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KUALA LUMPUR: This year should be a time for
celebration in Malaysia as 2007 marks the country’s 50th
anniversary of independence from colonial ruler Britain and the
birth of the multicultural nation.
But instead many are lamenting an
alarming slide in race relations that the milestone has highlighted,
along with the rising influence of Islam that has alienated ethnic
Chinese and Indian citizens.
“There is a general sense on
the ground that things are getting out of hand,” said civil rights
activist and lawyer Malik Imtiaz Sarwar. “It’s causing a lot of
fear and consternation and tensions are rising.”
Malik, who has received death
threats for his efforts to protect religious freedom in the
Muslim-majority nation, takes issue with the government’s
tourism-brochure portrayal of a peaceful multiethnic Malaysia.
“My fears are that we’ll
become even more racially divided, the economy’s going to plunge,
the Islamist aspects will become even more pronounced, and what
you’ll have is a wholesale dismantling of the rule of law,” he
said.
“And you’ll see a country
imploding, and that’s not a very good prospect.”
As the nation prepares for a huge
party on August 31, half a century after the first Prime Minister
Tunku Abdul Rahman joyfully declared “Merdeka” or independence,
many are wondering what went wrong.
Ethnic Indian activist Waytha
Moorthy recalls that during his childhood, his father used to invite
friends of all religions to their home to celebrate the Hindu
festival of light, Diwali, to eat, drink and socialize.
“But now currently I see my
nieces and nephews, they do not have any Muslim friends, and they
all complain they can’t develop a relationship with the
Muslims,” he said.
Much of the unhappiness centers
on positive discrimination policies introduced in 1971 to raise the
status of Muslim Malays who make up 60 percent of the population
against 26 percent ethnic Chinese and 8 percent ethnic Indians.
Despite the leg-up, “bumiputras”
or “sons of the soil”—as Malays and members of indigenous
groups are often called here—continue to lag far behind the
Chinese, triggering calls for an overhaul of the system in which the
big winners have been Malay entrepreneurs who cash in on an array of
subsidies.
Political commentators say
Malaysia must stop obsessing over how to divide the nation’s
wealth, and instead focus on how to boost the economy so that all
will benefit.
“I hope that the challenges of
globalization will make all Malaysian leaders face up to the harsh
truth that if we do not get our people to unite together as
Malaysians, then we will all suffer,” said opposition leader Lim
Kit Siang.
“What is happening now in many
areas—in nation building and racial and religious polarization,
and on international competitiveness—we seem to be losing
steam.”
Besides the economic squabbles,
an ugly new theme has emerged recently with clashes over the rights
of non-Muslims which some say are being sidelined as Islamic
authorities exercise their influence.
The cases of mountaineering hero
M. Moorthy who was born a Hindu but buried as a Muslim despite his
family’s protests, and Lina Joy, who is trying to have her
conversion from Islam to Christianity recognized, have been landmark
cases.
Hindus are also complaining that
their right to worship is being compromised, and anger has flared
over what they say is the demolition of thousands of temples over
the past decade to make way for development.
The government, which is
determined to prevent a repeat of bloody 1960s race riots, has
introduced education reforms and a national service program aimed at
encouraging the races to mingle.
But meanwhile some of the most
racially charged rhetoric has been coming from the ruling party
itself.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad
Badawi has said that the ethnic divide is a “disease” that must
be tackled openly, and appealed for the anniversary celebrations to
emphasize national unity, but many are nonplussed.
“I think it’s embarrassing
that after 50 years, we have a weaker judicial system, a weaker
parliamentary system, the corruption index is lower—you name
it,” said Imtiaz.
“So we’ll have a big parade
and we’ll all be out there waving our flags as we always do, but
it means very little I think.”
--AFP
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