Other than Malaysia currently is there racism written into the Law of any other country?

Answer 1

In almost all countries in the world, racism is unacceptable and there are laws written to combat racism. However, Malaysia, being known worldwide as a multiethnic, multicultural and multi-religious county, has racism written into its constitution and laws. The Malaysian population is such that Malays make up 50.4%, Chinese 23.7%, indigenous 11%, and Indian 7.1%. Article 153 of the Constitution of Malaysia grants the the King of Malaysia (Yang di-Pertuan Agong) responsibility for safeguarding the special position of the Malay and other indigenous peoples of Malaysia, collectively referred to as Bumiputra. This Article 153 still continues to this day in 2009. The Malaysian New Economic Policy (NEP or DEB for Dasar Ekonomi Baru in Malay), is an ambitious and controversial socio-economic restructuring "affirmative action" program that reduces the socioeconomic disparity between the Chinese minority and Malay majority, hence reducing non-Malays to the status of second-class citizens by cementing ketuanan Melayu (Malay supremacy). The NEP is often invoked as part of the Malay Agenda, which is in turn part of the Malaysian social contract granting Malays special rights in return for citizenship for non-Malays. Singaporean politician Lee Kuan Yew bemoaned what would later be described as the Malaysian social contract: "According to history, Malays began to migrate to Malaysia in noticeable numbers only about 700 years ago. Of the 39% Malays in Malaysia today, about one-third are comparatively new immigrants like the secretary-general of UMNO, Dato' Syed Ja'afar Albar, who came to Malaya from Indonesia just before the war at the age of more than thirty. Therefore it is wrong and illogical for a particular racial group to think that they are more justified to be called Malaysians and that the others can become Malaysian only through their favour." Examples of such policies that run to this day include: 1. Companies listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (Bursa Saham Kuala Lumpur) must have 30% bumiputra ownership of equity to satisfy listing requirements. Foreign companies that operate in Malaysia also must adhere to this requirement. 2. For a limited period, a certain percentage of new housing in any development has to be sold to bumiputra owners. Housing developers are required to provide a minimum 7% discount to bumiputra buyers of these lots. This is required regardless of the income level of the potential buyer. Remaining unsold houses after a given time period are allowed to be sold to non-bumi if the developer proves attempts have been made to fulfill the requirement. There is no bumiputra discount on existing housing. 3. A basket of government-run (and profit-guaranteed) mutual funds are available for purchase by bumiputra buyers only. The Amanah Saham Nasional (ASN) has return rates approximately 3 to 5 times that of local commercial banks. 4. 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". Ali, the bumiputra, is included solely to satisfy this requirement, and Baba (the non-bumiputra) pays Ali a certain sum in exchange. 5. Projects were earmarked for Malay contractors to enable them to gain expertise in various fields. 6. 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 7. Under former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir, quotas for entry into public universities were enforced, with some universities such as Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) admitting only Bumiputra students 8. Bumiputras are given 7 percent discount when buying real estate. REFERENCES: • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bumiputera_… • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Article_153… • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysian_N… • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bumi_d…