jtheory on "Malaysia’s democratic opening"

jtheory — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 14:32:39 +0000

Thanks for a good overview of the political situation -- but I'm baffled as to why so many of the news articles I've seen (including this one) continue to refer to Malaysia's racial preference system as "affirmative action". Isn't that, by definition, a system that supports minorities and other disadvantaged groups?

In Malaysia's system, the people who benefit from the privileges and quotas in basically all aspects of life -- education at all levels, access to grants and scholarships, business ownership, housing discounts and ability to purchase new houses, etc. -- are the largest population group, and possibly have the largest economic share (not according to the official figures, of course). They run the political party that has been in power since independence, and their religion is the state religion. To qualify, it helps to be descended from native Malays, but you can also be a recent immigrant from the Middle East, Indonesia, etc... as long as you're Muslim.

The people being excluded are largely descendants of the Indian and Chinese brought to Malaysia by the British as indentured laborers, and also include poor but non-Muslim native populations like the Orang Asli, and likewise non-Muslim populations that have been in Malaysia since the 16th century.

If the Malaysian government actually wanted to help disadvantaged people in Malaysia, they'd design programs to actually help the poorest and least educated communities, regardless of religion or race.

Malaysia’s democratic tsunami, Bridget Welsh

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 18:53:24 +0000

As the results of Malaysia's general election poured in on the evening of 8 March 2008, it became clear that the country's voters had delivered an unprecedented blow to the ruling Barisan Nasional (National Front / BN) led by prime minister Abdullah Badawi. The severe losses of the incumbent coalition - five (out of Malaysia's thirteen) state governments, eighty-two seats in the 222-seat national parliament, and a major swing against the non-Malay component parties within the multi-ethnic coalition - mean that the election marks a new political chapter in Malaysian history. After fifty years of rule by the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) - the dominant party in the BN coalition - the signs of a shift are unmistakable: towards a new system of checks and balances, away from the racial politics that have characterised the country's history since independence in 1957, and wider democracy.

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open Democracy News Analysis - Malaysia’s democratic tsunami, Bridget Welsh - Comments

jtheory on "Malaysia’s democratic opening"

Malaysia’s democratic tsunami, Bridget Welsh