Guarding Turf, Giving Credit: Malaysia's Bumiputera Policy Must be ...

Malaysia recently witnessed two vigorous and varied defences of its Bumiputera policy. The contrast underscores the importance of clear and reasonable thought, and the possibilities for change in a domain laden with vested interest and historical baggage.

First, various parties opposed the temporary admission of non-Bumiputeras to the Universiti Teknologi MARA’s (UiTM) postgraduate cardiothoracic programme. UiTM, partnering the National Heart Institute (IJN), is Malaysia’s only public university accredited to train cardiothoracic surgeons. UiTM’s postgraduate programmes admit foreign students but its undergraduate enrolment is fully Bumiputera, a term which means Malaysia’s ethnic majority comprising Malays (57 per cent of citizens) and indigenous groups of Sabah and Sarawak (13 per cent).

A board member of the UiTM-IJN programme had proposed the measure to redress the dire shortage of cardiothoracic specialists in Malaysia — a situation compounded by the fact that a group of overseas-trained surgeons’ qualifications are not recognised in Malaysia. Allowing this in-limbo cohort, which includes Malays and non-Malays, into UiTM’s programme would facilitate their path toward surgical practice.

Objections flared. UiTM students demonstrated against non-Bumiputera admission by wearing black on 16 May. The youth wing of Bersatu, a Malay party in the opposition, echoed the students’ turf-guarding sentiments. The Youth Chief of UMNO, another all-Malay party within Anwar Ibrahim’s unity government, blustered that UiTM would forever be an all-Malay domain. UiTM’s vice-chancellor also defended the institution as a Bumiputera preserve, while declaring that he would adhere to the government’s decision endorsed by the King. The Minister of Higher Education sidestepped the issue. Cabinet decided at its 29 May meeting that the government needed more legal advice from the Attorney-General’s Chambers, delaying a decision.

Others called for calm and common sense. Academics, politicians, and legal activists appealed that medical contingency should supersede ethnic policy. Moreover, this temporary exception involves up to 30 trainees, a minute proportion of UiTM’s 188,000 enrolment, who would add to the current pool of only 70 cardiothoracic surgeons serving Malaysia’s 34 million population. Curiously, UiTM’s former vice-chancellor urged his institution to accommodate these exceptional cases, reversing a contrary position expressed a few weeks prior.

UiTM is a special case. Since its inception as MARA College in 1965, it has grown to be Malaysia’s largest tertiary institution and was upgraded to a university in 1999. MARA stands for Majlis Amanah Rakyat, or Council of Trust for the People, and is the government’s largest Bumiputera development agency. UiTM is the only university founded on the premise of the Malaysian Constitution’s Article 153, which allows for reservation of a “reasonable proportion” of spaces for Bumiputeras to safeguard the community’s “special position”. These legal terms are imprecise. Whether to admit non-Bumiputeras to a medical specialty is not a constitutional issue; the matter must be resolved politically.

Disappointingly, albeit expectedly, reflexive protest and visceral politics prevailed.

The second case of recent advocacy of a Bumiputera policy came from Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli. On 20 May, Rafizi launched a RM1 billion fund for upscaling Bumiputera enterprises, emphasising a new approach of providing credit instead of grants. Borrowers must service loans to investors from whom the funds are pooled. Rafizi commissioned three Bumiputera development agencies: main coordinator Teraju, education funder Yayasan Peneraju, and private equity firm Ekuinas to drive this initiative.

The inception of a generous Bumiputera-exclusive programme roused neither fervent support nor aggrieved protest. Granted, enterprise financing is a rather niche area beyond most people’s grasp. However, its novelty and minimal historical baggage also provide an opportunity to enrich the discourse surrounding Bumiputera policies.  

Anwar’s Madani administration is often reproached for lacking courage but on Bumiputera policies, the greater deficit might be in reasoning and persuasion.

Beyond resolving the current dilemma, Malaysians need clearer minds and less angst to find meaningful solutions. Malaysia’s political leaders, especially Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, should summon courage and speak reason on four matters.

First, Malaysia needs more cardiothoracic surgeons and allowing non-Bumiputeras into UiTM’s specialist programme will help fill the gap. Whether this gains traction remains a political question but the point is plain and reasonable.

Second, Malay interests are protected on so many fronts and the community needs to be nimble and dynamic. Bumiputera pathways to tertiary education remain wide open and more business development schemes are on the way. Can this be conveyed earnestly as a message of empowerment? Leaders have to try.

Third, Bumiputera policy has been adapted in the past, including on the relaxation of exclusive access and extension of opportunity to other communities. In 2019, the new government granted a one-off bonus of an extra intake for low-income Chinese students in pre-university Matriculation Colleges. This was in the wake of the pathbreaking May 2018 general election. Previously, Bumiputera-only matriculation colleges started applying a 10 per cent non-Bumiputera quota in 2003. MARA junior science colleges, which are residential secondary schools under the same agency overseeing UiTM, have also had a 10 per cent non-Bumiputera quota since 2001. Can people be reminded of these past examples without being incited? Again, we will not know until we speak the words.

Fourth, strategic and nimble prospects for change should be pursued, so that non-Bumiputera access does not only emerge in reaction to crises or as an election goody. The furore surrounding the cardiothoracic programme, which is reminiscent of UiTM student-alumni backlash in the abovementioned post-2018 election appeal for general non-Bumiputera admission, proves that this prized possession holds deep multigenerational affinity. UiTM is too susceptible to political spin to be the locus of policy change.

There could be scope for change elsewhere. People are more likely to fear change if they have seen too little of it. The last widely felt policy modification was the 10 per cent non-Bumiputera quota in matriculation colleges and MARA junior science colleges — introduced over twenty years ago.

The triumvirate mandated to groom Bumiputera enterprises distinctly stand out as young, nimble, and dynamic institutions. Opening up funds for non-Bumiputera-owned enterprises could show the possibility of change. Tweaking tertiary admissions to provide access to disadvantaged students of all ethnicities could also give assurance that multiple groups’ interests can be safeguarded.

Anwar’s Madani administration is often reproached for lacking courage. Any government could do with more courage but on Bumiputera policies, the greater deficit might be in reasoning and persuasion.

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