MPU2163: Malaysian Studies Assignment on Ethnic Groups and Power

This report, submitted for a Malaysian Studies course, delves into the concept of segregation of power within the Malaysian context, examining its advantages within the reigning system. It explores the implementation of the Westminster parliamentary democracy and analyzes the overlaps between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The report then provides a comprehensive account of major ethnic groups in Malaysia, including the Malay and Chinese communities, highlighting their contributions to the country's economy. The analysis includes discussions on demographic composition, cultural influences, and economic impacts. References from various academic sources support the arguments presented throughout the report, offering a detailed overview of Malaysia's political structure and ethnic diversity.

Running head: MALAYSIAN STUDIES
MALAYSIAN STUDIES
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
PART 1: SEGREGATION OF POWER IN THE MALAYSIAN CONTEXT..............................2
References....................................................................................................................................6
PART 2: COMPREHENSIVE STUDY OF MALAYSIAN ETHNIC GROUPS...........................7
References..................................................................................................................................12

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PART 1: SEGREGATION OF POWER IN THE MALAYSIAN CONTEXT
1. What is meant by segregation of power as implemented in our country? In your
opinion, what are the advantages of such a practice in a reigning system? Discuss.
Segregation or separation of powers is a model of governance under which a state’s
government is branched into separate areas of powers and responsibilities so that the functioning
of branch does not coincide and conflict with that of the others. The term ‘separation of powers’
originates from ‘trias politica’, which was coined by the 18th century French socio-political
philosopher Charles-Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu, in his publication
‘Spirit of the Laws’ ("The Separation of Powers – Why Is It Necessary?", 2018).
The Doctrine of Segregation of power prioritises division of responsibilities of the
government to different parts of it to prevent any one sector from exercising absolute control and
dominance, thereby preventing concentration of power. In his proposed model, Zoller (2014)
mentions how a state’s political authority can be divided into three parts – legislative, executive,
and judicial.
All democratic states acknowledge this structure. Malaysia, based on the British Westminster
system practices parliamentary democracy system (Hanretty et al., 2017). The concept of
‘people’s rule’ is applied here, which means, the leaders are chosen through a public voting
procedure and the elected to form the government. There being no true division of executive and
legislative power because of a cabinet system, the separation of powers in Malaysia resembles
the English legal system. Malaysia being a democratic nation, its Prime Minister is elected from
the Dewan Rakyat (lower house) at the Parliament. The Malaysian King or Yang Di-Pertuan

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Agong (YDPA) stands for the power of monarchy. The YDPA is responsible for appointing the
cabinet at the Prime Minister’s advice (Tyson, 2017).
The Malay administration follows constitution supremacy, every aspect of the law is
followed according to the constitution and anything beyond that is considered null and void. The
fundamental rights and duties of each body are taken care of by the executive, which has both
federal and state level governing power. The Prime Minister heads the federal level cabinet and
the Chief Minister or ‘Mentari Besar’ heads the state level cabinet (Khoo & Loh, 2014). Their
main function is governance, administration, and implementation of legislative laws. They do not
have the capacity to interfere with the function s of the Legislative or the Judiciary, who again
function on both federal and state levels (Harding, Neo, Shah & Vern, 2018). The Legislative
members are known as ‘Members of Parliament’, headed by the YDPA (Yang Di Pertuan
Agung) at the federal level and as ‘State Legislative Assemblymen’ headed by the YDP (Yang di
Pertua) at the state level. Their primary functions consist of creating, amending and passing laws,
followed by upholding these laws as per which, punishment to crimes are executed according to
the country’s law irrespective of race, socio-cultural status or individual power of authority.
A few issues will be brought forward in relation to the said country and then the benefits of
the said role division.
The Cabinet is allowed to draw up, amend, and pass laws on the Parliament’s behalf by the
federal constitution. Relevant ministers then enforce these laws through their respected
ministries, a procedure known as ‘Delegated Legislation’. The same procedure where the
Executive Council has the power to take such decisions, is applied in the state level, indicating a
power overlap between the Legislative and the Executive (Saunders, 2018).

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The Malay Constitution declares the Judiciary as an independent body, but after the 1988
Judicial crisis, where a number of respectable supreme court judges were removed, this has been
highly compromised. Before this crisis the Judiciary of Malaysia had full autonomy and was a
well-reputed and respected body of power. However, after the crisis, the Attorney General has
been granted the power to take decisions on behalf of the Judiciary (Tew, 2016).
There are two senses of separation of power, namely strict and liberal. Malaysia follows the
latter sense under the Westminster system, that allows overlap between the Legislative, the
Judiciary, and the Executive, given there should be check and balance between the mentioned
three (Rosenbloom, 2016). There can be overlap in personal or membership, functions, and
powers (Saunders, 2018)
Overlap between Legislative and Executive
The king of Malaysia or Yang Di-Pertuan Agong is the ceremonial executive and is an
integral part of the parliament ("Overlaps of Separation of Power in Malaysia", 2013). This
means he overlaps in personal between the Legislative and the Executive. His part in the
parliament is that of formality and he does not actually play any parliamentary role.
Another is the capacity of the Legislative to take over Judiciary powers. The negative
point here is that when a minister passes a rule that has to go through a parliamentary hearing,
the members of the parliament will support the rule nonetheless because of his parliamentary
involvement.
Overlap of Legislature and Judiciary
In these two bodies, there is no overlap of personal but there is overlap of functions.
Whenever there are instances of contravention in parliamentary privilege or contempt, the

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Legislative plays a role in the Judiciary as it is empowered to use its own composition and power
in such cases ("Overlaps of Separation of Power in Malaysia", 2013).

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Advantages and disadvantages of separation of power:
Separation of powers with a properly defined set of attributes, should lead to a system of
checks and balances where the decisions being made are to the benefit of all (Rosenbloom,
2016). A democratic system entails that the governing body and its representatives are elected by
the general public, thus the set of regulations and balances that makes the decisions should work
in favour of the public. In contrast a dictatorial system where the power is nominated without
public intervention and consultation, automatically overlooks the issues of the general public and
the policies mostly benefit the governing body.
With an improperly defined set of attributes along with faulty creation and construction
of rules, a democratic system stutters in its functioning. This is where dictatorial rule achieves
the upper hand since they reserve the right to override their governments, parliaments and
courts. This also explains why dictatorial rule shows better prowess in war than a democratic
rule.

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References
Hanretty, C., Lauderdale, B. E., & Vivyan, N. (2017). Dyadic representation in a Westminster
system. Legislative Studies Quarterly, 42(2), 235-267.
Harding, A., Neo, J., Shah, D., & Vern, W. (2018). Malaysia: The state of liberal
democracy. International Journal Of Constitutional Law, 16(2), 625-634. doi:
10.1093/icon/moy042
Khoo, K. B. T., & Loh, F. (2014). Democracy in Malaysia: Discourses and practices (No. 5).
Routledge.
Overlaps of Separation of Power in Malaysia. (2013). Retrieved from
https://www.lawteacher.net/free-law-essays/public-law/overlaps-of-separation-of-power-
law-essays.php?vref=1
Rosenbloom, D. H. (2016). 3a. Public Administrative Theory and the Separation of Powers.
In The Constitutional School of American Public Administration (pp. 78-94). Routledge.
Saunders, C. (2018). Theoretical underpinnings of separation of powers. In Comparative
Constitutional Theory. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Tew, Y. (2016). On the Uneven Journey to Constitutional Redemption: The Malaysian Judiciary
and Constitutional Politics. Pac. Rim L. & Pol'y J., 25, 673.
The Separation of Powers – Why Is It Necessary?. (2018). Retrieved from
https://www.parlament.gv.at/ENGL/PERK/PARL/POL/ParluGewaltenteilung/
index.shtml
Tyson, A. D. (2017). A review: Rethinking ethnicity in Malaysia. Malaysian Journal of
Economic Studies, 48(1), 79-83.

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PART 2: COMPREHENSIVE STUDY OF MALAYSIAN ETHNIC GROUPS
Write a comprehensive account on the different ethnic groups in Malaysia (Choose a
maximum of three ethnic groups). Highlight their contributions towards the economy of
Malaysia.
Malaysia is a country with a wide, majorly Asian ethnic diversity, and this fact is evident
in Malaysia’s tourism slogan, “Malaysia, truly Asia”. This factor is a crucial and powerful
motive when designing and implementing public policies. The multi-faceted ethnic, linguistic,
cultural and religious structure of the population builds the unity of the country being the main
objective of social, economic, and national development (Snodgrass, 2019); (Mura & Tavakoli,
2014). Collecting ethnicity data is vital for maintaining balance in the different groups
comprising the Malaysian society (Nagaraj et al., 2015).
Malaysia has multi-dimensional ethnicity, which includes facets such as race, ancestry,
linguistic identity, and religion (Nagaraj et al., 2015). Practically, ethnicity refers to a sub-
societal groups that share a common cultural background and ancestral descent. It could also
mean pan-cultural groups of people who could be identified as one based on language, race or
religion (Granhemat, Swee Heng & Abdullah, 2014)
The demographic composition of Malaysian populace consists of 50.1% of Malay, 22.6%
of Chinese, 11.8% of indigenous Bumiputra groups, 6.7% Indians and other groups comprise
0.7% (Sawe, 2018). There is a huge group of non-citizen people, who make up 8.2% of the
resident population. This multicultural society affects food, culture and customs on various
levels.

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The discussion in this assignment will be based on 3 of the main ethnic groups found in the
country (Sawe, 2018).
Malay or Bumiputra
According to Sawe (2018) This ethnic group accounts for 50.1% of the total population,
making it the largest in the country. They are indigenous to the country and generally follow
Islam. This could mean that Muslims belonging from any race, who practice Malay culture, are
considered to be a part of this group (Abdullah & Ismail, 2013). They are speakers of the
national language of the country, Malay and they play a dominant role in the political landscape
of Malaysia. Hinduism and Buddhism noticeably influence their culture, even though portrayal
of such elements have been banned since the 1980-90s due to efforts of the ‘Islamization’
Movement.
11.8% of the population also given Bumiputra status even though they are non-malay
indigenous groups. These consist of tribes such as the Dayak, the Iban, the Biyaduhs, the
Kadazan, and other aboriginal groups. Other groups include the Burmese, the Chams, Khmers,
and Malaysian Siamese (Sawe, 2018).
The Malay population has greatly increased their participation in research over a period
of 32 years (Abrizah et al, 2017). Their numbers have risen from 20% to 65%. This is has in
return shifted the balance of the Malaysian Scientific industry towards engineering and
technology (Lewison, et al., 2016). This in turn has changed the relationship of collaborations
that takes place with foreign nations, which now are interested in setting up engineering firms in
the country, therefore benefitting it financially.
Chinese

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This ethnic group accounts for 22.6% of the population, making them the second-largest
ethnic group in the country (Sawe, 2018). The immigration rate of the Chinese peaked in the 19th
century, even though such people have existed in the country for centuries. The Chinese
population is the most dominant in the business and trading sectors of Malaysia. When the influx
of the Chinese community occurred in the country, most of the individuals worked in railway
construction and tin manufacturing which boomed under the colonial rule, later on moving on to
open their own businesses. The biggest business conglomerates in the present day all belong
from the Chinese community. They mainly follow Taoism or Buddhism and continue to maintain
strong ties with mainland China (Sawe, 2018). Due to many years of cohabitation with the
Malays, a unification of practices and beliefs, arising from intergroup marriages has given rise to
a new culture incorporating both Chinese and Malay traditions.
The main influence of this group on the economy is bringing in big foreign trading
nations such as China into the market. The already existing strong ties of the Chinese Malay
population implies strong trading relations with mainland China. The trade with this country
affects the domestic inflation rates and exchange rates. When it comes to tourism, the Chinese
community contributes increasingly to the food-tours conducted in Malaysia for foreign tourist
(Hassan, 2014). Their special cuisine of a mixture of Chinese and Malay delicacies has created a
lot of interest in the foreign tourist markets, thus bringing in economic growth to the country
(Saari, Dietzenbacher & Los, 2015).
The business section of the Malaysian economy has been traditionally dominated by the
Chinese Malaysians. (Zaidi, Abdul Karim & Kefeli @ Zulkefli, 2018). Large localised Chinese
enterprises have been involved in food ingredients and natural resources industries like palm oil
and sugar. Even the country’s biscuit manufacturing industry has been dominated by the ethnic

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Chinese Malaysians. Until the 1970s, the country’s economic structure was interconnected with
kinship connections and family ties. By the 21st century with the growing Chinese economy, the
Malay economic network became jointly connected with multiple major Overseas Chinese
enterprises through the bamboo network. The local Malaysian Chinese community played a
significant part in facilitating investment of Chinese capital in Malaysia (Folk & Jomo, 2013). In
the process, both nations reaped the benefits of expanded markets, low labour costs and the
advent of different of technological and managerial system advancements, resulting in Malaysia
becoming China’s largest trading partner in the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian
Nations) region. However, despite the business influence by the Chinese-Singaporean
neighbours, a major part of Chinese Malaysian businesses are still noticed concentrating less on
developing business bonds with the other businessmen of the Southeast Asian Chinese section,
even though there have been businesses and business attempts made by various localised
Chinese Malaysian enterprises (Mosabah & Mohamed Saleh, 2014).
Indian
Indian Malaysians comprise 6.7% of the total population, making them the third largest
ethnic group. The Indian subgroups include Tamils, Telugus and Punjabis. The Tamil population
makes up 86% of Malaysian Indians and they began arriving to the country in the 18th and 19th
century during colonial rule (Sawe, 2018). These people were mainly brought in to work in
railway construction, and oil and rubber plantations. The Tamil people brought in Sri Lanka who
were versed in English, were employed as teachers, public servants, doctors, clerks, and other
white-collar jobs (Sawe, 2018). The Punjabi population was mostly enlisted in the Malaysian
Army. Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims form the main religions as followed by the Indian Malaysian
ethnic groups, with majority of them being Hindus.

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There are substantial socio-economic differences between the various Indian-Malaysian
groups, adding to a significant portion of the Malaysian professional classes. According to 1999
census, Malaysian Indians formed 15.5% of the country’s professional workforce including but
not restricted to doctors (28.4%), lawyers (26.8%), dentists (21%), veterinary surgeons (28.5%),
engineers (6.4%), accountants (5.8%), surveyors (3.0%) and architects (1.5%). Many early South
Indian immigrants worked in the agriculture industry, specifically in the plantation sector. 60%
of all Indians in 1930 were active in this sector, 45% were still being agriculturally active by
1970. The Malayali population holds the managerial and assistant positions. Even in the
transport and communication sector, there is a prominent Indian population working as
labourers, technical or administrative staff. The Sri Lankan Tamils population mainly held the
subordinate positions in administration and technical positions in estates and even to this day,
comprise a major population in the particular sector ("Department of Statistics Malaysia Official
Portal", 2016)
The business and trade sector is also controlled by a large Indian population, with the
Chettiars in control of the majority. The British for service in the armed forces recruited the
Sikhs and Punjabi immigrants. Their descendants are now present in the economy mostly as
professionals in the trading and pawn business.
Malaysia's rich cultural heritage complimented by the different ethnic groups residing in
the country adds greatly to the nation's economy. Over the course of history, Malaysia has seen
major influx of people from its neighbouring countries, who eventually ended up settling down
and establishing colonies of their own. Thus with the progress of time, their merger with the

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Malaysian communities became a crucial driving force for the country's advancement
economically.

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References
Abrizah, A., Badawi, F., Zoohorian-Fooladi, N., Nicholas, D., Jamali, H. R., & Norliya, A. K.
(2017). Trust and authority in the periphery of world scholarly communication: A
Malaysian focus group study. Malaysian Journal of Library & Information
Science, 20(2), 67-83.
Abdullah, S.N., & Ismail, K.N.I.K. (2013). Gender, Ethnic and Age Diversity of the Boards of
Large Malaysian Firms and Performance. Jurnal Pengurusan, 38, 27-40.
Department of Statistics Malaysia Official Portal. (2016). Retrieved from
https://www.dosm.gov.my/v1/index.php?r=column/ctwoByCat&parent_id=115&menu_i
d=L0pheU43NWJwRWVSZklWdzQ4TlhUUT09
Folk, B. C., & Jomo, K. S. (2013). Ethnic Business: Chinese Capitalism in Southeast Asia (Vol.
50). Routledge.
Hassan, H. (2014). The Representation of Malaysian Cultures in Tourism Brochures. Procedia -
Social And Behavioral Sciences, 118, 140-151. doi:
10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.02.019Diversity
Lewison, G., Kumar, S., Wong, C., Roe, P., & Webber, R. (2016). The contribution of ethnic
groups to Malaysian scientific output, 1982–2014, and the effects of the new economic
policy. Scientometrics, 109(3), 1877-1893. doi: 10.1007/s11192-016-2139-3
Mosabah, A., & Mohamed Saleh, A. (2014). A Review of Tourism Development in Malaysia.
European Journal Of Business And Management, 6(5).

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Mura, P., & Tavakoli, R. (2014). Tourism and social capital in Malaysia. Current Issues in
Tourism, 17(1), 28-45.
Nagaraj, S., Nai-Peng, T., Chiu-Wan, N., Kiong-Hock, L., & Pala, J. (2015). Counting Ethnicity
in Malaysia: The Complexity of Measuring Diversity. IMISCOE Research Series, 143-
173. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-20095-8_8
Snodgrass, D.(2019). Successful Economic Development in a Multi-Ethnic Society: The
Malaysian Case.
Saari, M., Dietzenbacher, E., & Los, B. (2015). Sources of Income Growth and Inequality
Across Ethnic Groups in Malaysia, 1970–2000. World Development, 76, 311-328. doi:
0305-750X
Sawe, B. (2018). Ethnic Groups Of Malaysia. Retrieved from
https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/ethnic-groups-of-malaysia.html
Zaidi, M., Abdul Karim, Z., & Kefeli @ Zulkefli, Z. (2018). Impact of China on Malaysian
Economy: Empirical Evidence of Sign-Restricted Structural Vector Autoregression
(SVAR) Model. Asian Academy Of Management Journal Of Accounting And
Finance, 14(2), 25-44. doi: 10.21315/aamjaf2018.14.2.2