Tension and the race card

At a recent forum on integration held at Institut Integriti Malaysia, academician Tan Sri Dr Khoo Kay Kim spoke out against politicians who were trying to further their careers by playing the race card. ARMAN AHMAD speaks to Khoo on race relations in Malaysia since independence

Q: After 51 years of independence, do you think this country is the multicultural haven that it has been made out to be?
A: Yes and no. Throughout our history, there have hardly been any serious inter-ethnic problems.

But, at the same time, the people, from a cultural point of view, live quite separately. For a long time in fact, in the years before 1957, they lived in separate areas. Take Kuala Lumpur for instance: the Chinese lived in the centre of town, the Malays lived in Kampung Baru while the Indians lived in Sentul and Brickfields.

At one time, people of each ethnic group would try to go to a shop operated by someone of their race.

Things have changed since then, but there has always been tension because each group does not really understand the other. For anybody to deliberately cause trouble, it would be easy -- because people as a whole do not really know each other.

Q: Why after all this time does the country still face the spectre of poor race relations?
A: So many of our political parties survive by championing the cause of one ethnic group.

In the process, they clash because what one group wants often goes against the desires of the others. That is why tension is created.

Q: You have said that this problem was evident from the beginning of the creation of Malaysia. You have also said that the notion that the British practised "divide and rule" is nonsensical, that it is a lie repeatedly told in our text books. What makes you say all this?
A: There is absolutely no proof that the British practised divide- and-conquer tactics here. The British tried many times after World War 2 to bring the people together.

They established the Communities Liaison Committee in 1949. Later, the 1951 Barnes report recommended the setting up of one type of school and that vernacular schools be demolished. These schools would use the Malay language and English as their medium of instruction. But this was not accepted. The British gave in and revived Chinese schools after pressure from the Chinese community.

It was not the British that created the basis of our racial divide but the people themselves who wanted to stay divided.

For many years, no one wanted to talk about assimilation. Later, they created the term integration but even this has not been successful.

Q: Why do you think Malaysians are so afraid of assimilation or integration?
A: They don't want assimilation because they still want to maintain their separate cultural identities. This is something emotional to them.

From the beginning, Malaysia was made up of three separate major Asian ethnicities coming from Indonesia, China and India. When they came here, they brought over some of the ideals from their respective homelands. They resisted unification. Even till today, they haven't gone through sufficient common experience to abandon their cultural identities.

Q: Are vernacular schools a big reason why this country is divided from a racial standpoint?
A: Vernacular schools are one of the reasons. Children are very important. If you want to shape the thinking and culture of an adult, you have to begin with the young child.

If children are trained not to give priority to ethnicity, then they will grow up as adults who don't care about the differences between races. But, if from a young age, they are trained in schools emphasising the importance of one's race, then they will grow up into such adults.

Q: Is apathy for the country's history part of the reason why we have a problem understanding each other?
A: Malaysians are generally not interested in history because it has no value to make money. (laughs)

Malaysians are only interested in making money. Unfortunately, we are a very materialistic people. Perhaps, this is a remnant of the culture that was brought in by the Chinese and Indians who came here primarily to make money. Gradually over the years, the Malays, too, have changed their outlook on life by learning from them.

Our existing history books have wrong information about so many things -- blaming the British for everything -- but never looking at our own faults.

How can you improve if you don't look at yourself?

Q: Do you think politicians are further dividing us?
A: That's their agenda. It's an easy way to get votes -- just instigate the people.
Politicians are to blame for the Singapore riots of 1964 as well as our own riots in 1969.

Luckily, today, we have become a little more sensible. Otherwise, something could have happened in-between then and now. But, race relations are currently so bad that even a small conflict can spark off an incident. We saw this happen in Kampung Medan. But there have been other instances, at least two of them in Penang.

Q: Do you think other national governments are able to manage race relations better?
A: There are many examples. One of them is the United Kingdom. In London, which is a very cosmopolitan city, people also live separately in their Chinatowns and Little Indias but they don't have serious ethnic problems. This is because the government is very strict about it and will act immediately.

Q: As a Chinese-Malaysian, how do you view your identity as a historian in this country?
A: Sometimes, people look at me as Chinese, but as I am not all the time insistent on acting like one, the Chinese here are sometimes suspicious.

If you are one of them, but don't stick to the cultural barriers, then you may have some problems. Some Chinese people think I don't know much about the history of the Chinese here, but I may know more than them because I have done research while they haven't.

Q: Do you think race-based politics should be a thing of the past?
A: Race-based politics is definitely not good for the country.
For existing parties with a long history of race-based politics, it's not going to be easy to change. It's going to take a long time. It may be even another 50 years before they can change.

Q: What do you think is the best way to integrate Malay-sians today?
A: In schools, allow our children to mix freely. I went to a school which was equally divided between the Malays, Chinese and Indians and I never developed communal feelings. You have to start things from young.

Q: You are a historian, but could you project what Malaysia would be like in the next 50 years? Do you think assimilation will ever happen? Will a true Bangsa Malaysia ever be created?
A: Oh yes, things will change for the better. It's hard to predict when. It's the politicians who are the ones who are resistant to change and will try to stop it.

The reason is simple, if the people change their feelings, then they will not get the support they need. The current race-based parties are the ones which are trying their best to resist change, but change will eventually come.

NST online
22/09/08