THE last thing people in this country want to see is a Malaysia divided into political extremes, for a nation divided against itself can only invite trouble. – Tunku Abdul Rahman

I write in response to Muzzammil Ismail’s chauvinist and narrow-minded claim that race-based politics is still needed in Malaysia.

When the British ruled Malaya, they governed the country along racial lines.

The colonialists’ modus operandi was clear from the beginning as the various different “races” of the country were introduced in the early censuses conducted in the Straits Settlements.

Since then, the peoples of our country remain boxed into these inherited bureaucratic categories.

More importantly, the British also decided to administrate the different races separately, allowing even separate schooling systems.

By the time we gained independence in 1957, it was evident that we did not have a common language nor identity.

Thus our country’s founders led by the visionary Tunku Abdul Rahman started the project for national identity by institutionalising our national language (Bahasa Malaysia) and the idea of Malaysian-ness.

During the 1970 Malaysian census, it was evident that we fostered a more harmonious national feeling, as the word “race” was replaced with “community”.

Questions such as “Apakah Komuniti Anda?” was proposed, where the word “komuniti” replaced the word “bangsa”. During the process, the work “komuniti” was also added to the Bahasa Malaysia vocabulary.

However, much of the harmony that earlier generations took for granted have now been replaced today by enmity, suspicion and intolerance.

Simply look at the social media today and one would be aghast at the amount of vitriolic racism going around.

The latest media interview by Selangor football head coach B. Sathianathan angrily denouncing the racial taunts that his players have to endure is a very sad case in point.

Somehow, instead of becoming more united, Malaysians are being driven further and further apart.

This situation comes as no surprise when one takes into the account the highly racialised politics that is taking place.

Reversing the regression of race-based politics

Race-based policies are the result of race-based politics. The implementation of the New Economic Policy in 1970 aimed at reconfiguring the economic inequities of Malaysian society.

However, the result was just a widening of the income gap as crony capitalism grew. This trend was clearly reflected on the makeup of Umno delegates at their annual general assemblies.

Where once the hall would be filled with teachers and civil servants, Umno today is dominated by businessmen looking to gain through political connections.

This toxic situation resulted in The Economist ranking Malaysia second in their global crony-capitalism index in 2016.

When the Pakatan Harapan coalition won the people’s hearts and mandate in the last election, we effectively undertook the agenda to rebuild the nation.

Where Malaysia was regressing under decades of race-based policies and politicking, Pakatan’s championed reform and the implementation of needs-based policies.

Policies such as the Bantuan Sara Hidup programme and Malaysia@Work stimulus package all increased the impact and efficiency through looking past the race.

Umno’s false warnings

While politics is an emotional rollercoaster, policymaking should not be. To maximise efficiency out of public policies, they should be determined on rational decision-making as opposed to emotional sentiment.

However, the longer that race-based politics exists in the Malaysian political arena, the less productive our national discourse will be, as every policy debate will be centred around race.

This rhetoric was evident during the 14th general election when Najib Razak played with the emotional heartstrings of the Malays.

He attempted to stoke fear by claiming that if Umno lost power, numerous pro-Malay and Islamic bodies would be dismantled by the Pakatan Harapan government.

In reality, the propaganda proved to be untrue.

No Malay institution was dismantled by the PH government and in fact, national bodies such as Khazanah Nasional posted recorded profits of RM7.36 billion.  

This record performance is even more impressive when taking into account that our sovereign wealth fund posted a loss of RM6.27 billion in the year before.

On the other hand, during the rule of our sixth prime minister, pro-Malay organisations such as Felda and Islamic bodies such as Lembaga Tabung Haji teetered close to bankruptcy.

The rakyat’s money was spent to cover up the expenses of the prime minister’s personal interests.

Hope for the future

What has been obvious is that the absence of diversity due to race-based politics has led to a divided and consequently unproductive and unmeritocratic society.

Even policy discourse is constantly hijacked by racial polarisation. Decisions are no longer made on what’s best for Malaysians but whether a particular racial group is able to eke out advantages over the others.

Nevertheless, I have hope for the future of Malaysia.

In the midst of brain drain among Malaysian youths, where many are preferring to migrate abroad as a result of the failed race-based economic policies under Barisan Nasional, the last election provided a beacon of hope.

Two years ago, the rakyat democratically elected a government that evaluates policies based on needs rather than race. Malaysians voted for a government that prioritises the people’s interest and welfare over their own personal greed.

Malaysians, don’t let the desire for race-based politics, which will only benefit the few (and we certainly know who the few are), overcome the rakyat’s desire for needs-based politics that will benefit the masses. – March 9, 2020.

* Aimran Sarhan Abdullah is political secretary to Zairil Khir Johari, state assemblyman for Tg Bungah.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.