Colonial rule (2): British bias paved the path for racial antagonism
WRITTEN BY CHEAH BOON KHENG, CPI
The greatest threat to Britain’s continued presence in Malaya was the rising Malay nationalism during the several decades prior to Merdeka. To neutralize this threat, the British rulers chose to appease Malays with pro-Malay policies that protected the community while at the same time discriminating against Chinese and Indians – a strategy known as ‘divide and rule’.
The British colonial rulers prioritized the maintenance of white prestige and profits but they also sought to accommodate Malay interests in various ways due to their treaty obligations with the sultans.
As for the Chinese and Indian labour force, the British left them to fend for themselves during the severe economic depression. The Colonial Office and owners of capital felt no responsibility towards the welfare of these workers even when they were on the verge of starvation after having lost their jobs.
Instead of relief measures, restrictions were imposed by the British on non-Malay socio-economic mobility and advancement. Among the measures were exclusion from the administrative service and discouragement of agricultural and land settlement. These steps taken by the British rulers displayed “distinct racial overtones because they discriminated against the Chinese and Indians as races”.
Nor did British assistance to Malays go far enough in bringing them into the fold of the modern economy, or involvement in commerce and business.
Bottomline: The social, economic and political interests of the various communities in Malaya were never balanced equitably … Britannia-ruling-the-waves did not see the need to be even-handed. – cpiasia.net
Below is Part 2 of the paper ‘Race and ethnic relations in colonial Malaya during the 1920s and 1930s’ earlier published in the bookMultiethnic Malaysia – Past, Present and Future, and reproduced here by permission of the author.
