Geoffrey House, Policy and Strategy in Southeast Asia: Geoff House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Observing the Politics of Race

I arrived in Kuala Lumpur, capital of Malaysia, at about 9:00 in the evening on Thursday the 17th of September. The AirAsia flight from Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 in Manila to Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA 2) lasted almost four hours. Upon entering the terminal of the Malaysian capital's airport, I noticed immediately the differences in scale. In comparison to the facilities in Manila or Davao, the facilities in Kuala Lumpur were much larger. The sensation of wide, open space in KLIA 2 quickly became apparent. High ceilings amplified the sensation.

I wondered what the Malaysian capital's original and largest airport, Kuala Lumpur International Airport, must be like. It is Malaysia's main international airport and perhaps South East Asia's most important transportation hub. It is used by a large number of airlines from around the world. In contrast, KLIA 2, home of AirAsia Airlines, is used exclusively by the upstart but increasingly popular airplane company of Malaysia's Tony Fernandes. The entrepreneur of Indian ethnicity has transformed AirAsia into a highly successful budget airline and public-listed company.

From my studies of the policies and politics which have shaped the state and society in multi-ethnic Malaysia, I knew that Fernandes was a rare example of a success story for an entrepreneur of any ethnicity in Malaysia. Typically, in this country deeply divided along racial lines, the only companies which can receive capital and grow are the firms which are connected to the government. And, typically, these so-called government-linked corporations are dominated by ethnic Malays, just as the government itself is dominated by ethnic Malays. Standing in the terminal of KLIA 2, I admired the work of Fernandes, not only for the company which he had built but also for the obstacles which, as an ethnic Indian building a business in Malaysia, he had overcome along the way.

After collecting my luggage from the carousel, I proceeded to search for the exit and a taxi which would take me to Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) and my room at the Shangri-La Hotel on the main thoroughfare, called Jalan Sultan Ismail. I had read that the distance between KLIA 2 and KLCC was about 37 miles and that the journey could be as short as 40 minutes or as long as 2 1/2 hours, depending on the traffic and on the time of the day. I had read also that the price of the taxi ride would be 70 ringgit, or 16 dollars. But, as I walked through the terminal, attempting to follow signs toward an exit and a taxi, I realized that it was not clear to me how and where I had to arrange the taxi service. Finally, I was directed to a counter designated for sale of the coupons necessary for taxi service. After exchanging U.S. currency into Malaysian currency, I gave 80 ringgit, or about 18 dollars, to the woman behind the counter and received my coupon for the ride to the city's center and my hotel. I passed through the sliding doors of the airport into the night and toward the line of taxis parked at the curb.

At almost 10:30 at night, with few cars in sight, the taxi ride from KLIA 2 to KLCC lasted a little more than 40 minutes. The way into the city was a modern, broad roadway similar to the highways or even freeways of the United States. It was clear that the infrastructure of Kuala Lumpur was of a level far superior to the level of the infrastructure in the Philippines, the only other nation of Southeast Asia I had visited to this point. As in other parts of the world, including the United States and Europe, the landscape immediately surrounding the airport was occupied by industrial complexes and other, related manufacturing facilities. Also, like in those other, Western nations, the industrial area next to Kuala Lumpur's airport gave way to areas on the city's outskirts with large, dilapidated, tenement-like buildings. Finally, as the taxi driver and I entered KLCC, I could see the tall, modern, even ostentatious buildings with which Malaysia's leaders since the 1980s have boasted of their socioeconomic development successes.

I had been hearing for days that the capital city's air pollution, caused by massive fires burning out of control in neighboring Indonesia, was becoming increasingly severe, but I had no idea what to expect. I didn't want to think about altering my plans before I had even set our feet on the ground. I was eager to see for myself what so many people had been telling me. Malaysia was a land divided, I was told. The country's ethnic tensions, I was informed, would spark riots on the streets.

The focus of most conversations about Malaysia and its diverse peoples is on ethnic Malays, who represent approximately 60 percent of the nation’s population of 30 million people. Ethnic Chinese comprise about 20 percent and ethnic Indians about 10 percent of the population. The retired engineer from Mauritius had referred to the reluctance of ethnic Malays to interact with outsiders. A waiter from a Thai restaurant on the fourth floor of the Suria shopping complex, adjacent to the twin, Petronas towers, had recommended that, when looking for someone on the streets of Kuala Lumpur who could speak English, always approach a young, ethnic Chinese person. The waiter, an ethnic Indian, too, incidentally, spoke English well, but perhaps he was implying that most Ethnic Indians in the capital city did not.

The insinuation, time after time, is that ethnic Malays are not friendly to outsiders; and that they cannot speak English. It is a stereotype, based on race, which persists.

Race has a primary role in the administration and development of Malaysia. Most notably, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), the political force which seems to define every aspect of life in the Southeast Asian nation, uses race as an instrument to control the state, with all of its resources. UMNO uses affirmative action policies based on race to elevate ethnic Malays, usually at the expense of others. Typically, when UMNO leaders perceive a threat to their hegemony and the elevated position of ethnic Malays, they wield their instrument of power and mobilize their massive resources to eliminate the threat.

A recent event demonstrates the capacity of UMNO leaders and their ethnic Malay constituents to maintain their grip on power using race. On September 16th, UMNO leaders organized on the streets of Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, a rally in which tens of thousands of predominantly ethnic Malays, wearing red shirts, demonstrated in support of the government. The demonstrators, shouting racial epithets at ethnic Chinese, although none was present on that afternoon, claimed they were upholding the dignity of ethnic Malays in response to an earlier, opposition rally, held on August 29th and 30th. On those dates, leaders of the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections, or Bersih, had organized on the streets of Malaysia’s capital a rally, called Bersih 4, in which thousands of people from a range of ethnic backgrounds marched in opposition to the government. These demonstrators, wearing yellow shirts, had demanded the resignation of Malaysia’s current leader, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, who also is the president of UMNO.

With such an overwhelming display of force, UMNO leaders use race not only as an instrument to control the state; they use race as an instrument to control society. Every time UMNO leaders mobilize their legions of ethnic Malay supporters to counter demands for change by other segments of society, they force a reckoning among all members of society. Experts from academia, non-governmental organizations, and media have to talk about it. Conferences have to be convened to focus on it. Newspapers have to be published with accounts and analyses of it.

But, every day, people in Malaysia, young and old, of one ethnic group or another, are just trying to make a life for themselves. Most of them are not interested in, or even aware of, perceived differences in race until they are told to be by politicians. The politicians will not admit their role in manufacturing communal tensions. Still, they know, the politics of fear-mongering is effective. UMNO has been able to maintain its grip on power for many years. Since 1969, the year in which riots erupted on the streets of Kuala Lumpur, pitting ethnic Malays against ethnic Chinese, UMNO has had a distinct advantage over any political alternative. With a stranglehold on the resources of the state, it leaves little space for other, upstart political forces in which to operate. UMNO, it seems, will always have the sheer numbers with which to repel any attack.

Below you can see a map of Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC), followed by images of various scenes across the city.