A brief comparison of race politics in Malaysia and Singapore:

[A post I started writing in August 2018]

A brief comparison of race politics in Malaysia and Singapore:

Circa 1965 "Malay Malaysia" from KL. "Malaysian Malaysia" from SG/PAP. Singapore evicted from the the Federation.
1970: President Yusof Ishak pass away. There would be no Malay President for Singapore over the next 47 years.
1971: Malaysia implements the New Economic Policy/Bumiputera policy.
1972: Gerakan, a predominantly Chinese political party that won the most seats in Penang, was brought into the Alliance, which later became the Barisan Nasional (BN), the ruling coalition of ethnic political parties. BN includes the MCA, MIC, and of course UMNO.
1988: The Group Representation Constituency was created and effected from Singapore's GE1988. Under the GRC system, at least one candidate must be an ethnic minority. This scheme/system ostensibly was to ensure minority representation in Parliament. The GRC did not render ethnic based parties obsolete, but it in effect rendered them mostly insignificant in Singapore.
1999-2003: Fall of Anwar (from UMNO & BN), the rise of Reformasi against the New Economic Policy, and the emergence of Keadilan (PKR).
Circa 2003: In response to the challenge to NEP, Bumiputera from Keadilan and Reformasi, UMNO and other Malay rights group promoted Ketuanan Melayu.
Keadilan counters with Ketuanan Rakyat.
Mahathir steps down as PM.
Circa 2009, Najib takes over as PM (after Mahathir agitates to remove Abdullah Badawi as PM), and promulgates a "One Malaysia" vision. It's not quite "Malaysian Malaysia" but hints at it. Then somehow they have 1MDB. Which may be related.
2017, Singapore selects Halimah Yacob as Singapore's President. She is the first woman president of Singapore, and a Malay.
Now, 2018. Pakatan Harapan (Alliance of Hope) has wrested control of the Malaysian Parliament from BN. And hands the PMship to Mahathir who has founded a party called - Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia. The "pribumi" in the name means Indigenous people or Bumiputera.

It is a Malay-based organisation. Non-bumis can join the part as associate members with no voting rights.

Progress? Or Illusion of progress?