Malaysia tries to defuse racial controversy

Malaysia tries to defuse racial controversy

10 Sept, 2008

(Wall Street Journal) - Facing a growing threat from an opposition alliance, Malaysia's Barisan Nasional government is trying to defuse a race-based political row that has raised tensions in this multiethnic, multireligion Southeast Asian nation.

Yesterday, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the dominant party in the ruling coalition - the United Malays National Organization, or UMNO -- will punish an ethnic Malay politician who made a series of racist remarks against the country's minority ethnic Chinese, who make up about 25% of the country's 27 million people. Mr. Abdullah told reporters the remarks had "stirred anger and restlessness among the people."

The offending politician, Ahmad Ismail, an influential UMNO executive in Penang state, last month referred disparagingly to the country's Chinese community as "squatters" and "immigrants" in Malaysia, where Muslim ethnic Malays account for about 60% of the population.

On Monday, Ahmad amplified his remarks, telling ethnic Chinese, who dominate much of Malaysia's private-sector economy, not to try to seek political power as well. "Consider this a warning from the Malays," Ahmad told a news conference. "The patience of the Malays has a limit. Do not push us against the wall, for we will be forced to turn back and push the Chinese for our own survival."

Ahmad, calling himself a "nationalist" and not a racist, has refused to apologise for his remarks, which have sparked anger among minority Malaysians and condemnation from opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who labeled him a "low class" politician. Abdullah' said UMNO officials will meet today to decide how Mr. Ahmad will be disciplined.

Race is a critical -- and extremely sensitive -- political issue in Malaysia, where communal rioting killed at least 200 people in 1969. The former British colony is made up of a melange of ethnic groups, including Malays, Chinese, Indians and an array of indigenous peoples.

Many Malaysians -- including ethnic Malays -- have ancestors who immigrated to the region over the past 100 to 200 years. The country has largely enjoyed economic success since independence in 1957, becoming a major exporter of commodities such as natural gas and palm oil and a

manufacturing base for the global electronics industry. But its political culture has always focused on ethnicity.

Malaysia's race-based politics is reflected in the Barisan Nasional coalition, which comprises 14 political parties led by Mr. Abdullah's UMNO and has been in power for 51 years. UMNO shares power with coalition partners specifically representing ethnic Chinese, Indians and other minorities.

But ethnic Malays' status as an indigenous group is recognized in Malaysia's constitution, and they enjoy a range of special privileges and preferences in jobs, education and business as part of an affirmative-action program begun after the 1969 riots. The riots were triggered in part by Malay frustration over the Chinese community's strong role in the country's economy.

Against that background, Ahmad's implied threat of a Malay backlash against minority Malaysians hit a raw nerve. Yesterday, Malaysia's Armed Forces chief, Gen. Abdul Aziz Zainal, in an unusual public comment by a military official, told reporters the government should take action against anyone stirring racial discord. "Racial issues are the most feared by security forces, as they could lead to chaos. They are a security threat," he was quoted as saying by the Star newspaper.

The racial discord comes at a critical time for Abdullah's government, which faces increased pressure from an opposition alliance led by Anwar Ibrahim, who has vowed to topple the National Front by wooing enough defectors to the opposition side in Parliament to vote Mr. Abdullah out of office. Mr. Anwar, who last month easily won election to Parliament in a by-election, has said he hopes do that by luring 30 National Front MPs to the opposition ranks by Sept. 16.