As race silos show in Teluk Intan, analysts say official policies at fault

By admin-s On May 20, 2014

(MM) – DAP’s fielding of a non-Malay woman in the Teluk Intan constituency traditionally contested by Chinese faces has exposed the influence of race in politics that continues to see voters preferring to support candidates of their own community.

While this may be down to the “racial cocoons” increasingly forming around Malaysia’s communities and which accentuate the differences in culture, language and religion, political analysts believe the entrenchment of race-based programmes by the government have exacerbated the issue.

“Official policies ― the NEP, educational, religious ― are also often the source of racial tension and misunderstanding instead of helping the different races to transcend their differences,” Dr Lim Teck Ghee, Centre for Policy Initiatives director, told The Malay Mail Online.

“Politicians and the media are also key players in whipping up or dampening racist sentiments,” he said via e-mail.

The New Economic Policy (NEP) is the most widely known of Malaysia’s race-based policies. The social engineering scheme was introduced to address the inter-racial economic inequality blamed for the race riots of 1969 and created a system of race-based preferential treatment in jobs, housing and access to government funding.

Although officially defunct, the NEP lives on in various policies since it ended officially in 1990 and continues to be a source of discontent among the non-Bumiputera who are not privy to its benefits.

Director of independent pollster Merdeka Center Ibrahim Suffian echoed Lim’s sentiment and said race remains an important political identifier, adding that it is often the most common predictor for political choices.

“What we will probably see in this by-election is likely some ethnic Chinese voters will swing to BN from the DAP candidate, but the vast majority will continue to support DAP,” Ibrahim said.