Malaysia's broad mix still waiting to merge happily_THE CANBERRA TIMES_

The author is in Malaysia but this article will never see the daylight in Malaysian MSM...happy reading


Malaysia's broad mix still waiting to merge happily
JAMES CHIN11/07/2008 9:33:00 AM

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/opinion/editorial/general/malaysias-broad-mix-still-waiting-to-merge-happily/809296.aspx

When Kevin Rudd arrived in Malaysia yesterday, he found a country in political transition. The country has been in chaos since the March general elections when the ruling Barisan Nasional (National Front) lost its two-thirds majority to an opposition led by Anwar Ibrahim, the former deputy prime minister.
And only hours after Rudd arrived in the country, Malaysia's Prime Minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, announced he would step down in mid-2010 and hand over to his deputy Najib Tun Razak.

Since the March elections, there have been no holds barred. The country has been in uproar over accusations of sexual impropriety and bribery involving Najib.

As if that were not enough, Anwar is accused of sodomy by one of his personal aides the same accusation that led former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad to sack him a decade ago. On top of that, some in the opposition have announced that only ''good'' Muslims who pray five times a day will be given appointments and promotion as civil servants in Kelantan state.

While all this mud-slinging is seen as political games by the polity, a far more serious debate is occurring among the elite. Since independence, it has been taken for granted that Ketuanan Melayu (Malay dominance) is the bedrock of the Malaysian political system. Malays occupy all the top positions in the key institutions such as the police, armed forces, civil service and universities. An ambitious affirmative action policy launched in 1971 gave Malays preferential treatment in all political, social and economic spheres. Non-Malays were expected to put up with certain levels of racial discrimination in return for citizenship and a relatively free hand in the economy. Anyone criticising the ''special rights'' of Malays was guilty of sedition.


But since the elections more of the younger generation are questioning these ''special rights''. Malay elites argue that these special rights were agreed upon at the time of independence and that non-Malays have no right to question them, let alone raise the matter for debate.

Previously it was not possible for anyone to raise the issue, as the Government controlled the media tightly. However, times have changed. The rise of the internet has meant that all the issues once discussed behind closed doors are now open to anyone with an internet connection. Critics have shown that the affirmative action policies have led to serious corruption in government contracts and open racial discrimination, especially in the civil service and university intake. This has led to serious polarisation between Malays and non-Malays. The non-Malay population, principally Chinese and Indians, feel they are being treated as second-class citizens despite having played a major role in the development of the economy. Mahathir has openly acknowledged that the Chinese were responsible for Malaysia's spectacular growth in the 1980s.

Critics argue that a better form of affirmative action would be one based on economic needs rather than ethnicity. They argue that the Government's obsession with race has meant that national unity can never be achieved. The younger non-Malay population are asking why they are paying the price of a political deal done by their forefathers. Some even disputed that there was a political deal done to maintain Malay dominance forever. They argue that the deal was for affirmative action to help Malays until they were on a par with the more advanced Chinese and Indians.

The problem with the ongoing debate is that there is no common ground for any dialogue. Malay nationalists will not even discuss the issue of affirmative action policies or Ketuanan Melayu. For them, the non-Malay population are immigrants and citizens with no rights to the highest political office. Any special benefit is rightly due to Malays' birthright as the ''indigenous'' peoples of Malaysia. This group has been calling on the Government to use the Internal Security Act, a law that allows detention without trial, for those who ''question'' the special rights. One Malay MP famously said in Parliament that, if the Chinese and Indians were unhappy with their status, they could ''go back'' to mainland China and India. Another Malay MP warned about ''blood flowing in the streets'' if Malay privileges were taken away.

Simply put, those who question Ketuanan Melayu are traitors.

A sizeable part of the Malay population has grown so used to the extensive subsidy system provided by these special rights that they are genuinely fearful. Many think they cannot survive without government help, despite statistics showing that Malays are in the majority among the professional class. The Government is to blame for this as it constantly tells the Malay population that it is still very far behind the non-Malays, and they have to be united under the United Malays National Organisation, the ruling party, or else they will lose all their privileges.

Mahathir, who is a critic of Badawi, has also joined the bandwagon and openly called on Malays to get rid of Badawi, claiming that Badawi's weak Government may lead to non-Malay political control. He does see the irony of his words when he was in power, he called for the establishment of Bangsa Malaysia, a united Malaysian race.

Thus the debate itself is couched in ethnic terms. It is seen as Malays versus non-Malays and a struggle for political power. It is not seen as a debate about building a more united nation. It is assumed that if you are a Malay you will support the system, and if you are a non-Malay you are trying to do away with Ketuanan Melayu. In today's world, it is no longer acceptable to discriminate on racial grounds and concepts like Ketuanan Melayu do not have a place in a modern, 21st century state. Until this debate is settled, Malaysia will continue to be a nation in waiting.

Professor James Chin is head of the School of Arts and Social Sciences, Monash University, Malaysia campus.