Why race politics will endure

A culture activist says Malaysians in general still define themselves along racial lines.

PETALING JAYA: Culture activist Eddin Khoo has given equal blame to politicians and the general Malaysian public for the persistence of racial politics in the country.

Speaking to FMT, he said Malaysian political discourse could not move away from considerations of race because Malaysians had defined themselves along racial lines.

“We have already decided that we want to maintain our identity rather than come together,” he said. “So we institutionalise our political parties along racial lines.”

Khoo appeared unimpressed by claims coming from such parties as DAP and PKR that they are multiracial.

He said: “DAP is still a racial party even though it claims to be a multiracial party. The majority of its voters are still from the Chinese demography.

“PKR has the potential to be a multiracial party but in various ways, it will still be seen along the lines of racial identities.”

He said the refusal of Malaysians to expel racial considerations from their consciousness was the reason they had failed to address important national issues critically.

“Let’s look at the country purely in economic terms. Let’s look at the country purely in terms of the judiciary and other institutions.

“We haven’t really looked at these issues critically. We always look at them in the light of, say, the preservation of Malay rights or the interests of the Chinese and Indians. We don’t look at issues as Malaysians. We don’t see things as Malaysians.”

He said both politicians and voters in Malaysia had yet to attain the maturity to make proper decisions solely in the national interest. Therefore, he added, it looked like racial politics was here to stay. -Mkini