Social contract (Malaysia)

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The social contract in Malaysia is a political construct first mooted in the 1980s, allegedly to justify the continuation of the discriminatory preferential policies for the majority Bumiputera^[a] at the expense of the non-Bumiputeras, most particularly the Chinese and the Indian citizens of the country. Generally describing the envisaged 20-year initial duration of the Malaysian New Economic Policy, proponents of the construct allege that it reflects an "understanding" arrived at – prior to Malaya's independence in 1957 – by the country's "founding fathers", which is an ill-defined term generally taken to encompass Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia's first Prime Minister, as well as V. T. Sambanthan and Tan Cheng Lock, who were the key leaders of political parties representing the Malay, Indian and Chinese populations respectively in pre-independence Malaya.

The "social contract" retrospectively creates the notion of a trade-off between the majority and minority ethnic populations of Malaysia. Under this notion, Articles 14–18 of the Constitution of Malaysia, which provided a pathway to citizenship for Chinese, Indians and other minorities in 1957, were enacted "in exchange for" Article 153 of the same Constitution, which preserves certain quotas and other rights for the majority Bumiputera population. Proponents of the Malaysian social contract claim that this was both a quid pro quo and a condition precedent for the granting of citizenship to the non-Bumiputera populations of Malaya in 1957, particularly the Chinese and the Indians.

As has been pointed out by numerous academics and scholars, however, the idea of a quid pro quo for citizenship does not appear anywhere in the detailed report or deliberations of the Reid Commission, the independent commission responsible for drafting the Constitution. Neither can any reference to such a trade-off be found in the contemporary statements or writings of the "founding fathers".^[1] Deemed as a fabrication, the term "social contract" in the Malaysian context was, in fact, first used by United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) politician Abdullah Ahmad in 1986 in a political speech he delivered in his visit to Singapore.^[2]

The concept of a social contract is well-established in Western political philosophy and dates from the Age of Enlightenment. Its Malaysian counterpart is controversial because it has been perceived by some as a mere propaganda device which has no actual historical basis. In its typical context related to race relations, the Malaysian social contract has been heavily criticised by many, including some politicians from the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, who contend that constant harping on the non-Malays' debt to the Malays for citizenship has alienated them from the country. Such criticisms have met with opposition from some sectors of the Malay media and UMNO, the largest political party in BN. In addition to this, even academic scholars have doubted the authenticity of the notion of this contract as the contract itself is not mentioned in said constitution;^[2] economist and academician Ungku Abdul Aziz claimed it to be "a fantasy made up by politicians according to their interests".^[3]

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