ISU KETUANAN MELAYU DI MALAYSIA

Abstract

This article discusses an important political concept in Malaysia, that is the political supremacy of the Malays. The Malays supremacy was resulted from a social contract between the native Malays, on one part, and the Indian and Chinese immigrants, on the other part, during the negotiation concerning the independent of Persekutuan Tanah Melayu before 1957. It was said in the contract the native Malays slackened the prerequisites for the citizenship of the Persekutuan Tanah Melayu for the Chinese and Indian immigrants, while the Chinese and the Indian immigrants admitted a dominant position of the Malays in political administration. However, after the Persekutuan Tanah Melayu changed into Malaysia in 1963, the Chinese and the Indians begin to be disloyal to the social contract. They wanted equal right among all Malaysian citizens. By using archaeological dan ethnohistorical approaches, I will trace the origins of the concept of native supremacy in the Malay Nusantara sosiocultural context. Secondly, I will discuss the challenges facing the concept after Malay Land occupied by the British colonialist, particularly after the 1960es. The concept of “native sovereignity” is called beschikkingsrecht in Dutch language. It was invented by a Dutch expert of customary law, van Vollenhoven, in 1909 (ter Haar 1962). The concept of “native sovereignity” was originally aimed to remind the neighbour villagers or the foreigners when they passed on, or open a rice field, in a new area. They had to ask permission to the master of the land. Therefore, for the sake of harmonious social life, all ethnic groups in todays Malaysia, especially the new immigrants from different cultural background, it is suggested to learn and comprehend basic concepts in traditional native Malays customary law. Keywords: native Malays, ethnicity, native sovereignity, beschikkingsrecht, Will of the Malay Kings.