Roundup by IHT: So far, so good but with a trap
Wednesday, August 29th, 2007 | 2:01 pm @ SK
First, it’s by Reuters. Next comes the roundup on Malaysia by International Herald Tribune (IHT), with the title - So far, so good.
True enough, good points are being highlighted but with a big trap ahead - racial polarization.
And apparently, international press are not being kept in the dark on what’s really happening in Malaysia.
They aren’t stupid and seems to be quite aware of the situation, where they agree that even though Malaysia has advanced in term of its economic growth, racial integration and corruption index are going to the other way round.
It was also concluded that race-based parties should gradually become an anachronism if "Malaysian" is to become an identity that is much more than a passport.
Official efforts to advance Malay ownership, education and incomes have been very successful and have had limited negative impact on economic growth. But they have not been matched by increased racial integration.
Indeed, quite the opposite. Under Middle East influence and driven partly by domestic politics, official Malay Islam has become increasingly restrictive in its interpretations, increasingly arrogant in its assumptions about the primacy of Islam and the extent of the jurisdiction of sharia courts.
UMNO is living proof that a monopoly of power is increasingly corruptive. The combination of political power and pro-Malay economic policies is especially corrosive. Nor is there much justification any longer for racial preferences, given that Malays have wealth as well as now easily outnumbering the immigrant races. It has created a Malay elite that is highly dependent on official favors.
The problems of race, religion and corruption may have increased since Mahathir Mohamad stepped down as prime minister. Mahathir was an authoritarian who undermined democracy and the independence of the judiciary, but he was secular at heart.
His successor Abdullah Badawi is more tolerant and less tainted by money politics. His looser grip has allowed civil society to gain ground and the judiciary to become less subservient. But he is arguably not strong enough to confront either the UMNO patronage system or the pretensions of official Islam.
The conclusion made is for us to learn from our poorer but more tolerant, diverse but socially less fractured Malay neighbor, Indonesia.
Don’t be surprised, I told you so in 2006.