A. Samad Said
Malaysia
Racial and Social Economic Disparity
One issues of independent Malaysia would be "the disparity of economic power among the ethnic communities. The Malays felt unhappy with the wealth of the Chinese community, even after the expulsion of Singapore. Malay political movements emerged based around this."
To keep up with the production of exports to match the competition in foreign markets
= Low wages = Poverty
Immigrants - Cause of Racial issues
Malaya's stable export = Rubber + Palm oil + Tin
Labour force = Immigrant workers from India and China
Chinese arrived poor but eventually gained economic power
= Threatening to Malays
(Development of many political movements)
Malay Nationalism: British policy "Malaya belonged to the Malays and the rest are temporary citizens"
Economic Growth attributed to its Forest Industry. [Read More]
Result of Issues
1961: Educational Reforms: All students required to learn Malay
+
Heavily subsidized education for Malays
+
Deforestation to/Logging to make way for development
1965: S'pore withdrew from M'sia due to racial tensions.
1967: originated as a protest against currency devaluation but turned into racial killings
1969: Race Riots in KL [Read More]
1966-1970: First Malaysian Plan = $ to rural malay communities
+ incentives and low-interest loans to help Malays start businesses
Urban Poverty: Immigrants attracted to the city