Chinese politics in Malaysia: What’s next?

ARCHIVES 2013

By admin-s On May 26, 2013

A new generation of young Chinese do not want to play it safe. To them, Malaysia is their homeland and they do not see why they should be treated as second-class citizens when it comes to politics. To them, what is wrong in Malaysia is best exemplified by the ethnic-based approach of the BN.

James Chin, Straits Times

From the time the Chinese landed in Malaya in large numbers in the 19th and 20th century, the political question has always been the same: What role will the Chinese play in local politics?

During the British colonial era, the answer was simple: no politics. All issues were channelled through a Chinese appointed by the British to act as a liaison person and known as “Kapitan China”. All dealings with the Chinese community went through him.

This “no politics” rule was to last a century; many forget that when MCA, the Malayan (now Malaysian) Chinese Association, was established in 1949, its aim was Chinese welfare, not politics.

It was only when Britain granted self-rule in 1955 and when MCA became a member of the Alliance that it became political. Back then, the MCA could count on its Malay partner Umno to treat it as an equal.

The rules were simple: Umno represented the ruling elite Malays while MCA had the funds to keep the Alliance going. MIC, the Malayan (now Malaysian) Indian Congress, came on board to represent the Indians.

But it was clear that Umno-MCA ruled the country. The Malays wanted to control the government while the Chinese wanted the economy – a perfect match. MCA always kept the finance and trade ministries in the first decade of independence.

This cosy relationship expired in the 1969 racial riots. In 1974, the Alliance was reconstituted as Barisan Nasional (BN) and the relationship was fundamentally changed. Umno was now numero uno while MCA and the rest were merely part of the larger coalition.

MCA’s status as co-driver ended when its Tun Tan Siew Sin lost the finance portfolio in 1974. Worse, two other Chinese-based parties, Gerakan and Sarawak United Peoples’ Party, joined the top table in BN. MCA was no longer the sole voice in the coalition when it came to Chinese affairs.

The New Economic Policy (NEP) caused the Chinese community to ask: Should we support MCA or the opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP), formed in 1964, to show our frustration with NEP’s ethnic discriminatory policies?

While the Chinese towkays decided that they had to support BN to “do business”, ordinary Chinese wanted it both ways.

They essentially split their vote; a smaller portion voted for the MCA/Gerakan while the majority supported the DAP. Another way was to vote for MCA/Gerakan at the state level while giving the parliamentary vote to DAP. This “split vote” tactic lasted more than two decades – until the 2008 General Election.

In that GE, the Chinese, including the usual apathetic middle class, decided it was time for change and threw their support behind DAP. In this year’s May 5 polls, the Chinese hardened their attitude and basically wiped out MCA/Gerakan in all 22 Chinese majority constituencies.

And for the first time in Malaysia’s political history, Chinese majority constituencies in Sabah and Sarawak voted en bloc for the DAP.

What role will Chinese politics play now in Malaysia?

Having it “both ways” no longer works. A new generation of young Chinese do not want to play it safe. To them, Malaysia is their homeland and they do not see why they should be treated as second-class citizens when it comes to politics. To them, what is wrong in Malaysia is best exemplified by the ethnic-based approach of the BN.