Closing the Racial Gap in Malaysia
KRARR, LOUIS
NEW PLAN FOR ECONOMIC BALANCE Closing the Racial Gap in Malaysia BY LOUIS KRAAR Kuala Lumpur "The time for slogan-chanting is over," says Malaysia's new Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak. To...
...It remains to be seen whether the country's efficient but colorless new leader can really launch his promised "new era...
...Severe unemployment among younger Malays and Chinese alike, however, caused significant numbers of voters to reject the Alliance in the May 1969 elections...
...The emphasis now," Razak says, "is to narrow the gap between the haves and have-nots, because we feel if the have-nots are not given rights obviously we would not have peace in the country...
...To underscore the point, in February he promises to reconvene Parliament, suspended since May 13, 1969, when racial strife erupted between this nation's Chinese and Malay populations...
...A national Goodwill Operations Room in the capital has busily promoted social, sports and cultural events around the country in an effort to help restore harmony among the numerically near-equal Chinese and Malays...
...After successfully quelling 12 years of Communist insurgency, the country gained its independence from Britain in 1963 without violence...
...As one observer notes, "There are middle-grade officers who reflect the Malay chau-vanist point of view and would be willing to use their guns--with support of ultra-Malay politicians...
...Private investment declined last year, as Chinese professionals and capital drained out to more inviting lands...
...The Tunku, a consummate politician who loves to drink brandy, smoke cigars and gamble, also broke down...
...Malaysia has long been regarded as a peaceful, prosperous haven in Southeast Asia...
...Still, Razak insists the sole obstacle to stability and "a brighter future" is the Communists...
...Tunku (Prince) Abdul Rahman, 67, the warm, fun-loving man who served as Prime Minister for 13 years, employed a simple formula to insure peace...
...But more disturbing is his health...
...He blamed the racial trouble on the Communists, wept during a nationally televised speech after the disturbances, then clamped on emergency rule...
...To Malaysians, who endured over a decade of local Chinese Communist insurgency, mere mention of such a threat now assumes anti-Chinese overtones...
...It is true that remnants of the old guerrilla movement are holding out along the Thai border and in Borneo, but these isolated armed bands no longer pose a real threat...
...He brings to his job a lifetime of government service, experience in foreign affairs, and an outstanding record in pushing economic development projects...
...To begin with, by raising already heightened Malay hopes, he risks losing their support if he is unable to deliver any immediate improvement in their status...
...Louis Kraar reports on Southeast Asian affairs for Time magazine...
...In reality, Malaysia is suffering agonizing pangs of insecurity...
...And a Malaysian playwright recently staged a new drama on race relations--set in New York...
...Finally, no economic revitalization effort is likely to succeed without full support from the country's Chinese...
...Like his predecessor, Razak frequently resorts to using the Communists as a convenient scapegoat for basically communal problems...
...By last September, though, the Tunku had recovered enough of his former prestige to step aside in favor of his protege, the 48-year-old Razak...
...If Razak fails and racial disturbances recur, Malaysia could well end up under military rule...
...Razak is using special government incentives to encourage the spread of industry to the rural areas where most Malays live...
...As one of his Cabinet colleagues acknowledges, "The military would unite to take over if it got fed up with the politicians...
...To put it another way, the future of Razak's promised "new era" will depend on his ability to move beyond present sloganeering and achieve a genuine reconciliation among Malaysia's feuding races...
...The opposition's victory marches through the capital then touched off the racial violence that brought the government to crisis...
...Moreover, the eight-man National Operations Council, which now has both legislative and executive powers, will keep broad authority to police internal and external affairs...
...In contrast, the Chinese are usually more willing to adapt to new patterns that increase their earnings...
...Under an official state of emergency, an omnipotent National Operations Council--strongly influenced by the military--has been running the country with a firm hand...
...This hardly helps national unity...
...Secondly, government involvement in the economy could scare away the much-needed foreign investment he is striving to attract...
...Razak also faces a serious image problem, since the country was for so long accustomed to having the Tunku's sheer charm bring rival groups into line...
...The old formula had broken down...
...While the country's generals have been trained in the British tradition, a further deterioration of the political situation could combine with the deep frustrations of Malays to call forth a Nasser from the ranks of younger homegrown colonels...
...In addition, new corporations are also expected to set aside 10-20 per cent of their shares for Malay investors...
...Meanwhile,Malaysian leaders have relied heavily on slogans and symbolic gestures to bolster sagging public confidence...
...he simply lacks the charisma, royal aura and wide personal loyalty of his former chief...
...To satisfy the frustrated Malays, he has promised wider use of Malay as the national language and a Department of National Unity to smooth over racial frictions...
...But Western-style democracy has been abandoned in Malaysia...
...A continuing liver ailment and grinding 12-hour days often leave him pale and listless...
...But this means he must find a way to change the leisurely life style of most Malays, whose culture places high value on personal satisfaction and the enjoyment of life...
...Nevertheless, Razak is respected as a hard-headed pragmatist...
...To stave off that possibility, Razak hopes to solve what he calls "problems of racial economic imbalance" by creating a government-subsidized Malay entrepreneurial class...
...The prospects for Razak's program are not bright...
...Razak's response is a cautious mixture of new initiatives and the Tunku's old policies...
...During the present emergency, the government jailed some opposition politicians without trial and discouraged the press from discussing anything remotely controversial...
...To placate the 200,000 youths of all races streaming into the job market annually and unable to find work, he has pledged a "new economic policy" of direct investment to create more industries...
...But the predominantly rural Malays have lagged behind the principally urban Chinese, leading to economic division underlying much of the present racial conflict...
...The Prime Minister acts and talks like a deliberate civil servant under little pressure...
...Despite prosperity, the economic gap between Malays and Chinese persists...
...His following continued to dwindle, as many chauvanistic Malays demanded more economic privileges...
...To assure more Malay jobs in industry, toe, companies are being asked to employ workers roughly in proportion, to the country's racial composition--45 per cent Malay and 36 per cent Chinese...
...The Prime Minister's reputation, earned as Tunku's deputy, lies mainly in the realm of efficient administration...
...The last won him the Magsaysay award in 1967 (Asia's equivalent to the Nobel Prize) for effectively directing a land resettlement program that has provided farms for 19,000 families and continues to expand...
...Richly endowed with rubber, tin and palm oil, its economy has steadily expanded...
...Citizens have been urged to support a new "national ideology" that amounts to nothing more than a list of high-sounding generalities (such as "respect for the rule of law") already embodied in the constitution...
...The Malays were given political dominance in compensation for Chinese economic primacy, and both races (plus the Indian minority) backed his Alliance party...
...Through the Council, headed by Razak, military leaders will retain their strong voice in government policy...
...Even if Parliament returns next month, a recently enacted law forbids anyone--inside or outside the legislature--to discuss racially sensitive issues...
Vol. 54 • January 1971 • No. 2
