Many Malays fear a bloody May 13 could recur

Polls show 53 per cent of Malays are fearful of a repeat of race riots while most Chinese are confident country is not going down that path.

KUALA LUMPUR: A recent unpublished Merdeka Centre survey showed that 53 per cent of Malay respondents feared a repeat of racial riots like the deadly one way back in 1969.

According to an article on Malay Mail Online, more than half the Malay respondents of the survey or 53 per cent feared the recurrence of a race riot in contrast to the 67 per cent of Chinese who registered their confidence a race riot would not repeat. 47 per cent of Indians meanwhile also had the same fears as the Malays.

Seen from the perspective of age, 52 per cent of respondents aged 21 to 30 said a race riot could very well recur while only 36 per cent among those aged 60 and above felt the same way.

In terms of occupation, 52 per cent of those in private or self-owned businesses said a repeat of May 13 was unlikely.

Merdeka Centre director Ibrahim Suffian said, “The Chinese community for the most part put May 13 behind them, but our survey finds that Malays remain susceptible to insecurities about the past.

“It is likely that this is due to the continued economic disadvantage felt by the community.”

Ibrahim put this down to the rising cost of living and the fear many Malays harboured of being left behind economically.

The survey also revealed that more than half of those with access to mainstream media and 46 per cent of those with internet access felt that economic disparities from rising costs could be the trigger for a racial riot to erupt.

Interestingly 61 per cent of those with access to alternative media felt the riots would not recur.

Ibrahim also pointed out that if a racial riot were to happen, it would begin in places with people of various races and where economic classes competed with each other as well as in places where there existed a history of racial tension.