Discrimination will persist in Malaysia, says UK weekly

The Economist believes the government's best chances for reforms will slip away as voters get over their euphoria at changing the government.

Voters united across racial and religious divides to support Pakatan Harapan, says the Economist. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: Although Pakatan Harapan won the general election based on its more inclusive approach, “discrimination will persist” in the new government’s policies, says the influential UK weekly, the Economist.

In an article published yesterday, wryly entitled “One Country Two Systems”, the weekly quoted Nurul Izzah Anwar, Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman and Khairy Jamaluddin as expressing the need for caution before proceeding to dismantle priviliges enshrined in the constitution and the Barisan Nasional’s (BN) New Economic Policy.

The weekly also noted that the new Malaysian government had opted to secure “quick wins” in its new policies and the government’s best chances for reforms would fade once voters got over their euphoria at having changed the federal government.

It noted that the government had “struck a few small blows for equality” in the appointments of a non-Malay new Attorney-General (Tommy Thomas) and Finance Minister (Lim Guan Eng), and a woman Deputy Prime Minister (PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail).

“These encouraging developments are unlikely to be followed by anything more audacious. The government’s best chances for reform will slip away as the election grows more distant and voters less euphoric,” the Economist said.

It accused the government of “not seizing its opportunity to undo racially discriminatory policies” and noted that the ruling Pakatan Harapan coalition hung together “partly because all parties have agreed on a binding principle: that the constitution and its privileges for Malays are supreme”.

PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah, PPBM Youth leader Syed Saddiq, and Umno Youth head Khairy are quoted by the Economist as sharing cautious views about making changes to the preferential policies of the New Economic Policy adopted by BN in 1971.

“Originally introduced as a temporary measure, the policy helped shape a corrupt system of patronage politics that proved predictably durable,” the Economist said.

However, “even as Malaysian politics has been turned upside-down, there has been little questioning of the premise on which Umno had governed Malaysia since independence: that Malays deserve special privileges.”

The weekly noted that race had dominated Malaysian politics since colonial times, and that Pakatan Harapan’s election victory marked a break with this past, when voters united across racial and religious divides to support the coalition.

Despite this break, Nurul Izzah, described as “a champion of reform in PKR”, is quoted as advising caution. “You shouldn’t push too hard,” she says, “your efforts must gain traction with the electorate.”

An assault on racial privileges, sought by urban types, would alienate rural voters, who in defence could turn back to Umno or PAS, she believed.

Syed Saddiq, although in favour of a “more inclusive Malaysia”, also believed that race will prove “a tough discussion” within the governing coalition.

While Umno struggles to adapt to the changes, many in the party doubt the need for any soul-searching. “The politics of ethnicity is still very strong,” Khairy is quoted as saying. “People are averse to offering radical ideas right now.”

The Economist said a tweaking of affirmative action policies would be possible under the new government so that benefits go more to poor Malays, rather than government cronies. “But discrimination will persist.” -FMT