Tuesday, June 28, 2011 6:02 PM
MALAYSIA'S RACISM REVISITED
The Price of Malaysia 's Racism - Revisited
Wednesday, 11 May 2011
Written by John Malott
EXCLUSIVE When my op-ed appeared in the Asian Wall Street Journal last
February, all hell broke loose in Malaysia . My thesis was that the highest
levels of the government were tolerating or even provoking racial and
religious tensions in order to shore up their political base among the Malay
community.
I also pointed out that there is an economic price to pay for that political
calculation, namely, that members of the minority communities increasingly
will feel unwelcome in their own country and continue to emigrate overseas,
taking their talents and skills with them.
Now, three months later, I don't think that there is any doubt at all about
what I said. It's not a thesis any more, it's a fact.
A very comprehensive report by the World Bank has described the exodus of
talent from Malaysia in great detail, pointing out the reasons for the
migration and the economic consequences for Malaysia . It is shocking to
think that two out of every ten Malaysian college graduates now lives (and
works) overseas. Malaysia 's loss is Singapore 's (and America 's) gain.
On racial and religious tensions, not only do they continue, but they seem
to have gotten worse. Najib says that Islam is superior to all other
religions. Mahathir says that Malaysia is Tanah Melayu. Talk of Ketuanan
Melayu - the Malays as the Master Race, rather than as a people with a
special position, which is what the constitution says - has grown. The Home
Ministry desecrates the Holy Bible with government stamps and serial
numbers.
When Utusan undercuts the Prime Minister's 1Malaysia policy and calls for
1Melayu, Muhyiddin says that Utusan is the voice of the Malays. Utusan then
goes on to say that the Chinese are trying to take over Malaysia , and that
the Christians are conspiring to abolish Islam as the national religion, and
so on. All complete fabrications.
But Utusan - owned and controlled by UMNO - gets away with it. This is the
clearest example of what I meant when I said that the Government - at the
highest levels - is tolerating this in order to strengthen its base among
the Malays in preparation for the next General Election.
I find all this very frightening. To strengthen its base, the Government is
pandering to the basest elements - some of the most racist, least educated,
most gullible, and most intolerant segments of society.
Those elements are constantly conjuring up threats - that the Malay race and
Islam, which are the majorities in Malaysia , are under seige by the
minority, which is a demographic impossibility.
And rather than say it isn't so, the Government goes along with Perkasa,
Pembela, racist bloggers, Utusan, and so on.
- John Malott is the former US ambassador to Malaysia
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