Malaysia: A fractured, polarised nation
Unless remedial measures are taken soon, young Malaysians who have the world at their feet will move to greener pastures, warns Tommy Thomas.
Tommy Thomas, Aliran
The social contract, social compact or bargain reached by the three communities under the watchful eye of the British imperial power as a condition to Merdeka, was that in exchange for full citizenship, a right to use their language and observe their religion, the non-Malays had to concede special privileges to the Malays to assist the latter to ascend the economic ladder. It was a quid pro quo.
It was a consensus arrived after hard bargaining, and has formed the basis of nationhood. In this equilibrium, the non-Malays were not to be relegated to second class citizens: citizenship was not on a two-tier basis and there was going to be no apartheid, partition or repatriation.
What was required from the non-Malays at the time of Merdeka was undivided loyalty to the new nation. They could no longer owe their allegiance to the mother country, China or India.
Racial differences were recognised. Diversity was encouraged. There was no pressure to integrate into one Malayan race. A new nation was to be integrated over time, but as a plural society. Assimilation was out of the question.
Thus, a united Malayan nation did not involve the sacrifice by any community of its religion, culture or customs. Minorities were not to be discriminated in a system of parliamentary democracy based on constitutional supremacy. In many respects, the establishment of Malaysia strengthened the social contract.
Any reason to celebrate?
But as Malaya completed 56 years as an independent sovereign nation on 31st August, and more significantly, Malaysia turned half a century on 16th September, do the 26 million Malaysians have reason to celebrate? Unfortunately, the popular response would be very much in the negative.
The twin forces of race and religion have substantially polarised the nation. Every issue of public life, however minor or insignificant, is given an ethnic undertone by the politicians and the civil service and glaringly publicised in the government controlled mass media.
Totally absent in the national landscape is a statesman like the Father of Merdeka, Tunku Abdul Rahman, the first Prime Minister, who was prepared to speak for the nation and the public weal, rather than from a parochial or sectarian perspective
Even after the closest general elections in our history, with the coalition governing the nation not enjoying majority popular vote and with the next general elections only due in five years, politicking of the worst kind continues daily. The Prime Minister is not giving the leadership that he sought from the electorate, and which he received.
With a 44-seat majority in the Dewan Rakyat, the Barisan government has a majority which is the envy of many governing coalitions across the globe. Yet, a sense of paralysis grips the centre.
