WHAT is the role of this institute?

When the Ethnic Relations Course module was introduced in universities in 2004, I was commissioned to be editor of the module. At that time there was a conscious effort by the government to conscientise people about ethnic relations so that we do not take ethnic relations for granted.

How have we managed to maintain a certain degree of security for over 51 years despite a few problems. Squabbling only involves about 2-3% of the population, so what about the 97%? How do they exist peacefully? It is the role of our institute to find out what is holding us together because nowadays ethnic relations are often measured by negative criteria.

So, what holds us together?

We have no formula, but we have different ways of dealing with things, and we have to look at ourselves as a creator of stability and peace – in our own way. There are four processes that we (in the institute) go through to create this good relationship but many people do not notice. This is not an ethnic grievances organisation. It is important to us to discuss and see things objectively. We don’t expect a clear answer but we want to identify a middle ground for everyone.

What are the four processes?

These are the 4As: assimilation, accommodation, acculturation (cultural borrowing) and amalgamation.

Assimilation though not visible in Peninsular Malaysia is a concept that works in Sabah and Sarawak where it is common to see a Christian family with Muslim in-laws.

Accommodation depicts the respect for each other and is visible in Peninsular Malaysia. This has a more geographical and demographical explanation because there is a rural-urban situation, and there is a majority-minority situation.

In Kelantan for example the Chinese have to adapt (to the culture around them) and many of them are fluent in the Kelantanese dialect. But in urban areas there is a 50-50 population. There is no majority Malay or majority non-Malay area, so everyone defends their own territory. This is where we find the articulation of different ethnic groups; in terms of positioning, proprietorship and stakeholding.

Klang Valley is very different from Kelantan and when a non-Malay family engages a Malay-Muslim halal caterer for their open house they are actually accommodating. Food taboos are among the ways we look at how accommodation has made an impact.

Acculturation – No one tells me what I should eat for lunch and dinner, or wear to a function. Do I eat nasi lemak or kuey tiau or tosai – it is entirely up to me, or do I wear a saree, cheongsam or baju kurung to the party ?

In a way, unity is a success in Malaysia through cultural borrowing and this is what people don’t see. They always see the top down effort of national unity. We always talk about this authority-defined kind of institution, but fail to notice the power of the ordinary people to make the decision.
Amalgamation, meanwhile, takes place when two cultures join to form a third culture, that’s what happened in the 14th century when Malays and Chinese married to form the Baba Nyonya community.

Amalgamation took place easily in the 14th century but it is different now. Why?

When they came in the 14th century, they came in voluntarily. They liked the place and made it their home and were ready to adapt and adopt local life. Those who came in after the 19th century did not come in voluntarily – many of them were slaves and displaced peasants in China and India. So the second wave of migration was a forced and coercive migration.

The British brought in cheap labour to work in the estates and tin mines. Only males came first and this allows us to see masculinity and possibility of violence and regimentation. The second wave of migrants wanted to go back.

In the 14th century, the amalgamation of the Malays and Chinese gave birth to a third culture – the Peranakan, now an international category for amalgamation similar to the Mulatos and Mestizos in Brazil. “Peranakan” now means Chinese and Malay. Sekolah wawasan is an attempt at amalgamation. The four processes create that atmosphere for stability.

The general perception and reality of ethnic relations in Malaysia?

In Malaysia, there is a lot of crime but these are not ethnic crimes or ethnic killings. Although we argue vehemently in the newspapers and in the blogs and seem to be at loggerheads, the reality is no one wants to create problems with their neighbours.

But this did not seem to be the case when the cow-head protesters took to the street?

This was by a group of people who are totally unhappy with the situation. We cannot stop them ... actions of these crazy people can be put in an ethnic context or taken out of the ethnic context.

Are there other ways we are united despite our differences?

In many ways class is a factor. The rich Malay, rich Chinese and rich Indians are actually helping each other and corruption can only occur if there is an understanding between them. No one tells on the other because it all boils down to their own benefit. At the end of the day they are all happy with what they have gotten out of it. It is a “positive” negative indicator.

We cannot be rigid when looking at real life situations, to me there must be a lot of fluidity.

Ethnic relations is similar to the black market which thrives in many countries although it (the black market) is not officially accepted as part of the economic studies.

How do we change the perception that we are at loggerheads all the time?

There is a lot more to being united than holding hands and singing Setia. Also, in Malaysia, we have a small competing majority unlike Singapore where there is a large majority – 80% Chinese as compared to 20% other races.

In Malaysia, there is no main majority. When there is a total majority the minority will follow the majority – like the Chinese in Kelantan but when there is competing majority there is bound to be a lot of noise. This is why in Malaysia we have a lot of “tongue wagging” but not “parang wielding”. Violence is not an option even though there are some people who want to incite violence.

So, you are saying we are all happily united?

I’m not saying we are totally happy, we have been muddling along for 40 years, and this is something to be proud about.

Are Malaysians ignorant about each other?

Malaysians are navel gazers busy looking at their own navel and lose out on what is happening around them, so despite travelling a lot they are still ignorant.

Is this because they don’t bother to get to know the other races and does it have anything to do with our education system?

When people ask me about polarisation in universities, I say the government spends billions of ringgit to create vernacular schools that produce differences. So, why are we concerned with polarisation in universities? After 13 years in a vernacular school, they are slotted into their different ethnic groups. We produce them. We use taxpayers’ money to produce differences and polarisation!

What comes to university is the result of this and we are happy with this, or rather unhappy with this and that is the contradiction. This is one of the reasons why this institute was set up, because we are ignorant and take a lot of things for granted in this country, we cannot to do this. That is why there is always a conscious effort after May 13, 1969 to create unity. The consequences of ignorance are too negative, too bad and too big for us to deal with.

Do politics and politicians divide us?

No, politics does not divide, but people use politics to talk about the constitution. This is the irony; the constitution is accepted by one generation and contested by the other generation. There are many contradictions on the constitution.

So there is much debate because nobody actually wants to change anything even if they do have a two thirds majority to do so.

There is so much talk about this by lawyers, the Bar Council and all but can we actually do something? It’s like creating fear among the people and then not knowing how to treat it.

I think the second and third generations endeavour to change the constitution is bearing no fruit, not even one small bit. I’m not criticising them but I am looking at the matter analytically. Also there is a lot more to learn about our country because many for instance, do not know what is federalism, that Sabah is a whole country equivalent to Peninsular Malaysia, and that Sabah and Sarawak are not a part of a “football team” known as Malaysia. Many do not know that I need a work permit to work in Sabah and because of this lack of knowledge they are easily duped.

Lack of historical knowledge?

A lot of Malaysians will fail when it comes to general knowledge about the history and constitution of their country.

There is also this impression that when we use history, the younger generation will respect us – we cannot have that assumption. In fact, they can be more critical and ask us why there is British opinion not Malaysian opinion or why my forefather’s contribution to this country has been omitted. We do not have strong historical records and that’s why we forget everything, and we remember what we want to remember.

Are there many things missing from our history books?

I can vouch that every country does this so that the nationalists can look like the heroes. This is a trend in modern politics where history becomes a powerful tool to justify one self. For instance, Singapore’s history begins in 1819, where it is stated that there were four lions, three villages and five Malay houses and so on.

Are there lions in Singapore? Tigers maybe but we know that this (the lions) is silly.

What is Kita’s role in Malaysia and towards helping the relevant government agencies in ethnic relations programmes?

We are developing a monitoring system where we go to all 222 parliamentary constituencies to identify problems faced by each community. Malaysians are not concerned about poverty anymore. They are more worried about the quality of life – health, security, education and all that.

That is why these have become election issues and we can measure and look for ethnic unhappiness in an area. This way we can separate class issues from ethnic issues because people always link class to ethnicity.

The quality of life I am talking about is on the measure of standards for example when measuring health. We take into account how many hospital beds; hospital, clinics and health-care workers service that area. This is how we find the quality of life index and how we monitor the problem and find a solution.

How does the quality of life index concern the state of ethnic relations?

There are many factors determining quality of life index that are mixed up with ethnicity. For example, it is true that the biggest income gap in this country is not between Malay and Chinese but among Malays. So class difference is more of concern to most Malaysians and this has nothing to do with ethnicity.

What about religion?

Religion is an ethnic identifier, whether it divides or not it depends because it is a boundary– and by definition a boundary separates things.

But from a few recent events it seems like religion is becoming more of a dividing factor lately.
This is where perception of social reality comes in. What we think – is. Of course people are not happy but for me this is perception and not reality. The issue about going to people’s homes and asking them if their food is halal, or being afraid to go into a mosque are examples of ignorance prolonged by poor parental guidance – it has to do with socialisation.

That’s the navel gazing Malaysian you were talking about?

Yes. They always think of themselves, what do I get, how much do I get. But the reality is that social class is more pertinent than ethnicity because if you are talking about health then your concern would be more on getting treated than on the ethnicity of the doctor.

What is this ethnic alignment index that you are working on?

There is a general perception that each race will stick to its own but say yes sometimes, but most of the time not. Why? Because of ethnic alignment. We found that Malaysians are willing to suppress their ethnic differences for eight hours a day to get a pay cheque at the end of the month or send their children to good schools.

So no one wants to create trouble in the country as they do not want to ruin their rice bowl or a chance for their children to get a good education. And this has made Malaysians more concerned about bridging differences and being friendly rather than picking fights with each other.

Why is it important?

This is important to study because we continuously make this alignment all the time. In business corruption is an ethnic alignment.

So again it’s about quality of life?

It is all based on rational choice for Malaysians and not on ethnic reasons – because if a Malay shop offers a lower price than a Chinese shop in a neighbourhood then Chinese residents would go to the Malay shop. Maybe 10% would still patronise the Chinese shop but the other 90% would say why do I need to pay more. For Indians and Malays, religion is very important whereas for the Chinese it is about education, language and culture. This affects the way society survives.

Can you tell us what the Kita Social Impact Study Module is?

In Malaysia, there are two concepts we use to create a map of social impact – ethnicity and class (high, middle and lower). In Malaysia, ethnicity is flat but there are differences when it comes to class.

So in Malaysia when you say you are doing a social impact study it has to do with class and ethnicity. In Gaza and Israel it is different; religion and social class, not ethnicity, is more important. In Saudi Arabia it is class and tribe. In America it is not only class but also area – urban and rural. We (in Kita) are clear what we mean by “social” – it is the study of  the impact of class and ethnicity, and  what is crossbred between the two.

Who uses Kita’s studies?

Corporate companies doing market surveys and government agencies.

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We are practical and sensible

MALAYSIANS are united despite all the complaints of strained ethnic relations in blogs and the media, says Institute of Ethnic Studies head Prof Datuk Dr Shamsul Amri Baharuddin.