Malaysia
Chinese Loyalty
Chinese swing towards Malay-dominated government was already obvious in early-90s and I I had a glimpse of it in a badminton match.
By Seah Chiang Nee
May 19, 1992

On the eve of May 13, I was in Kuala Lumpur watching Malaysia's surprising victory over China in a Thomas Cup semi-final match culminating in an explosion of multi-racial nationalism.

Roughly half the 12,000 spectators at the stadium were Chinese and they were solidly cheering Malaysia on.

As this was happening on the eve of the traumatic racial riots in 1969, this outburst in national pride had significant meaning. Above all, it showed the changes that society has undergone.

I began covering Malaysia several months after this racial flare-up in 1969 as bureau chief of a Singaporean newspaper, The Singapore Herald. What I saw last week would not have been possible 23 years ago.

If the match had taken place 23 years ago, or even 15 years ago, many Chinese here would have been cheering China.

This is not a big surprise because it was also how things were in Singapore, too, in that era.

But the feelings of the Chinese here towards Malaysia had been relatively strong considering their continuing unhappiness over special privileges of the Malays.

They frequently complain of discrimination in education, jobs in the military and civil service and in business contracts but come election time, the majority of Chinese votes have gone to the ruling Barisan Nasional party.

This has virtually made it impossoble for the opposition PAS Islamic party to win power through the vote.

The younger Chinese are displaying strong nationalism for Malaysia.

The extent of this was shown clearly during the Malaysia-China match on May 12. The city centre, its usual crowded places were empty as people stayed at home to watch the live TV broadcast of the match.

In the stadium, the crowd went wild with excitement as Malaysia asserted its power over a nation of 1.1 billion people.

When Malaysia scored its winning point, the crowd went delirious. Only a few elderly Chinese were silent perhaps clouding their mixed emotions; the vast majority of Chinese, however, cheered wildly.

The Malays, in particular, were very proud that three Malay brothers, Rashid, Razif and Jelani Sidek, had given Malaysia the first two winning points.

Having their own race conquering the best of the Chinese players was, for the Malays, an added sense of pride.

This reached the peak when Malaysia best Indonesia in the final to give Malaysia the world badminton crown.

The Chinese crowd unfurled a banner in Chinese characters, which read: "Defeat the Indonesians".

Why have the Chinese feeling changed so much in the past 10 or 15 years ago?

The answer lies in their feeling less threatened, more reassured about their future here.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad is taking UMNO towards a new development-oriented direction, with less emphasis on racial issues.

He is considered a moderate, keen on reforming society by changing the attitudes of the Malays towards meritocracy. The Chinese are feeling happier today than at any time in the past.

The result was a society reaching a peak in national fervour, submerging the traditionally strong political, racial and religious differences that mark Malaysian society.

On May 13 this year with Parliament in session. I paid a visit to the Parliament's canteen, where MPs were sipping coffee, discussing the affairs of state.

But interspersed with their conversations, members of all political parties, were pre-occupied with Malaysia's attempt to become the world's best in badminton.

It had united the nation like nothing else had done in recent history, temporarily submerging the nation's quarrels.

I also noticed that, unlike before, many Chinese would take a pro-Malaysia bias in conflicts with Singapore.

There's no mistaking of national pride, cutting across all races and political colours. This grew after Malaysia beat the Indonesians.

It augurs well for Malaysia's nationhood, for its long-term solution to its racial differences. It's a painfully slow process but the fruits of the past 20 years are evident.

An Indian press photographer had this story to tell me: His father ran a provision shop along Old Klang Road and for years his Chinese neighbours would walk an extra few yards to buy from a Chinese shop nearby.

For years no Chinese would buy form him, not even a box of matches. All these changed in the late 70s when the colour of the skin declined in importance. "Today there's little difference," he said.

Their sanguine feeling also stems from strong economic growth in the past four years. With it has come a new sense of purpose.

All these do not mean that racial problems are over in this ethnically divided society. Every is praying the good economy doesn't falter. That will spill over to poorer racial relations.
By Seah Chiang Nee