The undercurrent of Malay resentment towards the Chinese is not racism in the conventional sense of the word, but more of a sense of insecurity born out of economic vulnerability. ― Picture by Choo Choy May

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 12 — On Malaysia Day last month, Alif Fikri and his group of friends woke up earlier than usual in anticipation of the controversial #Merah169 rally painted as upholding Malay dignity. He remembered being too excited to sleep longer as he genuinely believed his participation could somehow change his fate for the better.

Living in a tiny public flat in the Klang Valley and earning a meagre income from helping his mother sell kuih, Alif is indignant about the hardship that he and his family face, which he believes is caused by ethnic Chinese domination in business and politics.

“Look at my house. We live in a family of five. In a small space like this,” he told Malay Mail Online in a recent interview.

The 21-year-old said he has not been able to secure a long-term job since graduating with a diploma, though not for want of trying.

“Then just nearby you have the luxury condos. And who gets to stay there? Most Malays can't afford to stay there. But I see a lot of Chinese stay there… what this means is they have money, they got rich from controlling the economy. But the Malays, who are the locals, are still poor,” he said.

Looking out of his window daily, the tanned youth was reminded of the economic disparity between his family and his lighter-skinned neighbours and could not help but feel humiliation at the thought that the ethnic Chinese were lording over the Malays.

This, he said, was what drove him and his Malay friends to take part in the September 16 street demonstration.

Nearly a month on, Alif conceded that his resentment towards the ethnic Chinese would not have tipped over into anger if he and his family were in a better economic situation.

“Yeah, I think so. I think my frustration… like many other Malays, come from the fact that we are poor, while the Chinese live easy,” he said.

Alif was not alone in his view of Chinese Malaysians, as followers of #Merah169 — organised by leaders from Umno though the ruling Malay nationalist party has officially denied endorsing the rally despite their attendance — have sought to explain in the aftermath of their participation.

Critics have branded the rally as racist; some have even claimed the Perhimpunan Maruah Melayu to be a tactic to distract the public from the corruption allegations dogging the current federal administration, especially when the rally leaders portrayed the growing call for reform — manifested in the Bersih 4 protest in August — was a Chinese challenge to Malay political dominance.

Are Malays really racists?

While such claims may hold water for the #Merah169 rally leaders, some political observers believe it would be wrong to see the movement’s followers — many who were shipped in from the countryside or comprised urban poor Malays — as outright racists.

Yin Shao Loong, executive director of PKR-linked think tank Institut Rakyat, believes most poor Malays who feel resentment towards the ethnic Chinese, have been systematically trained by the federal government to blame their problems on the minority community instead of the policy makers.

“Grouses about being poor are legitimate. They are also victims of economic structure… poorer Malays primarily consume government-controlled media sources which shape their perceptions.

“Complaints about poor standard of living should be directed to the government. Wage gripes should be directed to employers and government,” he told Malay Mail Online in an interview last week.

Referring to a recent survey by independent research house Merdeka Center, Yin said the study found most Malaysians to be content with their wages even as they felt discontent about the high cost of living.

“There seems to be a lack of understanding of the causes of economic hardship and who bears responsibility,” he said.

But income disparity is not the only factor fuelling Malay distrust of the Chinese.

For 30-year-old Faliq Amiruddin Bakar, to accuse Malays of being the only racists around “was naive”. He believed that much of his race's anti-Chinese views came as a reaction to the community's alleged racism.

“You can sense Chinese racism everywhere. In employment for example. Preference for Chinese employees. Or even when you go to retail outlets which are owned or controlled by the Chinese. They would treat Chinese customers better but when it comes to the Malays, they would follow us around like we are thieves,” the UK graduate who now works in the private sector told Malay Mail Online.

Yin was not the only analyst to point out that antagonism between Malays and Chinese are deeply rooted in economic divisions dating back to colonial times.

They continue to thrive today due to a mix of policy failures and sustained communal politicking from all races, not just the Malays, Dr Ei Sun Oh, analyst with the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, told Malay Mail Online in an email interview.

“The British adopted an essentially divide-and-rule policy among the peoples of varying origins. The Chinese who came as tin miners and coolies were encouraged to engage in commerce. The Indians were kept in plantations. The Malays were relegated to be essentially subsistence farmers,” he said.

“Different occupations among the different races also inhibited national integration. Over time, the wealth disparity of course widened as commerce takes on an important role in national economic development, and it is only natural that resentment brews where such gaps glaringly exist,” he added.

Economic inequality breeds insecurity

Fariq said the view that the undercurrent of Malay resentment towards the Chinese is not racism in the “conventional sense of the word”, but more of a sense of insecurity born out of economic vulnerability.

“Are we really racists? The Malays actually feel inferior to the Chinese due to wealth differences while they actually feel more superior. So who are the racists here?” he questioned.

The latest analysis by independent social media reasearch firm Politweet found through its survey on sentiments of the Bersih 4 rally that opinions on Twitter aired by users concerned about the purported Chinese domination of the movement were mostly influenced by their wariness of the community.

The firm found that these users did not express hatred or violence towards the Chinese, although many said they were afraid that the minority group was gaining more power in Malay-majority Malaysia.

“Generally speaking, users who found race to be an issue at Bersih 4 or were concerned about Chinese gaining power were not racist in the sense that they openly hated Chinese or wished harm on the Chinese community,” Politweet said in its findings published by Malay Mail Online last week.

Dr Mohammed Abdul Khaled, an economist who wrote the 2014's third best-selling book in the local author category, "The Colour of Inequality", had pointed out in his writing that communal strife will continue as long as there is unequal distribution of wealth. And in Malaysia's case, the issue of income inequality have become more difficult to address as they are viewed from a racial lense.

“We need to share economic growth. It should benefit everyone, especially the one lacking behind. And we cannot deny the poorest group are still the Bumiputera… we cannot have stability when the majority are still lacking behind," he told Malay Mail Online in an interview recently.

According to the economist, income distribution between the haves and have-nots is rapidly widening. Despite economic progress, Malaysia's income inequality as of 2012 has been at the same level since 1990. And the ethnic Chinese group remains the largest holder of the economic pie, he pointed out in his book.

But Mohammed also noted that the income gap between the Malay and Chinese poor are more or less the same, so the resentment derived from the purported interracial wealth disparity is actually unreal and only amplified by the current economic downturn.

“The undercurrent is economic insecurity,” he said.