Article 160 of the Constitution of Malaysia defines various terms used in the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

. It has an important impact on Islam in Malaysia and the

Malay people Malays ( ms, Orang Melayu, Jawi: أورڠ ملايو) are an Austronesian ethnic group native to eastern Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula and coastal Borneo, as well as the smaller islands that lie between these locations — areas that are ...

due to its definition of a Malay person under clause 2. It took effect after 31 August 1957 ("Merdeka Day" or " Independence Day") in the Federation of Malaya (now

Peninsular Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia ( ms, Semenanjung Malaysia; Jawi: سمننجڠ مليسيا), or the States of Malaya ( ms, Negeri-negeri Tanah Melayu; Jawi: نڬري-نڬري تانه ملايو), also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, ...

), and took effect in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

and

East Malaysia East Malaysia (), or the Borneo States, also known as Malaysian Borneo, is the part of Malaysia on and near the island of Borneo, the world's third-largest island. Near the coast of Sabah is a small archipelago called Labuan. East Malaysia li ...

when they merged with Malaya in 1963 to jointly form

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. Although the article no longer applies to Singapore since its separation from Malaysia in 1965, it does affect the legal status of Malay Singaporeans when they enter Malaysia.

Definition of a Malay

The article defines a “Malay” as a person who professes the religion of Islam, habitually speaks the

Malay language Malay (; ms, Bahasa Melayu, links=no, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , Rejang script, Rencong: ) is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language that is an official language of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, and that is also spo ...

, and conforms to Malay custom. They should also be a person who is (a) born before Merdeka Day in the Federation or in Singapore or born of parents one of whom was born in the Federation or in Singapore, or is on that day domiciled in the Federation or in Singapore; or (b) the issue of such a person; As a result, Malay citizens who convert out of Islam are no longer considered Malay under the law. Hence, the

Bumiputra ''Bumiputera'' or ''Bumiputra'' ( Jawi: ) is a term used in Malaysia to describe Malays, the Orang Asli of Peninsular Malaysia, and various indigenous peoples of East Malaysia (see official definition below). The term is sometimes controve ...

privileges afforded to Malays under Article 153 of the Constitution, the

New Economic Policy The New Economic Policy (NEP) () was an economic policy of the Soviet Union proposed by Vladimir Lenin in 1921 as a temporary expedient. Lenin characterized the NEP in 1922 as an economic system that would include "a free market and capitalism, ...

(NEP), etc. are forfeit for such converts. Those who converted to other religion have created a number of legal issues. Likewise, a non-Malay Malaysian who converts to Islam can lay claim to Bumiputra privileges, provided he meets the other conditions.

Notes and references

{{Reflist Constitution of Malaysia Racial and religious quotas in Malaysia