SEPT 16 — We weren’t planning on writing anything today until we read ‘Changing face of Malaysia’ by veteran journalist, Wong Chun Wai. It is sobering, to say the least, to hear his words echo a certain harsh reality of the home we love.
The Malaysian dream of unity, equality and freedom, including a good mengemaskan parlimen, has been soundly argued for by the online media, fuelled by the media savvy Malaysians and deeply antagonised by the constantly-repackaged pro-Bumiputera policies.
But Wong’s thoughts, crafted somewhat from observations made by Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew, warns the voting public not to get too hung-on to our dreams of unity while disregarding the powerful pull of race-based politics.
The race card is here to stay (with the latest spanner in the works just announced today).
Emerging from the ruminations of Singapore’s former Prime Minister (who happens to celebrate his own birthday today) is something that many of us try so hard to forget. “As much as many of us want to see the future of Malaysia from a more Malaysian prism, the reality is that ethnicity will continue to be a factor with the Malay population growing bigger while the Chinese population continues to plunge,” Wong says.
The truth is, the Malaysia we know is not the Malaysia we want.
The Malay vote
Wong, basing off Merdeka Centre’s latest study on GE-13, concludes that “the majority of first-time Malay and young Malay voters gave their support to Barisan, suggesting that the Opposition has not done enough to convince young Malays that their future was secure with PAS, PKR and DAP.”
He continues, saying “not many were prepared to accept the reality that there were only 45 Chinese-majority seats in the 222-seat Parliament and even if every single Chinese had voted for the Opposition, there was no way the Barisan could be removed – unless the Malays decide to vote out the ruling coalition.”
The idea that a community would vote against getting privileges benefiting them is a nice one to have, but considering human nature, almost entirely illogical. It is only natural to support a group that one owes one’s allegiance, success and way of life to. Egalitarianism be damned.
According to Merdeka Centre data, Malays will form an even larger proportion of voters, over and above the current 64.17 per cent of newly registered voters this year. Merdeka Centre latest study on GE-13 shows that of the 2.7 million new voters, the youngest group of under 30s was 64.17 per cent Malays. With the proportion of the Chinese population dwindling due to emigration and smaller family sizes, the clout of Chinese voters is set to decrease even further.
Wong’s numbers-based argument is slightly flawed here. Using the figures he cited, out of the the 83.22 per cent of the 2.7 million new voters who turned up at the polling station last May, almost 53 per cent voted for Pakatan. These numbers do indicate that the Opposition has done a decent job in getting half of the young voters to throw their lot with them, Malay or otherwise.
However, he isn’t wrong in stating an obvious truth in our own backyard. Almost half of all voters are not in the Opposition camp and these are people- real people, real Malaysians, with real democratically recognised voices. We cannot pretend they are “un-Malaysian” and still call ourselves Malaysian when the other half can do likewise.
It’s time we eat some humble pie and learn what matters to the people who are not in our camp.
As the Merdeka Centre states, the Opposition needs to refine its position on Malay rights and concerns in order to cobble together a plan with an emphasis on more employment and wealth opportunities, if they wish to attract the necessary Malay vote. “The Pakatan, especially the PKR, will have to stand up to fight for Malay rights and positions if it wants to win the Malay votes. It has to compete with Umno, in other words,” says Wong.
Quoting Lee Kuan Yew’s words, he says “eventually, the Chinese and Indians will exert little influence at the polling booths. When that day comes, with no votes to bargain with, the Chinese and Indians cannot hope to bring about a fair and equal society for themselves”.
PR has to win the Malay vote.
How to convince a nation you’re on their side
We can fight for electoral reform, accuse each other of gerrymandering and pork barrel politics till the cows come home but Wong does have a point that it’s time we face the harsh reality of our future polls. By current population trends, the projection is that the non-Malay proportion of the population will continue to drop further, with some saying that by 2050 the Bumiputras would make up to 80 per cent of Malaysia’s population, with the Chinese shrinking to just 15 per cent and the Indians about 5 per cent.
Thus, Wong suggests that it is only common sense for any aspiring politician of any country to take into consideration the interests of the predominant race of the country. It is, after all, the essence of democracy – one individual, one vote, one voice. Any government formed at the end of the day needs to represent the voice of the majority, whoever they may be. No majority will willingly choose to give up their privileges for a minority, either.
Yet to embrace Bumiputera interests to win a larger Malay vote and government, PR risks contradicting the very message of racial equality it purports and alienating its traditional supporters. ”When it comes to the crunch, however, PR will not be able to do away with Malay supremacy. The moment the bluff is called and it is handed the full power to push ahead, it will either be torn apart from within or be paralysed by indecision,” quotes Wong. He is absolutely correct.
If PR competes square-in-the-face with UMNO for the Malay votes with the promise of protecting their interests, does it not risk losing its identity and becoming BN-lite? If it remains as it is and somehow rallies the votes necessary to form government, how stable will it be if a growing majority feels neglected?
Even if one argues that PR’s policies are good enough and somehow most of us are going to benefit from it, we have to realise that the voices of hard-core UMNO supporters are also Malaysian voices. Let’s not wait till we are stuck between a rock and a hard place before we realise that that we cannot hide behind a simplistically idealistic “Malaysians’ Malaysia” dream and not address the fundamental problems with race-based politics, or the sentiments and concerns that have kept it alive for so long. The race card is here to stay, and will only grow more powerful as a political factor. No amount of antagonistic Facebook status updates, Dataran Merdeka protests or KLSCAH forums will make it go away.
It is time we take off our blindfolds and face up to the harsh future reality of the country we love perhaps with the simplest gesture of empathising and speaking- not preaching- to an UMNO-loving Rakyat, and vice versa. Yet PR is at a disadvantage here, and cannot afford to rest on the laurels of its electoral gains while hoping that it grows larger. It’s time to reach out to that 49 per cent.
* Trinity Chua and Kok Fai Loke are editors at JOM Magazine, an overseas Malaysians magazine based in Melbourne.
** This is the personal opinion of the writers or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malay Mail Online.
