Aug 30th 2007After 50 years, Malaysia should stop treating a third of its people as not-quite-citizens
THE government of Malaysia has laid on all sorts of grand pageantry this weekend, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Malay peninsula's independence from Britain. There is much to celebrate. Living standards and access to education, health services, sanitation and electricity have soared during those five decades of sovereignty. The country's remarkable modernisation drive was symbolised, nine years ago, by the completion of the Petronas twin towers, in Kuala Lumpur, then the world's tallest buildings.
Yet there will be a hollow ring to the festivities. Malaysia's 50th birthday comes at a time of rising resentment by ethnic Chinese and Indians, together over one-third of the population, at the continuing, systematic discrimination they suffer in favour of the majority bumiputra, or sons of the soil, as Malays and other indigenous groups are called. There are also worries about creeping “Islamisation” among the Malay Muslim majority of what has been a largely secular country, and about the increasingly separate lives that Malay, Chinese and Indian Malaysians are leading. More so than at independence, it is lamented, the different races learn in separate schools, eat separately, work separately and socialise separately. Some are asking: is there really such a thing as a Malaysian?
The pro-bumiputra discrimination was laid down in the country's first constitution, in 1957, to ease Malays' fears of being marginalised by the Chinese and Indian migrants. These had come, supposedly temporarily, to work in the tin mines and plantations but were settling permanently and increasingly dominating business and the professions. The perks were extended greatly after race riots in 1969. Malays get privileged access to public-sector jobs, university places, stockmarket flotations and, above all, government contracts. The most notable result, as with South Africa's similar policy of “black economic empowerment”, has been “encronyment”—the enrichment of those well connected to the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the party that has led all governments since independence. Malays as a whole, like other races, have got richer but the gap between the Malay haves and have-nots has widened. The corruption and waste these policies engender seem to have got worse in recent years.
As criticism has grown, UMNO's leaders have resorted ever more frequently to growling that nobody should question the “social contract”. This is a reference to the metaphorical deal struck between the races at independence, in which the Malays got recognition that the country was basically theirs, while the Chinese and Indians were granted citizenship. The veiled threat of violence lurking behind calls to uphold the social contract was made explicit during last year's UMNO conference, at which one delegate talked of being ready to “bathe in blood” to defend Malay privileges and the education minister, no less, brandished a traditional Malay dagger.
The hypocritical Malay dilemma The social contract may once have seemed necessary to keep the peace but now it and the official racism that it is used to justify look indefensible: it is absurd and unjust to tell the children of families that have lived in Malaysia for generations that, in effect, they are lucky not to be deported and will have to put up with second-class treatment for the rest of their lives, in the name of “racial harmony”. When the mild-mannered Abdullah Badawi took over as prime minister from the fire-breathing Mahathir Mohamad in 2003, there were hopes of change for the better. Mr Badawi preached a moderate, “civilisational” Islam and pledged to crack down on corruption.
Four years on, corruption, facilitated by the pro-Malay policies, is unchecked. The state continues to use draconian internal-security laws, dating back to the colonial era, to silence and threaten critics. UMNO continues to portray itself to Malays as the defender of their privileges yet tries to convince everyone else that it is the guarantor of racial harmony. One commentator this week gently described this as a “paradox”. Hypocrisy would be a better word.
The damage caused by this state racism is ever more evident. Malaysia's once sparkling growth rate has slipped. Racial quotas and protectionism are scaring away some foreign investors. While Malaysians celebrate having done rather better than former British colonies in Africa, they must also notice that South Korea, Taiwan and their estranged ex-spouse Singapore have done much better still. The economic consequences alone justify ending Malaysia's official racism. Even without them, it would still be just plain wrong.
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The EconomistSince Jon Dee raised the issue about this article, I shall blog about this. This is a very good article, I should say. It highlighted precisely on the problem we are facing currently. After 50 years of independent, are we moving forward or backward on racial issues? ‘Tall buildings, narrow minds’, simply reflects on what’s going on in Malaysia. I do say out loud and proud that I am a MALAYSIAN, but am I treated equally as a Malaysian? Equality was a mission impossible in the past 50 years. Will that continue to be impossible in the future? Time will tell……
It was a great 21 birthday party. Thank you everyone for coming and make afford for my birthday. I feel so touched. Thanks so much!! It was so warm here, even it’s freezing outside the house. I’ll remember this special day forever!
没有骗你，英国的校园大到吓人。这里只是校园中央的一个草原，不过是校园的冰山一角。我想，真的走到我的脚断掉都可以！本来只想post我看到的这片草原，但后来又翻到一些关于这草原的简介，所以要讲一讲这草原。由于我的翻译能力不是很好，所以还是决定将原文post在这里。
Can you feel it now? This morning was filled with mist, make the hall looks more haunted.
Any way, I like the dining hall, cuz it looks like some where which only appears in Harry Potter movie. Nice! That’s the place we had our breakfast and dinner in these few days. And…….we NEVER miss out a single meal!! 
虽然我的家没有挂国旗，我的车也没有挂国旗，我也没有坐motor的时候双手握着大大的国旗，但我还是很爱国的。你看我从大老远飞回来庆祝国庆就懂了。还有，我和家人还明知道塞车也赶去Putrajaya看烟花。由于太塞车，我们只好停在路边，和一堆像我们一样的傻瓜一起看烟花。由于有点距离的关系，我们看到的烟花并不是很震撼，照片也拍得不是很清楚。
