Malaysia turns 50
2007-08-31 15:05
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Malaysia marked 50 years of independence on Friday with dances and parades in a colourful show of ethnic unity that belied worsening race relations and growing fears about eroding minority rights.
Smartly dressed Malays, Chinese, Indians and other ethnic groups making up this racially diverse nation danced in a parade at the Merdeka Square, or Freedom Square, where Malaysia's first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman announced the country's independence from Britain on August 31 1957.
Malaysia's constitutional monarch, Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin, presided over the two-hour celebration, joined by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, his Cabinet ministers and foreign dignitaries including Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the Thai crown prince and the sultan of Brunei.
In a speech at midnight, Abdullah reminded Malaysians that the struggle to fulfil the objectives of independence have not been won even though the country has achieved remarkable economic progress and prosperity for nearly all citizens.
"The struggle is for all Malaysians. We must ensure that no region or community is left behind. We will hold true to the concept of justice and fairness for all citizens," Abdullah said.
But racial equality remains a distant dream, say many observers, citing an affirmative action programme for the majority Malays and the pervasive influence of Islam in what founding fathers envisaged as a secular nation.
'We are on a take-off stage...'
"Although we have achieved a lot in 50 years I have my doubts we can continue to sustain the pace of the progress until we change our mind-set and develop more dynamic and meritocratic policies," said Ramon Navaratnam, a former Finance Ministry adviser and an architect of the country's economic policies.
Malay Muslims form about 60% of the country's 26 million people. Chinese are 25%, Indians 10% and the rest belong to other minorities.
At independence, the Malays were the poorest and the most backward. But the New Economic Policy, the affirmative action programme started in 1971, gave Malays privileges and preferences in jobs, education, businesses, housing, bank loans and government contracts.
Many Malays complain that the NEP benefited only those connected to Abdullah's United Malays National Organisation party. The party dominates the ruling coalition, sharing a little power with Chinese, Indian and other race-based parties.
Analysts say the NEP is holding back Malaysia's progress, producing Malay university graduates who can hardly speak English, creating a class of inefficient bureaucrats and suppressing enterprising businessmen from minority communities.
"This is a blessed country in terms of resources, climate, location. We are on a take-off stage and we are not taking off," Navaratnam said.
- AP