AS Malaysia continues to grapple with racial politics, it is worth remembering that multiculturalism is not a new concept, and has been championed by Malays previously, a forum heard yesterday.

Academic Dr Azhar Ibrahim said there were Malay intellectuals in the 1940s such as Ahmad Boestaman, followed by Usman Awang and Dr Syed Hussein Alatas.

“The early Malay intellects often talked about multiracialism in Malaysia,” the National University of Singapore Malay Studies lecturer told the “Future of racial and religious politics in Malaysia” forum at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).

He said while many admire Usman’s literary prowess, a lot of the latter’s works contain elements of multiracialism.

Citing the famous poem Anak Jiran Tionghua, Azhar said Usman’s writings promote multiracialism in an often racialised Malaysia.

The late Syed Hussein, one of the co-founders of political party Gerakan, had also advocated for integration, but it never gained full traction with the then Barisan Nasional government.

Azhar, who monitors Malay discourse in Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and Singapore, said he has found more than 20 Malay intellectuals in the region who championed unity and integration themes.

“They include the late journalist Rehman Rashid, and Dr Azmi Sharom. There is no lack of Malay intellects in this area.

“What is lacking in Malaysia, however, are cultural and religious civil society organisations and intellectuals like those found in Indonesia, such as Gus Dur (Abdurrahman Wahid).

“In Indonesia, there are more cultural civil groups compared to political ones, and they helped push society to reject Suharto (in 1998),” he said, referring to the second Indonesian president.

Another panellist, DAP’s Syahredzan Johan, said he expects racial and religious politics to worsen in the run-up to the 15th general election.

“Take the Lembaga Tabung Haji rescue plan issue, for instance. Although, the board of the special purpose vehicle is all-Malay, the presence of one Chinese CEO in the SPV led to the allegation that the pilgrims’ fund’s assets are now controlled by the Chinese.

“The appointments of Attorney-General Tommy Thomas and former chief justice Richard Malanjum attracted similar claims, that Malays have lost power.”

It is inaccurate to say racial and religious politics emerged only in GE14, said the lawyer.

“Such politics became stronger post-GE14, after Umno and PAS decided to cooperate and target the Malay electorate.”

He said the use of racial politics helped Umno regain several seats in the 2013 elections, but the party fell short in the polls on May 9 last year when the majority of voters rejected BN because of former prime minister Najib Razak.

He said communal politics is a dangerous game if all, including non-Malay and Borneo parties, play it up.

“In the end, we will not be able to build a ‘Bangsa Malaysia’.”

The forum, organised by UKM’s Institute of Malaysian and International Studies (Ikmas), also featured Professor Dr Helen Ting from the varsity and Gerakan secretary-general Mah Kah Keong. It was moderated by Ikmas fellow Haris Zuan. – July 24, 2019.