrating for Hindu rights
and made headlines throughout 2009.
In reality, the position of ethnic Malays in
the economy remains more or less the same
even after more than 30 years of bumiputra and
the majority remain poor. After the BN was de-
feated in Penang in 2008, the state announced
that it will no longer favour bumiputra in state
sector employment. Anwar Ibrahim, leader
of the Pakatan Rakyat (PR; People’s Alliance)
opposition coalition that made sweeping gains
against the BN in March 2008, is one of the
few big-time politicians who openly advocates
scrapping bumiputra altogether.HISTORY
Early Influences
The earliest evidence of human life in the
region is a 40,000-year-old skull found in
Sarawak’s Niah Caves. But it was only around
10,000 years ago that the aboriginal Malays,the Orang Asli (see p432 ), began moving
down the peninsula from a probable starting
point in southwestern China.
By the 2nd century AD, Europeans were
familiar with Malaya, and Indian traders
had made regular visits in their search for
gold, tin and jungle woods. Within the next
century Malaya was ruled by the Funan em-
pire, centred in what’s now Cambodia, but
more significant was the domination of the
Sumatra-based Srivijayan empire between the
7th and 13th centuries.
In 1405 Chinese admiral Cheng Ho arrived
in Melaka with promises to the locals of pro-
tection from the Siamese encroaching from
the north. With Chinese support, the power of
Melaka extended to include most of the Malay
Peninsula. Islam arrived in Melaka around
this time and soon spread through Malaya.European Influence
Melaka’s wealth and prosperity attracted
European interest and it was taken over by
the Portuguese in 1511, then the Dutch in 1641
and the British in 1795.
In 1838 James Brooke, a British adventurer,
arrived to find the Brunei sultanate fending off
rebellion from inland tribes. Brooke quashed
the rebellion and in reward was granted power
over part of Sarawak. Appointing himself Raja
Brooke, he founded a dynasty that lasted 100
years. By 1881 Sabah was controlled by the
British government, which eventually acquired
Sarawak after WWII when the third Raja
Brooke realised he couldn’t afford the area’s
upkeep. In the early 20th century the British
brought in Chinese and Indians, which radi-
cally changed the country’s racial make-up.Independence to the Current Day
Malaya achieved merdeka (independence)
in 1957, but it was followed by a period ofMalaysia is really like two countries in one, cleaved in half by the South China Sea. The peninsula
is a multicultural buffet of Malay, Chinese and Indian flavours while Borneo hosts a wild jungle
smorgasbord of orang-utans, granite peaks and remote tribes. Within and throughout these
two very different regions are an impressive variety of microcosms ranging from the space-age
high-rises of Kuala Lumpur to smiling longhouse villages of Sarawak and the calm, powdery
beaches of the Perhentian Islands. And did we mention the food? Malaysia (particularly along
the peninsular west coast) has one of the best assortments of delicious cuisines in the world.
Start with Chinese–Malay ‘Nonya’ fare, move on to Indian banana leaf curries, Chinese buffets,
spicy Malay food stalls and even some impressive Western food. Yet despite all the pockets of
ethnicities, religions, landscapes and the sometimes-great distances between them, the beauty
of Malaysia lies in the fusion of it all, into a country that is one of the safest, most stable and
easiest to manage in Southeast Asia.430