Spirit of 'Malaysia Boleh' lives on after 40 years

Spirit of 'Malaysia Boleh' lives on after 40 years

Zakaria Haji Ahmad looks at trends in Malaysia as the country
celebrates 40 years of independence.

SINGAPORE: One of the grandest ever independence day
celebrations was staged by Malaysia last weekend, to commemorate
40 years of Merdeka (freedom) from British colonial rule. Forty
years ago, that day meant independence for the former British
Malaya (the Malay states together with Malacca and Penang), but
over the last decade it has been used to mark as well the
amalgamation in September 1963 of the former Federation of Malaya
together with Sabah (former British North Borneo) and Sarawak.

In the run-up to this year's anniversary bash, there has been
a significant outpouring of national pride with spontaneous
displays of the national flag atop motor vehicles, offices and
homes, indicating pride, confidence and optimism about the
future. Although in recent weeks the ringgit has been under
pressure - with the ominous possibility, as noted by Prime
Minister Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, that speculative
attacks on the currency could undo "40 years of hard work" -
rapid growth averaging 7-8 percent over the last decade is seen
by some experts as more likely to be sustained in the next few
years.

There is cause, then, for celebration of Malaysia's 40th
birthday as a nation-state that has arrived, a model of an
harmonious, multi-racial state with a unique formula for
political power-sharing along ethnic lines, with a stable
political order and a vibrant economy. This, in turn, has earned
it international recognition as a country that has been willing
not only to provide trenchant comment on a still asymmetric world
system but also to contribute in deeds, ranging from resource
assistance, overseas business investment and participation in
United Nations peacekeeping efforts. What is remarkable is that
Malaysia is a "small" country (its population has just topped
20.5 million), a Third World state, albeit an emergent Newly-
Industrializing one, willing to stand up and be counted.

Much of Malaysia's rise is due to the leadership of Dr.
Mahathir -- "Dr. M". Now the longest-serving Malaysian premier
since his accession to office in 1981, Dr. M's tenure of office
has not only been resolute but indelible. Today's Malaysia is a
product of Dr. M's vision, diligence and unrelenting
determination to make the country a "developed" nation by 2020
(underscored by the so-called "Vision 2020" which he enunciated
at the beginning of this decade). If present trends continue,
this is not an unrealistic goal, although a lot may depend on his
successors, especially the heir apparent and current Deputy Prime
Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Dr. M is on record as having
stated he would like to be recognized with a "KSM" (Kerja Sampai
Mati or "work until death"). It is not to be expected, then, that
he will be challenged in the interim, indicating not only
longevity and tenacity, but also adroit handling of his
opponents. In any event, the process of leadership succession is
unlikely to create a national crisis.

Dr. M's leadership style and imprint is related to the larger
issue of the body-politic which approximates a quasi-democracy
(Harold Crouch calls it a "responsive-repressive regime"),
wherein a semblance of participatory democracy exists but Malay
political power is assured in a multi-ethnic setting. Malaysia's
political stability has been due to the maintenance of a delicate
balance between competing political demands mobilized along
racial lines, but this does not lend promise to the notion of a
Bangsa Malaysia nation as envisaged in Vision 2020.

Moreover, a bimodal society split between Malays and non-
Malays seems to be perpetuated in many societal endeavors,
extended further recently by a call to the Malays to be "more
Islamic", fanned by both official and unofficial elements. In
effect, the societal dichotomy between "Malays" and "non-Malays"
may in future be better understood as between "Malay-Moslems" and
"non-Malay/non-Moslems". In the long run, a single political
system in a dual society may be workable, but this will continue
to require authoritarian leadership and strong curbs on
extremism, especially in the domain of religious adherence and
enforcement. How the Darul Arqam movement was disbanded is an
example of this approach. In short, a "strong" government is the
order of the day, as in the past and also in the future.

As Malaysia modernizes, there is danger of the rise of
zealotry over rationality, as amply illustrated in the recent
case of the arrest of three Moslem participants in a beauty
contest. On the other hand, one can be optimistic that the varied
demands and responses of Islamic revivalism will be cross-cutting
and not therefore imperil Malaysia's future as a state with a
secular basis but an official religious orientation.

It may be noted that Malaysia's continuing ethnic divisions
are partly a legacy of the May 13, 1969, racial riots. Since
then, the multi-racial formula of pre-1969 has been replaced by
the post-1969 format of Malay political and economic power
(critics may well regard this as more the preponderance of regime
interests) in the many areas of public activity. As Malaysia
celebrates its 40th birthday, Malay mainstream political power
(largely under the aegis of the United Malays National
Organization - UMNO, but together with other parties in the
National Front or Barisan Nasional coalition) seems unlikely to
be questioned and may well be the bedrock of the country's future
for the next century. Such continuity and stability of the polity
signifies not so much the ascendancy of Malay political power and
the marginalization of non-Malay interests, but rather the fact
that all groups in racially divided Malaysia have a place in the
sun now and in the future, a result of moderation exercised in
the political system.

Two factors may be essential to Malaysia's political and
economic viability in the years ahead. One is the continuation of
an open economy and society linked to global developments. Such
interdependence is also related to competitiveness as a key
element for Malaysia's survival. Steps taken in information
technology policy (the latest, positive indicator being Dr. M's
inauguration of the Multimedia Super Corridor, or MSC) and
innovations in education (re-emphasis on English, introduction of
"Smart Schools" and new "technology" universities) augur well if
pursued vigorously. The other is Malaysia's continued
participation in multilateral efforts, particularly Malaysia's
role in ASEAN and other regional and global devices, in areas of
political and economic cooperation and security dialog. Both of
these underpin Malaysia's place and role in an interdependent
world into the 21st century.

Recently, suggestions have been made that Malaysia's quickened
pace of development may result in it becoming another Mexico or
Thailand. It is true that Malaysia's economy and society is
bursting at the seams, leading to infrastructure bottle-necks and
breakdowns, traffic congestions in major towns, a huge presence
of migrant labor, social ills afflicting youth, corruption, and
so forth. There have also been some signs of an impending
oversupply of properties. Yet a host of governmental
interventions have sought to counteract any "overheating" of the
economy. And sound political and economic fundamentals undergird
Malaysia's political economy, and these will ultimately prevail.

At its 40th year, there seems to be no stopping what can be
called a spirit of "Malaysia Boleh" (Malaysia can do), be it
climbing Mount Everest or hosting the 1998 Commonwealth Games. In
a short space of 40 years, Malaysia has been transformed into a
thriving political economy and while it is not without its
problems, its greatest triumph set to sustain it to the next
century has been a capacity -- political, economic and
administrative -- to absorb the varied and complex changes in the
wake of its development efforts, and its intermeshing with the
global trends.

Professor Zakaria Haji Ahmad heads the Strategic and Security
Studies Unit at the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) in
Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.