Socioeconomic Development and Ethno-Cultural Diversity: State Policy and the Evolvement of Pluralism in Malaysia

Abstract

It is undeniable that Malaysia has made impressive progress in both economic development and social reconstruction since the tragedy of the 1969 racial riots. Nevertheless, the threat of interethnic mistrust looms large and wide. It could both be the scourge afflicting poor states, as well as the sword of Damocles even in times of prosperity. While the transformation of Malaysia from a rural-agrarian to a rapidly industrializing economy has been miraculous, the hectic pace of development has also brought about new social issues that have captured the concerns of the policy-makers and the people. For example, ethnic segregation had seemed to grow more and more pronounced at all levels of education, which may have in the main contributed to increasing occupational segregation by ethnicity. This paper represents a critical exploration of such an enigma by scrutinizing the dialectics of post-NEP development and reflecting on the following: How far has the country actually progressed in terms of ethnic relations since the watershed events of May 13th, 1969? How far is this multiethnic society different now compared to the unmistakable racial “corporateness” and interethnic “separateness” that Furnivall observed in his classic study of 1948? In what ways have ethnic relations been reshaped by three decades of preferential policies favouring the demographic majority and the form of ethnic democracy adapted for the unique Malaysian society?