Some favour change but many are worried

THE MALAYS: FEAR

Concern over possible loss of pro-Malay rights is driving the rhetoric.

The Straits Times

When the Pakatan Rakyat coalition achieved the unthinkable and won five states in the general election last March, it drew a line between Malays. Young, liberal city dwellers rejoiced, jubilant at the change of the guard after decades of status quo. But others were aghast.

“I can't believe it. I should have voted,” moaned a 65-year-old upper-middle-class Malay woman from the Kuala Lumpur constituency of Segambut, a hitherto Barisan Nasional safe seat that fell to the opposition.

Her fear was that the rise of PR would turn Malaysia into a secular state, thus eroding Malay-Muslim rights. Many other Malays shared such concerns then, and one year on, it is unclear how widespread that sentiment still is.

Analysts say nationalist Malays have certainly become more hardline, a reaction to concerns that PR might be able to take over the federal government.

“It's all about fear — fear of losing ketuanan Melayu (Malay supremacy) and special rights,” political science lecturer James Chin, of Monash University Malaysia Campus, told The Straits Times.

Malay nationalists believe that their special rights, which were drawn up half a century ago to end bloody race riots, may cease to exist. As a result, the rhetoric of many in Umno has taken racial overtones.

In a recent debate between three Umno Youth chief candidates, former Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Dr Khir Toyo stressed that Malays had a special place.

He also blamed the humiliating election defeat on the party not being Islamic or Malay enough — a stance that other Umno leaders have begun to adopt as part of a desperate bid to hold on to Malay votes.

The arguments may strike a chord with some Malays who feel they could lose their assured rights to land, property and government jobs under the pro-Malay New Economic Policy if PR took over. It is a justifiable concern, perhaps, given that one of PR's first pledges upon taking over the state governments of Selangor and Penang was to roll back pro-Malay policies.

Some Malays are still unhappy over a move by the PR state government in Perak to award freehold land titles to Chinese villagers. The move was vetoed by the federal BN government.

But there are others who are ashamed that these policies exist.

Environmental conservationist Sheema Abdul Aziz calls the NEP a “horrendous evil”. “We do not need a leg-up, and frankly, the very concept is an absolute insult and disgrace to Malays everywhere — not to mention totally racist and discriminatory against everyone else,” she said.

Sheema, 30, is also deeply perturbed by the increasing tone of racist and nationalist sentiments among Malays. “The vitriol is unbelievable. Malay rights should never have existed in the first place. It's positively abhorrent to say that we're better than everyone else here,” she said.

But while many well-educated urbanites hold similar views, the pro-Malay rhetoric appeals to many at the other end of the social spectrum — those struggling with a hand-to-mouth existence and who benefit from the NEP.

Anecdotal evidence appears to suggest that fears of Malay rights being eroded have turned Malay voters back to the BN, which many had abandoned last March. At a recent BN rally in Kuala Lumpur, hundreds of Malay youth, fired up by Umno leaders' speeches, worked themselves into a frenzy, chanting pro-monarchy and anti-opposition slogans.

But analysts warn that it would be rash to see such unrest as a sign that young Malays are now rushing back to support Umno.

Chin believes the opposite will happen, especially among younger voters, who number about a million and will play a key role in the next election.

“Indications are that they will support PR if Umno continues with its fear campaign. Younger voters want political parties to engage them, rather than keep telling them that the non-Malays are out to get political power at their expense.”