Malaysia may face racial polarization, says DAP leader

Malaysia may face racial polarization, says DAP leader

KUALA LUMPUR (AP): Warning that fresh attempts to unite ethnic
Malays could alienate Malaysia's minority races, ethnic Chinese
opposition leaders slammed Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's
party on Thursday for excluding them from proposed talks on
national unity.

Kerk Kim Hock, secretary-general of the Democratic Action
Party, or DAP, said planned discussions between Mahathir and
senior Malay opposition leaders would "arouse some suspicion from
the Chinese community."

"We don't consider such talks appropriate," Kerk told The
Associated Press. "The call for Malay unity does not go in tandem
with the Malaysian people's aspirations at this time."

A string of national controversies -- which include Chinese
concerns over a new school system and calls to revamp special
privileges for the Malay majority -- have rattled race relations
over the past year.

Government officials have acknowledged that the rift between
the Malay and Chinese communities must be addressed. But Mahathir
insisted last week that his ruling party's priority was settling
conflicts among Muslim Malays, who comprise more than half of
Malaysia's 22 million people.

Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Wednesday the
ruling United Malays National Organization, or UMNO, will ask
Mahathir to hold unprecedented talks with his ethnic Malay arch-
foes in the opposition.

"It is the Malays that stand to benefit. That is the important
thing," Abdullah said. "Please remember that Malay unity has
always been the basis for national unity."

But the DAP, which is the sole ethnic Chinese group in
Malaysia's four-party opposition coalition, says UMNO's proposal
is a ploy to boost its own flagging popularity.

"There is a question of racial polarization here. We must be
careful not to sacrifice our decades of nation-building," said
Lim Kit Siang, the DAP's national chairman.

Mahathir, who is visiting Myanmar through Jan. 9, is expected
to agree to meet with Fadzil Noor, president of the Pan-Malaysian
Islamic Party, or PAS, and Azizah Ismail, head of the National
Justice Party and wife of jailed politician Anwar Ibrahim.

Malaysia's longtime ruler commanded most Malays' support for
nearly two decades -- until he fired Anwar as his deputy in
September 1998. Anwar was arrested on charges of corruption and
sodomy.

Anwar's conviction on both charges and prison sentences
totaling 15 years angered many Malays who believe that Mahathir
framed his erstwhile protege to prevent a political challenge.
Over the past year, UMNO leaders have redoubled efforts to win
back Malay allegiances, often at the cost of offending ethnic
Chinese and Indian minorities, who make up nearly 40 percent of
Malaysians.

Despite Chinese objections, the party has vowed to press on
with a project that will put schools for ethnic Malay, Chinese
and Indian students under one roof. Many Chinese fear this will
erode their culture and undermine the unique traits of their
entrenched education system.