Has Malaysia moved past the ghost of 13 May?

by Lan Jian Wyn (The Edge)


Ong Kian Ming, political analyst

May 13 symbolizes the potential for ethnic politics to go awry and turn violent. If you look back at the general elections in 1969, Barisan Nasiona (BN) lost Penang and Kelantan, while there was a deadlock in Selangor and Perak but they still won 65% of Parliamentary seats in Peninsular Malaysia on March 8, 2008. BN suffered a much worse electoral defeat in Peninsular Malaysia but there was no repeat of ethnic violence; in that sense we have matured. Even in Perak, there was no ethnic violence, as comical as it was. It could have easily degenerated into a Malay versus non-Malay situation but it didn't.

We have managed to move past May 13, evident in the lack of unrest following the 2008 General Elections when the BN lost its two-thirds majority in Parliament. However, we still find it difficult to see beyond the ethnic angle, looking at the comparitive number of Malays, Chinese, and Indians who are in the Cabinet in the respective state executive councils and the racial composition of scholarship holders.

Ooi Kee Beng, Fellow at ISEAS (Singapore)

The political options since then have been dictated by the ruling coalition, leading to the lack of transparency in governance, arrogance, corruption, cronyism and extremely high opportunity costs in nation-building. It was our greatest failure. Although many rose to power because of it, a nationalism grew forth that went overboard in many ways, limiting the ability of the country to make full use of its potential.

But young Malaysians today have a new resistance to the politics of fear, showing that the May 13 legacy of tentativeness and ill-boding is being swept away, along with parties that benefited from those dark days. There are clear signs that Malaysians of various races are more willing to give each other a chance, and there is a greater wish to get to know each other. On that front, we have left May 13 behind.

However, we have yet to deal with many issues before the fear of May 13 is completely banished: that includes the harshness of many of our laws and the insidious racialism that has de-ideologised affirmative action policies in Malaysia.

Wong Chin Huat, political analyst

May 13 is a threat of ethnic violence mystified to justify authoritarianism; if we’re not controlled by the government, our differences will lead us to killing each other. The argument is that corruption and authoritarianism is a lesser evil compared to ethnic violence.

Politically speaking, we need a government change. The legitimacy of the current government and the NEP is derived from May 13, besides being used to silence critics. If the state needs to intervene in our affairs, it must do away with the justification based on violence.

We need to move forward from the idea that May 13 was caused by the victory of a Chinese political party. The general elections result in 1969 shows that Umno had lost Malay support to Pas, and it needed a crisis to show that the Malay community’s, not Umno’s, survival is at stake. In a sense, it happened due to a lack of inter-ethnic cooperation within the Opposition.

Denison Jayasooria, political analyst at UKM

The country has not moved on from May 13. Politicians are using it as a fear tactic, drawing parallels with incidents in Hiroshima or the Holocaust to spark reconciliation and public harmony. While there has been an absence of major conflicts, we have not reached a stage of major understanding and appreciation, and whether another controversy like this will appear is yet to be seen.

There must be commitment from Malaysians regardless of colour and religion to never repeat it again. Any signs of discontent – such as people’s perception that they are being discriminated against, threatened or their religion and language is under threat – must be addressed.

Farish Noor, Senior Fellow at S. Rajaram School of International Studies (RSIS), NTU

May 13 has been over-used to the hilt by political elites as an excuse to deny ordinary Malaysians to openly and rationally discuss issues in the country for too long. And we forget to emphasise the facts that 13 May was a series of isolated incidents that did not lead to the entire country falling apart; and it should not allow us to forget that for hundreds of years before that Malaysians of all ethnic and religious groups were living, working and loving in peace for generations. Today, the question that needs to be asked is why place so much emphasis on the events of 48 hours that happened 40 years ago, and why not place the event in its proper, wider historical context?

(The Edge, Wednesday, 13 May 2009 16:03)