Malaysian legal history Malaysian legal history Malaysian legal history has been determined by events spanning a period of some six hundred years. Of these, three major periods were largely responsible for shaping the current Malaysian system. The first was the founding of the Melaka Sultanate at the beginning of the 15th century; second was the spread of Islam in the indigenous culture; and finally, and perhaps the most significant in modern Malaysia, was British colonial rule which brought with it constitutional government and the common law system. During the realm of the Sultanate, Melaka was an important trading port and the maintenance of
Malaysian Malaysia affirmative action for the Malays to be racial discrimination against other Malaysian citizens, with the goal of creating "ketuanan Melayu" (Malay supremacy). "Malaysian Malaysia" is not a mere tautology, because it distinguishes between nationality and ethnic classification. The complaint was that Malaysia was not being "Malaysian" by discriminating against non-Malays and was rather being a "Malay Malaysia". The phrase "Malaysian Malaysia" is widely associated with Lee Kuan Yew, then leader of the Singapore-based People's Action Party (PAP), the prime constituent in the Malaysian Solidarity Convention; who was foremost a critic against the racial policy. In a speech, Lee scoffed at