www.rsis.edu.sg No. 004 – 6 January 2015 RSIS Commentary is a platform to provide timely and, where appropriate, policy-relevant commentary and analysis of topical issues and contemporary developments. The views of the authors are their own and do not represent the official position of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, NTU. These commentaries may be reproduced electronically or in print with prior permission from RSIS and due recognition to the author(s) and RSIS. Please email:
[email protected] for feedback to the Editor RSIS Commentaries, Mr Yang Razali Kassim. Ketuanan Melayu: What’s in a Name? By Joseph Chinyong Liow Synopsis The idea of Malay primacy or Ketuanan Melayu in Malaysian politics tends to reverberate whenever its traditional advocate, UMNO, comes under siege. There is a need to better understand this concept. Commentary AT UMNO's general assembly in November, the trope of “Ketuanan Melayu” rang loud and clear yet again through the halls of the Putra World Trade Centre. It drowned out Prime Minister Najib Razak’s “1Malaysia” in the same way that it drowned out Abdullah Badawi’s “Islam Hadhari” not too long ago, and Mahathir Mohamad’s “Bangsa Malaysia” before that. What exactly does “Ketuanan Melayu” mean? Furthermore, what does it imply? At first glance, the meaning of Ketuanan Melayu, in the Malaysian cultural and historical context, is factual enough. According to school textbooks, Ketuanan Melayu is defined as “the passion for anything related to the Malay race, such as political rights, language, cultural heritage and customs, as well as homeland”.