Pluralism at a crossroad in Malaysian election

Speaking at at the Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), academic Farish A. Noor said the loudest call for change has come from the Hindu community who has placed the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), one of the coalition in the race-based Umno Party, in an unwanted spotlight in a series of recent street protests by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf).

"Hindraf's emergence on the Malaysian scene would indicate that a significant section of the Malaysian public feels that they are still second-classed citizens even after fifty years of development in the country," Farish said.

    Although their voice has been the loudest, the extent to which their calls for change in the status quo that favored ethnic Malays will have major impact on policy changes is still unclear, said Farish, a research fellow at the RSIS.

    What is worrying, said Farish, a strong advocate for Malaysia to move towards a pluralistic society where the concept of citizenship under the banner of pan-Malaysia comes before one's ethno-religious identity, is that Hindraf has presented itself as a Hindu organization, thus, leaving out other Malaysians who are of non-Hindu background.

    Farish said a similar trend is being played out by the ethnic Malay Muslims who have been pushing the country towards Islamization. With the growing demands of the Malay-Muslim majority for a more visibly Islamic state in Malaysia, the reaction of the other religious communities to defend their own identities is understandable, he noted.

    Echoing Farish's call for change in mindset is Reverend Dr. Hermen Shastri, the secretary-general of the Council of Churches in Malaysia.

    "We want to see Malaysia becomes a vibrant, pluralistic society, not a country with religious-based communities," said Reverend Dr. Shastri.

    Issues pertaining to pluralism should be debated in the Parliament, not between religious groups, Herman said.

    "What is needed is a space with the spirit of give-and-take where all sides can raise their issues," Hermen said.

    Yang Razali, a senior fellow at the RSIS, said such demands will make the ruling Umno more insecure as it challenges the current structure that guarantees the Malays' dominancy in Malaysian politic.

    While Malaysian Constitution guarantees religious freedom for non-Muslims, said Rev. Shastri, the Malay-dominated bureaucratic machine often decides when, where and how temples and churches could be built. The facade of anon-Islamic building may not be more than 30 feet tall, the reverend pointed out.

    Anil Netto, a political commentator from Penang, said while the election may see a significant number of Hindu votes going towards the opposition, the key issue to watch at this election is how Umno will fare in their traditional strongholds in mainland Malaysia.

    Anil said Umno has fielded a number of young candidates in the line up to give the impression that the party is rejuvenating itself as PM Abdullah failed to deliver a number of 2004 campaign promises, includign the fight against corruption and bringing down the growing cost of living.

Farish, however, added that the introduction of fresh new faces could also be due to the fact that many of the veteran politicians of Malaysia have been discredited.

    Opposition Parti Islam se-Malaysia (Pas), with its stronghold in Kelantan and Terengganu, two of Malaysia's poorest states, has capitalized on this resentment by promising to make money from petroleum be accountable to the Parliament and demanded that a significant portion of it go towards health care and to help start up small business for the poor and working class people.

    Pas also surprised everyone by announcing that the party has dropped its demand for Malaysia to be a theocratic Islamic state and made attempt to cross the racial line by fielding a non-Muslim female candidate.

    Former Malaysian deputy prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, will also be a factor in the upcoming election but the notion of him as a unifying for the opposition will be put to test after the election. "It's still an open question as to how far will this go," Farish said.

by Don Pathan

Singapore