Overview

Malaysia is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multilingual society. The population currently stands at 26.6 million consisting of 62% Malays, 24% Chinese, 8% Indians, with other minorities and indigenous peoples. The overall cultural situation of Malaysia is relatively stable with general peace and tolerance of each other’s culture and religion. Cultural issues, as such, should not be taken for granted and it important for any company venturing into New Media in Malaysia to be sensitive to all issues.

Religion in Malaysia
Leaving Islam for another religion is now such a sensitive issue in Malaysia that many converts lead secret, double lives. Malaysia is a multi-religious society, but Islam is the official religion of Malaysia. Citing Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, he emphasized Malaysia’s non-secular nature. According to the Population and Housing Census 2000 figures, approximately 60.3% of the population practiced Islam; 19.2% Buddhism; 9.1% Christianity; and 6.3% Hinduism. The remaining 5 percent was accounted for by other faiths, including Animism, Shamanism, Sikhism, Bahá'í, Taoism, Confucianism, and other traditional Chinese religions. Although the Malaysian constitution theoretically guarantees religious freedom, in practice the situation is not so simple. There are limitations on both Malays and other racial groups in their choices made.
	All ethnic Malays are Muslim, as defined in the Malaysian constitution. Muslims are governed by a particular law known as Sharia law. Sharia law governs all matters relating to religion such as marriage, apostasy and inheritance. Any other civil or criminal offences are not under the jurisdiction of the Sharia court. Civil and criminal courts cannot overrule any decision made by the Sharia courts. Laws governing the Sharia courts are strict and rigorously adhered to. Some of the laws that the Sharia courts impose is that all non-Muslims who marry a Muslim must renounce their religion and convert to Islam. As a legal matter, Muslims may not apostatize very freely, as doing so involves the Sharia court.
The Sharia court is governed by judges who are trained in Sharia law. Generally, one who wishes to leave Islam makes a legal declaration, but this is still not recognized by the Malaysian civil courts. One has to obtain a declaration of apostasy from a Sharia court and the court will only grant the apostasy after the court is truly convinced that the petitioner no longer has faith in Islam. Apostasy is rarely granted, leaving many individuals to hide their new religion from friends and family. Meanwhile, non-Muslims experience restrictions in activities such as construction of religious buildings and the celebration of certain religious events in some states. Hence, religious sensitivity should be noted where Islam is the main religion. There is a wide departure from western culture and each belief should not be mocked or undermined to better engage the general population.

Nuraina A. Samad [Conversations: How come you're not blogging about Lina Joy...?] Rocky's Bru: Losing my Religion Marina Mahathir: Do we believe in the Quran? A Voice: Interfaith issues .. Gimme a Break! Elizabeth Wong: Realpolitik behind Lina Joy decision Walski: Lina Joy loses her appeal Big Dog: No one can embrace or leave religion as one fancies

Pendet Dancers Case

In 2009, cultural boundaries were blurred and tensions flaired when in 2009, an advertisement for Enigmatic Malaysia, shown on the Discovery Channel featured Balinese pendet dancers. There was extensive outrage, including Malaysian flag burnings at over 10 Indonesian Universities. Online response was significant. One person tweeted, “Malaysia claimed Bali’s pendet dance as their culture, and Malaysia has given [us]Noordin M. [Top],” in reference to the region’s most wanted terrorist suspect, a Malaysian national. For more information regarding the incident, click here.

Racial Bias

The Malays form the largest community in Malaysia. The Malays play a dominant role politically and are identified as bumiputra. The concept of a "Bumiputra" race in Malaysia was coined by Tunku Abdul Rahman and has its roots in the recognition of the "special position" of the Malays given by the Federal Constitution of Malaysia. At the time of Malaya's independence from the British in 1957, many non-malay individuals were first or second generation immigrants who had come to fill colonial manpower needs as indentured laborers, a form of limited-term post-emancipation slavery, and the Malay leaders felt disadvantaged as a minorities. Hence, they felt a need to protect their rights as the indigenous population of Malaysia, and Article 153 was born.

The word "Bumiputra" was first used in Parliament in 1965 during the debate of the act which would create the Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA), a government agency formed to preserve Bumiputra interests. Some of the policies to preserve Bumiputra interests include quotas for the following: admission to government educational institutions, qualification for public scholarships, positions in government and ownership in business. Most of them were established in the Malaysian New Economic Policy (NEP). Many of them focus on establishing a Bumiputra share of corporate equity comprising at least 30% of the total.

The policies are still in place though there is much controversy surrounding the issue. The Malaysian government continues to see these policies as a way of eradicating poverty amongst Malay Malaysians in the long run. However, the success of these policies are highly debatable with former Prime Minister Dr. Tun Mahathir Mohammad bemoaning the extreme reliance of Bumiputras on their privileges: "We have tried to tell them if you depend on subsidies, you are going to be very weak. But they don’t seem to understand. We tell them if you use crutches, you will not be able to stand up. Throw away the crutches, stand up straight because you still have the capacity. I have talked about this thing and as a doctor I know very well the meaning of crutches but somehow or rather they want the easy way out. If I get an AP [car import permit] and I sell it and make some money, it’s all right, they say."

Due to the continuation of the policy, there is much discontent amongst minority groups in Malaysia. Due to the continuation of the policy, there is much discontent amongst minority groups in Malaysia. In November 2009, three students of mixed racial background were denied admittance to a matriculation program simply because of their background. One student, Marina Undau scored 9As and 1B in last year's Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination, however she was rejected because her mother was Chinese. Bloggers and other social media sites reacted by expressing the disparity and racism in Malaysia. Tay Tian Yan of mysinchew.com said, "Can anyone tell her why abumiputrapolicy that is supposed to help the underprivileged is not able to offer a hand to an Iban-Chinese girl living under very tough conditions yet working very hard to change her own destiny?"

The cultural issues faced runs deep within the veins of most Malaysians. Some upset with the lack of religious freedom, especially those who plan to convert from Islam to another religion. Others upset with the racial bias of policies and racial inequalities largely existent in Malaysia. Their voices are often limited with strict controls over mainstream media as reflected in that of censorship issues (link). In particular, the last 4 years under PM Abdullah Badawi has been especially messy with mainstream media pressured into becoming “pro-government”. Faced with no avenue to air their difficulties and predicaments, they have increasingly sought the use of alternative media. The impact has been significant - creating a platform for reform and change in the realm of alternative media - Malaysians have been able to actively take part in pushing for change, and giving opposing views a chance to speak up. This has been clearly reflected in the recent general elections.

Some of the policies implemented

1. Companies listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (Bursa Saham Kuala Lumpur) must find Bumiputras to take up a minimum 30% of equity to satisfy listing requirements. This was intended to avoid monopoly by single race. It is only applicable for small number of companies (listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange) while other MSC status companies listed on MESDAQ (Malaysia's latest stock exchange, modeled after the NASDAQ and other 'tech' stock exchanges), and other business are not subjected to this requirement.

2. A certain percentage of new housing in any development has to be sold to Bumiputra owners for limited period. Housing developers are required to provide a minimum 7% discount to Bumiputra buyers of these lots. This is to enable bumiputra who have lower average income to purchase hosuses which otherwise will be dominant by single races. This ensure no single race housing estate. Remaining unsold houses are allowed to be sold to non-bumi if the developer prove attempt have been made after given time period. There is no bumiputra discount on established housing.

3. A basket of government run (and profit guaranteed) mutual funds are available for purchase by Bumiputra buyers only.Many government tendered projects require that companies submitting tenders be bumiputra owned. This requirement has led to non-Bumiputras teaming up with Bumiputra companies to obtain projects in a practice known as "Ali Baba" where Ali (the Bumiputra) exists solely to satisfy this requirement and Baba (the non Bumiputra) gives Ali a certain sum in exchange.

4. Projects were earmarked for Malay contractors to gain expertise in various fields. Often these projects would be sold to non-Malays as the bidders were not interested in the work, only in the gains that could be made from winning such a tender.

5. Approved Permits (APs) for automobiles preferentially allow Bumiputra to import vehicles. Automotive companies wishing to bring in cars need to have an AP to do so. APs were originally created to allow Bumiputra participation in the automotive industry since they were issued to companies with at least 70% Bumiputra ownership. In 2004, the Edge (a business newspaper) estimated that APs were worth approximately RM 35,000 a piece. They also estimated that Nasimuddin Amin, chairman of the Naza group received 6,387 for 2003, making him the largest recipient of APs. 12,234 APs were issued in 2003. In addition to APs, foreign car marquees are required to pay between 140% and 300% as import duty.