Malaysia is often referred to as one of the Asian ‘tigers’, a prosperous, democratic and moderate Islamic nation in South-east Asia. But lately that image has looked more hyped than real even though the US-influenced West finds it inconvenient to accept the changing realities.
The ethnic Chinese have often been at the receiving end of Malay violence, supressing Chinese economic with unfair conditions and rules.
The treatment of Indians is no better. They were discriminated, suppressed and oppressed for more than 50 years. The ethnic Indians are now expressing their anger by coming on to the streets. The Indians constitute about 8 percent of the population and after the Chinese are the third largest group in Malaysia, which like India, was once a British colony in the east. The late November demonstration by the Malaysian Indians in Kuala Lumpur was one of the largest by them. The authorities had declared the demonstration illegal because they said it would inflame ‘racial tensions’. And the police dispersed the marchers with teargas shells and baton charge, leaving some of them injured.
Waytha Moorthy Ponnuswamy, chairman of the Hindu Rights Action Group and two others who had organised the march were arrested and charged with making ‘seditious’ comments that could get them a three-year jail sentence.
The ostensible reason for the march was to hand over to the British High Commissioner a petition to demand a $4 trillion damage for sending the forefathers of the two million ethnicIndians to the Malay peninsula over a century back as indentured labour. The real reason, as everyone seemed to believe, was to highlight the fact that the Indian minority is seriously discriminated against inMalaysia as a result of which the community lags behind in education and faces shrinking job opportunities.
The Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), which is a part of the ruling coalition, has distanced itself from the agitation. MIC leader and Federal Minister for Works, Sammy Vellu, said neither the government nor his party supported the demonstration. ‘The MIC has been working within the system and it has proven to be successful,’ he said. Being a part of the ruling dispensation he cannot be expected to support the agitation.
But going by events of the past few years, it would appear that Malaysia is no longer the tolerant and liberal society that it once was. Islamisation is creeping slowly but surely. Ethnic Malays (about 60 % of population) are in a mood to assert their religious identity. The demand for declaringMalaysia an Islamic state and governed by Sharia is the official agenda of Pas, a group that broke off from the ruling United Malay Nationalist Organisation.
The trend towards Islamisation began in the 1980s, 1990s abd 200s when both the ruling found it expedient to establish their Islamic credentials to win power. As prime minister,Malaysia’s most famous politician of recent years, Mahatir Mohammed guided policies to establish a new identity for the nation by stressing its Islamic character and forging new links with the wider Muslim world. These polices, while establishing the Islamic pre-eminence of the nation, bred a xenophobia which was unknown toMalaysia.
The affirmative policies of Malaysia have propelled the ethnic Malays into a position of privilege in education and government jobs at the cost of Indian Malays. The justification for this reversal of fortunes is that the ethnic Malaysians deserved preference over ‘aliens’ if they have to jump up the ladder.
There are doubts among the minorities about fair judicial hearing as disputes with the majority community are decided in an Islamic court. The demands that such matters be referred to a ‘neutral’ court have been turned down.
The ethnic Indian Malays expect the Prime Minister Najib Razak to arrest rapid slide towards radicalisation because Malaysia ’s future lies in remaining a multi-cultural and tolerant society. He must restore the fine balance between majority and minority communities and deal with the right wing ethno nationalism before things go out of control.
15/08/10
The ethnic Chinese have often been at the receiving end of Malay violence, supressing Chinese economic with unfair conditions and rules.
The treatment of Indians is no better. They were discriminated, suppressed and oppressed for more than 50 years. The ethnic Indians are now expressing their anger by coming on to the streets. The Indians constitute about 8 percent of the population and after the Chinese are the third largest group in Malaysia, which like India, was once a British colony in the east. The late November demonstration by the Malaysian Indians in Kuala Lumpur was one of the largest by them. The authorities had declared the demonstration illegal because they said it would inflame ‘racial tensions’. And the police dispersed the marchers with teargas shells and baton charge, leaving some of them injured.
Waytha Moorthy Ponnuswamy, chairman of the Hindu Rights Action Group and two others who had organised the march were arrested and charged with making ‘seditious’ comments that could get them a three-year jail sentence.
The ostensible reason for the march was to hand over to the British High Commissioner a petition to demand a $4 trillion damage for sending the forefathers of the two million ethnicIndians to the Malay peninsula over a century back as indentured labour. The real reason, as everyone seemed to believe, was to highlight the fact that the Indian minority is seriously discriminated against inMalaysia as a result of which the community lags behind in education and faces shrinking job opportunities.
The Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), which is a part of the ruling coalition, has distanced itself from the agitation. MIC leader and Federal Minister for Works, Sammy Vellu, said neither the government nor his party supported the demonstration. ‘The MIC has been working within the system and it has proven to be successful,’ he said. Being a part of the ruling dispensation he cannot be expected to support the agitation.
But going by events of the past few years, it would appear that Malaysia is no longer the tolerant and liberal society that it once was. Islamisation is creeping slowly but surely. Ethnic Malays (about 60 % of population) are in a mood to assert their religious identity. The demand for declaringMalaysia an Islamic state and governed by Sharia is the official agenda of Pas, a group that broke off from the ruling United Malay Nationalist Organisation.
The trend towards Islamisation began in the 1980s, 1990s abd 200s when both the ruling found it expedient to establish their Islamic credentials to win power. As prime minister,Malaysia’s most famous politician of recent years, Mahatir Mohammed guided policies to establish a new identity for the nation by stressing its Islamic character and forging new links with the wider Muslim world. These polices, while establishing the Islamic pre-eminence of the nation, bred a xenophobia which was unknown toMalaysia.
The affirmative policies of Malaysia have propelled the ethnic Malays into a position of privilege in education and government jobs at the cost of Indian Malays. The justification for this reversal of fortunes is that the ethnic Malaysians deserved preference over ‘aliens’ if they have to jump up the ladder.
There are doubts among the minorities about fair judicial hearing as disputes with the majority community are decided in an Islamic court. The demands that such matters be referred to a ‘neutral’ court have been turned down.
The ethnic Indian Malays expect the Prime Minister Najib Razak to arrest rapid slide towards radicalisation because Malaysia ’s future lies in remaining a multi-cultural and tolerant society. He must restore the fine balance between majority and minority communities and deal with the right wing ethno nationalism before things go out of control.
15/08/10
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