COMMENT | Deconstructing the bumiputera construct

COMMENT | Previously, I have written an article examining how the bumiputera term and the bumiputera/non-bumiputera dichotomy emerged as political constructs and very rapidly metamorphosed into policy constructs in the 1970s.

Not only have the constructs remained unchallenged, but they have become enduring ‘truths’ conditioning the thinking and impacting the lives of an entire generation of Malaysians.

This fabrication and entrenchment of the construct - clearly divisive to the nation's unity and sense of belonging - did not come about by accident. Neither was it a response to any natural demarcation and separation of the communities that were evolving at the ground level and which required a distinction between the "sons of the soil" and the "pendatang" communities as the invention of the term implied.

The contrived term and dichotomy was a deliberate and opportunistic strategy of the political and policy leadership to create a new political taxonomy to manage and control the political-administrative workings and socio-economic development of the country and to prioritise Malay interests and dominance.

And from all empirical evidence, this strategy has succeeded all too well.

The main beneficiary of the bumiputera construct has been the Malay community. Whilst the major gains have accrued to the Malay upper and middle class, it is important to note that the Malay lower class and rural poor, including recent foreign migrants, have received a substantial share of the benefits in one form or another...