Malaysia
Race debate heats up
UMNO raises some old issues on race, instead of heeding PM Abdullah's call to make Malays more self-reliant. By Seah Chiang Nee
Oct 6, 2004

At the recent UMNO meeting, Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi exhorted the Malays to upgrade themselves to compete in a global economy, meaning stop relying on special rights.

It was a praiseworthy call, although not a new one.

His predecessor, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, had repeatedly lambasted the Malays for wasting many of the privileges heaved upon them all these past years without catching up on the other races.

It was time for them to cut the umbilical cord to free them of the crutches, both he and Mr. Abdullah said.

If they could not learn to stand on their own feet, Malaysia would not succeed.

Supporting it are high achieving Malays who dislike the 'shame' attached to their race because of the protectionism in business, education and jobs.

Others ask: If the Malays could not compete with the Chinese in Malaysia, how could they compete with higher-skilled Americans, Europeans and Japanese, etc?

But despite the New Economic Policy (NEP), which has trained more Malays professionals, the technological and income gap between the Malays and non-Malays has widened. Harder working, the other races are pulling further away.

So while the UMNO leaders talk of gradually doing away with the special rights, many of their followers are demanding more.

Immediately after Mr. Abdullah became Prime Minister, I met one politically connected UMNO think-tanker in Kuala Lumpur who sounded a warning that surprised me.

He said Malaysia could be heading for another May 13 because the Malay-Chinese gap was widening - instead of narrowing for two basic reasons.

One, since the 1987 recession, affirmative action in jobs, business ownership had been reduced for the Malays in order to arrest a steep decline in foreign investments.

Unless it opened up, more investors would have bypassed Malaysia, which was already feeling the sting of a downturn and China's sucking them away from the region.

Two. The Internet and other high-tech explosions have widened the skills and competitive gap between the races. In some ways it has become worse than it was before May 13 (1969) race riots, he said.

With their backwardness in English, Science and Maths, the Malays could not keep up with the others in the learning of technology and were actually falling further behind, he said.

Too many graduates were opting for Islamic studies or the humanities, which were not marketable skills for investors. The Malay parents, unlike their Chinese counterparts, were generally less supportive of their children's education.

Another May 13 race riot could take place if the present trends continued. The nation's growth was not being shared by all and one group was falling further and further behind.

It wasn't, of course, what he - or anyone - would want to see. He was merely voicing his conclusion as a political scientist.

It was a surprise to those of us who heard him. Many of us had been led to believe during the Mahathir years that Malaysia was on track towards becoming a developed nation by 2020.

The think-tanker's explanation gave me a perspective into Malaysia's problems in the wake of today's rise in racial temperature.

To be sure, there are as many anxious Malays as there are non-Malays out there, both sides as divided as ever on what needs to be done.

The tension rose during debates in the recent UMNO annual general assembly, a traditional platform for the ambitious to score points by beating the Malay drums - and a subsequently robust non-Malay reaction.

Contributing to friction is the Internet, whose impact on politics is steadily rising in Malaysia with a widely read e-newspaper, malaysiakini.com, and dozens of outspoken forums.

The number of online users of all races has been steadily rising.

The authorities have recently warned that online offenders would not escape punishment if they incite of race and religious sentiments.

Another possible reason was the exit of tough, unforgiving Mahathir and his replacement by a milder Abdullah Badawi, who advocates a more open society. To some critics, this is an open invitation for free debate.

The Deputy Internal Security Minister Noh Omar issued a warning apparently aimed at an online blogger the Internal Security Act (ICA) would be used on anyone breaking the laws.

But UMNO's reaction must be a disappointment to Mr. Abdullah. Instead of supporting his call for Malays to stand on their own feet, UMNO members had reacted contrarily.

His minister of education and Umno Youth chief, Hishammuddin Hussein Onn, said, "... Unless there is a guarantee of a level-playing field, the Malays will never be able to compete fairly".

He called for strengthening of affirmative action for Malays instead of cutting it down.

The newly elected Umno deputy chairperson, Badruddin Amiruldin, warned 'other' citizens - apparently referring to non-Malays - not to 'disturb the hornets' nest'.

He referred to Malaysia as 'our country', implying the non-Malays were 'guests' or 'immigrants'. Waving a book on the May 13 riots in 1969, he warned non-Malays about the danger of questioning Malay rights.

Then came another shocker.

The Higher Education Minister, Dr Shafie Salleh, told the party assembly that he would NEVER allow 'non-bumiputeras' (sons of the soil) to enter the University of Technology Malaysia.

Some observers say these open disagreements show Mr. Abdullah's position in UMNO is not as strong as it appears. The poor showing of his slate of supporters is another indication.

The reaction from the non-Malays ranged from mild disapproval to angry criticism accusing the speakers as racialist, provocative and contrary to a multi-racial nation.

"What a joke. Even a big country like China has to open up to improve itself. What more a small country like Malaysia!" exclaimed one online commentator.

Meanwhile, the freed former Deputy Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is barred from standing for election until 2008, watches for opportunity to make a comeback, vowing to pursue his reformist goals.
Seah Chiang Nee