Ultra (Malaysia)
Encyclopedia
During the 1960s in Malaysia and Singapore
, some racial extremists were referred to as "ultras". The phrase was most commonly used by the first Prime Minister
of Singapore
, Lee Kuan Yew
, and other leaders of his political party
, the People's Action Party
(PAP), to refer to Malay extremists. However, it was also used by some members of the United Malays National Organisation
(UMNO) — the leader of the Alliance
coalition governing Malaysia — to refer to Lee instead, as Lee was perceived to be a Chinese chauvinist himself.
, Sabah
, and Sarawak
to form a united Malaysia, and this profoundly troubled the UMNO leadership. It is not clear where Lee got the idea of labeling Malay chauvinists as "ultras", but it is possible that he may have obtained it from a student's Ph.D.
thesis
. In 1960, Lee served on a three-man panel that evaluated Gordon Paul Means' Ph.D. thesis, entitled "Malayan Government and Politics in Transition". On one page of his copy of the manuscript
, Lee had reportedly underlined in thick pencil
the word "ultra" and placed an exclamation mark
over it.
, once the UMNO Secretary-General, Syed Nasir Ismail
, a strong advocate of expanding the scope of the Malay language
in Malaysian society, Mahathir bin Mohamad
, then a UMNO Member of Parliament
and future Prime Minister of Malaysia
, and Musa Hitam
, another UMNO MP who would later serve as Mahathir's deputy.
What these men had in common was their perceived support of ketuanan Melayu
, or Malay supremacy (although these exact phrases were then not in vogue). Syed Jaafar Albar had campaigned strongly for the Singaporean branch of UMNO in the 1963 Singaporean general election, and made heated statements condemning Malay PAP politicians as un-Islamic, anti-Malays, and traitors to their community. Othman Wok
, a senior Malay PAP politician, later insinuated Syed Jaafar's rhetoric had set the stage for the 1964 Race Riots
in Singapore. Syed Nasir Ismail had insisted on closing down all Chinese schools in Malaysia as soon as possible, making Malay the sole official language.
Mahathir was a strong proponent of strengthened affirmative action
for the Malays, and reportedly demanded (together with Syed Nasir Ismail and Syed Jaafar Albar) a one-party Malay-only government led by UMNO in the wake of the May 13 racial riots
in Kuala Lumpur
, the Malaysian capital. He would later author The Malay Dilemma
, which contended that the Malays as the "definitive people" of Malaysia had a birthright guaranteeing them special privileges such as those outlined by Article 153
of the Constitution of Malaysia
. Musa, who was closely associated with Mahathir, thus became also associated with Mahathir's "ultra" approach to politics. Both would later be expelled from UMNO by then Prime Minister and UMNO President Tunku Abdul Rahman
after Mahathir's reaction to the May 13 riots. Then Home Minister Ismail Abdul Rahman
would issue an explanation of the decision where he stated: "These ultras believe in the wild and fantastic theory of absolute dominion by one race over the other communities, regardless of the Constitution." Musa and Mahathir would later be rehabilitated by the Tunku's successor, Tun Abdul Razak.
In some cases, Lee also would refer to media outlets as "ultras"; he once criticised the Utusan Melayu as "their [the ultras'] newspaper".
Ironically, Lee himself would later be considered an "ultra" by the Alliance government for some of the statements he made; on May 24, 1965, Lee publicly stated: "Let us be quite frank. Why should we go back to old Singapore and once again reduce the non-Malays in Malaya to a minority?" His Malaysian Malaysia
campaign was not received well either by UMNO or most of the Malays, who tended to view a Malaysian Malaysia as a "Chinese Malaysia". It has been speculated that this was due to the limited vocabulary of Malay at the time; the only Malay word for "nation" then was "bangsa", which was also synonymous with race. Since there was (and is) no "Malaysian race", it has been argued that most Malays considered anything other than a "Malay nation" as threatening to their rights. The conflict between Lee and his Chinese-majority PAP with the Malaysian government culminated in the secession of Singapore from Malaysia in 1965.
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, some racial extremists were referred to as "ultras". The phrase was most commonly used by the first Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Singapore
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore is the head of the government of the Republic of Singapore. The President of Singapore appoints as Prime Minister a Member of Parliament who, in his opinion, is most likely to command the confidence of a majority of MPs.The office of Prime Minister...
of Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew, GCMG, CH is a Singaporean statesman. He was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, governing for three decades...
, and other leaders of his political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
, the People's Action Party
People's Action Party
The People's Action Party is the leading political party in Singapore. It has been the city-state's ruling political party since 1959....
(PAP), to refer to Malay extremists. However, it was also used by some members of the United Malays National Organisation
United Malays National Organisation
The United Malays National Organisation, is Malaysia's largest political party; a founding member of the National Front coalition, which has played a dominant role in Malaysian politics since independence....
(UMNO) — the leader of the Alliance
Barisan Nasional
Barisan Nasional is a major political coalition in Malaysia, formed in 1973 as the successor to the Alliance . Along with its predecessor, it has been Malaysia's federal ruling political force since independence...
coalition governing Malaysia — to refer to Lee instead, as Lee was perceived to be a Chinese chauvinist himself.
History
Lee was the first to use the phrase "ultras" in 1964, when he publicly demanded that UMNO's leadership "Smack down their ultras." This was barely a year after Singapore had merged with MalayaFederation of Malaya
The Federation of Malaya is the name given to a federation of 11 states that existed from 31 January 1948 until 16 September 1963. The Federation became independent on 31 August 1957...
, Sabah
Sabah
Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...
, and Sarawak
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
to form a united Malaysia, and this profoundly troubled the UMNO leadership. It is not clear where Lee got the idea of labeling Malay chauvinists as "ultras", but it is possible that he may have obtained it from a student's Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
thesis
Thesis
A dissertation or thesis is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings...
. In 1960, Lee served on a three-man panel that evaluated Gordon Paul Means' Ph.D. thesis, entitled "Malayan Government and Politics in Transition". On one page of his copy of the manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
, Lee had reportedly underlined in thick pencil
Pencil
A pencil is a writing implement or art medium usually constructed of a narrow, solid pigment core inside a protective casing. The case prevents the core from breaking, and also from marking the user’s hand during use....
the word "ultra" and placed an exclamation mark
Exclamation mark
The exclamation mark, exclamation point, or bang, or "dembanger" is a punctuation mark usually used after an interjection or exclamation to indicate strong feelings or high volume , and often marks the end of a sentence. Example: “Watch out!” The character is encoded in Unicode at...
over it.
Chauvinists
Some of the perceived Malay "ultras" were Syed Jaafar AlbarSyed Jaafar Albar
Tan Sri Syed Jaafar bin Hassan Albar was a Malaysian politician. His staunch defense of his political party, the United Malays National Organisation — which leads the governing Barisan Nasional coalition — led to him being given the moniker "Lion of UMNO"...
, once the UMNO Secretary-General, Syed Nasir Ismail
Syed Nasir Ismail
Tun Dato' Syed Nasir bin Ismail was a Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, the lower house of the Parliament of Malaysia. During his lifetime, he was known as an ultra who sought to guarantee the primacy of the Malay language in Malaysia through the closing down of Chinese and Tamil vernacular schools...
, a strong advocate of expanding the scope of the Malay language
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
in Malaysian society, Mahathir bin Mohamad
Mahathir bin Mohamad
Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad . is a Malaysian politician who was the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia. He held the post for 22 years from 1981 to 2003, making him Malaysia's longest serving Prime Minister. His political career spanned almost 40 years.Born and raised in Alor Setar, Kedah, Mahathir...
, then a UMNO Member of Parliament
Parliament of Malaysia
The Parliament of Malaysia is the national legislature of Malaysia, based on the Westminster system. The bicameral parliament consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The King as the Head of State is the third component of Parliament....
and future Prime Minister of Malaysia
Prime Minister of Malaysia
The Prime Minister of Malaysia is the indirectly elected head of government of Malaysia. He is officially appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the head of state, who in HM's judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of that House of Representatives , the...
, and Musa Hitam
Musa Hitam
Tun Musa bin Hitam , is a Malaysian politician and a former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, serving under Mahathir bin Mohamad. He was born in Johor Bahru, Johor in 1934...
, another UMNO MP who would later serve as Mahathir's deputy.
What these men had in common was their perceived support of ketuanan Melayu
Ketuanan Melayu
Ketuanan Melayu is a political concept emphasizing Malay preeminence in present day Malaysia. The Malays of peninsular Malaysia claimed a special position and special rights owing to their long domicile and the role of the Malay rulers of the nine Malay states...
, or Malay supremacy (although these exact phrases were then not in vogue). Syed Jaafar Albar had campaigned strongly for the Singaporean branch of UMNO in the 1963 Singaporean general election, and made heated statements condemning Malay PAP politicians as un-Islamic, anti-Malays, and traitors to their community. Othman Wok
Othman Wok
Othman Wok was a former Cabinet Minister in Singapore for 14 years. He was the Minister of Social Affairs from October 1963 to June 1977. After retiring from active politics, he was Singapore's ambassador to Indonesia and served on the boards of the Singapore Tourism Board and Sentosa Development...
, a senior Malay PAP politician, later insinuated Syed Jaafar's rhetoric had set the stage for the 1964 Race Riots
1964 Race Riots
The 1964 Race Riots were a series of riots that took place in Singapore during two separate periods in July and September between Chinese and Malay groups. The first incident occurred on 21 July during a Malay procession that marked Prophet Muhammad's birthday. In total, the violence killed 36...
in Singapore. Syed Nasir Ismail had insisted on closing down all Chinese schools in Malaysia as soon as possible, making Malay the sole official language.
Mahathir was a strong proponent of strengthened affirmative action
Affirmative action
Affirmative action refers to policies that take factors including "race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin" into consideration in order to benefit an underrepresented group, usually as a means to counter the effects of a history of discrimination.-Origins:The term...
for the Malays, and reportedly demanded (together with Syed Nasir Ismail and Syed Jaafar Albar) a one-party Malay-only government led by UMNO in the wake of the May 13 racial riots
May 13 Incident
The 13 May Incident is a term for the Sino-Malay sectarian violences in Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia, which began on 13 May 1969...
in Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
, the Malaysian capital. He would later author The Malay Dilemma
The Malay Dilemma
The Malay Dilemma is a controversial book written by Mahathir bin Mohamad in 1970, 11 years before he became Malaysia's 4th Prime Minister.At the time of publication, Mahathir had just lost his parliamentary seat, been expelled from the ruling party UMNO and Malaysia had recently been rocked by the...
, which contended that the Malays as the "definitive people" of Malaysia had a birthright guaranteeing them special privileges such as those outlined by Article 153
Article 153 of the Constitution of Malaysia
Article 153 of the Constitution of Malaysia grants the Yang di-Pertuan Agong responsibility for “safeguard[ing] the special position of the ‘Malays’ and natives of any of the States of Sabah and Sarawak and the legitimate interests of other communities” and goes on to specify ways to do this, such...
of the Constitution of Malaysia
Constitution of Malaysia
The Federal Constitution of Malaysia, which came into force in 1957, is the supreme law of Malaysia. The Federation was initially called the Federation of Malaya and it adopted its present name, Malaysia, when the States of Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore joined the Federation...
. Musa, who was closely associated with Mahathir, thus became also associated with Mahathir's "ultra" approach to politics. Both would later be expelled from UMNO by then Prime Minister and UMNO President Tunku Abdul Rahman
Tunku Abdul Rahman
Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah, AC, CH was Chief Minister of the Federation of Malaya from 1955, and the country's first Prime Minister from independence in 1957. He remained as the Prime Minister after Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore joined the...
after Mahathir's reaction to the May 13 riots. Then Home Minister Ismail Abdul Rahman
Ismail Abdul Rahman
Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman was a Malaysian politician from the United Malays National Organisation . He held several Malaysian ministerial posts and was appointed as the second Deputy Prime Minister in 1970 by then Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak. Three years later, Tun Dr Ismail died in office due...
would issue an explanation of the decision where he stated: "These ultras believe in the wild and fantastic theory of absolute dominion by one race over the other communities, regardless of the Constitution." Musa and Mahathir would later be rehabilitated by the Tunku's successor, Tun Abdul Razak.
In some cases, Lee also would refer to media outlets as "ultras"; he once criticised the Utusan Melayu as "their [the ultras'] newspaper".
Ironically, Lee himself would later be considered an "ultra" by the Alliance government for some of the statements he made; on May 24, 1965, Lee publicly stated: "Let us be quite frank. Why should we go back to old Singapore and once again reduce the non-Malays in Malaya to a minority?" His Malaysian Malaysia
Malaysian Malaysia
The phrase "Malaysian Malaysia" was originally used in the early 1960s as the rallying motto of the Malaysian Solidarity Council, a confederation of political parties formed to oppose Article 153 of the Constitution of Malaysia...
campaign was not received well either by UMNO or most of the Malays, who tended to view a Malaysian Malaysia as a "Chinese Malaysia". It has been speculated that this was due to the limited vocabulary of Malay at the time; the only Malay word for "nation" then was "bangsa", which was also synonymous with race. Since there was (and is) no "Malaysian race", it has been argued that most Malays considered anything other than a "Malay nation" as threatening to their rights. The conflict between Lee and his Chinese-majority PAP with the Malaysian government culminated in the secession of Singapore from Malaysia in 1965.
Reduction in usage in 1970s
The usage of the phrase "ultra" declined greatly in the 1970s, not long after the May 13 riots of 1969. This may have been due to strong restrictions on making potentially incendiary declarations in public; even Parliament was banned from discussing the repeal of certain articles of the Constitution, such as Article 153, which touched on Malay rights. Due to this, the political atmosphere cooled down, which may have indirectly contributed to the decline in usage of "ultra" to describe racial chauvinists.List of alleged politicians
- Mahathir bin MohamadMahathir bin MohamadTun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad . is a Malaysian politician who was the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia. He held the post for 22 years from 1981 to 2003, making him Malaysia's longest serving Prime Minister. His political career spanned almost 40 years.Born and raised in Alor Setar, Kedah, Mahathir...
- Musa HitamMusa HitamTun Musa bin Hitam , is a Malaysian politician and a former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, serving under Mahathir bin Mohamad. He was born in Johor Bahru, Johor in 1934...
- Anwar IbrahimAnwar IbrahimAnwar bin Ibrahim is a Malaysian politician who served as Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister from 1993 to 1998. Early in his career, Anwar was a close ally of Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad but subsequently emerged as the most prominent critic of Mahathir's government.In 1999, he was sentenced...
- Najib Tun RazakNajib Tun RazakDato' Sri Haji Mohd Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak is the sixth, and since 2009, Prime Minister of Malaysia. He previously held the post of Deputy Prime Minister from 7 January 2004 until he succeeded Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as Prime Minister on 3 April 2009. Najib is President of the United...
- Hishammuddin HusseinHishammuddin HusseinDatuk Seri Panglima Hishammuddin bin Tun Hussein is a Malaysian politician and member of the United Malays National Organisation . He is the current Malaysian Minister of Home Affairs. He is the former Minister of Education, having served from 2004 to 2009. He has been mentioned as a likely...
- Khairy JamaluddinKhairy JamaluddinKhairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar is a Malaysian politician, and the son-in-law of former Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Since 2008, Khairy has been a member of the Malaysian Parliament representing the constituency of Rembau...
- Ahmad Shabery CheekAhmad Shabery CheekYB. Dato' Sri Ahmad Shabery Cheek is a Malaysian politician. He is the Minister of Youth and Sports in the Barisan Nasional coalition government, and sits in Parliament as the member for Kemaman, Terengganu...
- Abdul Ghani OthmanAbdul Ghani OthmanDato' Hajji Abdul Ghani Bin Othman . is the current Menteri Besar of the state of Johor in Malaysia. He has been in office since 1995. Born in Sungai Mati, Ledang, Muar, Johor, Malaysia. He is a member of the United Malays National Organisation...
- Hashim SubohHashim SubohDatuk Hashim Suboh is a Malaysian politician from the United Malays National Organisation , the leading party of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition. He is the Deputy Chief of the party's Kangar division...
- Shafie SallehShafie SallehDr. Shafie Salleh is a Malaysian politician and former Higher Education Minister of Malaysia. He is a strong advocate of the racialist ideology of Ketuanan Melayu and the exclusion of non-Malay from certain institutions of higher learning....
- Azimi DaimAzimi DaimAzimi Daim is a Malaysian politician and Information Chief of the Youth wing of the United Malays National Organisation . In 2006, together with Hashim Suboh and Hasnoor Hussein, he was officially reprimanded by UMNO for stating that "when tension rises, the blood of Malay warriors will run in our...
- Syed Jaafar AlbarSyed Jaafar AlbarTan Sri Syed Jaafar bin Hassan Albar was a Malaysian politician. His staunch defense of his political party, the United Malays National Organisation — which leads the governing Barisan Nasional coalition — led to him being given the moniker "Lion of UMNO"...
- Syed Nasir IsmailSyed Nasir IsmailTun Dato' Syed Nasir bin Ismail was a Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, the lower house of the Parliament of Malaysia. During his lifetime, he was known as an ultra who sought to guarantee the primacy of the Malay language in Malaysia through the closing down of Chinese and Tamil vernacular schools...