[Kabar-indonesia] IHT: Malaysia's Leader Warns of Religious and Ethnic Tensions

[Joyo3]

[+Mahathir]

also: Malaysian PM jettisons Mahathir-era economic
strategies

International Herald Tribune
November 15, 2006

Malaysia's leader warns of religious and ethnic tensions

By Thomas Fuller International Herald Tribune

photo: Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi at the General
Assembly of the United Malays National Organization in Kuala
Lumpur on Wednesday. Goh Seng Chong/Bloomberg News

Malaysia's prime minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, said
Wednesday that frayed relations between the country's
religious and racial groups had reached a "worrying" level
and warned that the government would not hesitate to crack
down to preserve peace between them.

"Freedom has its limits," Abdullah said in a nationally
televised speech to his party that serves as an annual state
of the union address for the country. "I would like to warn
those who abuse this freedom that I will not for a moment
hesitate to use the law against them."

Abdullah's threats were a marked shift in tone for a prime
minister who previously portrayed himself as more
conciliatory and compassionate than his predecessor,
Mahathir bin Mohamad.

At a time of both political and ethnic tensions, a number of
recent incidents and court cases have soured relations
between Malay Muslims and the rest of the country's 25
million population: Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and
others.

The head of a Christian evangelical group said in an
interview Wednesday that tensions between communities were
higher than at any time in recent decades.

"I think generally there is a feeling by Muslims of being
under siege by Western civilization as well as people of
other faiths - they feel that they are being cornered," said
the Christian leader, Wong Kim Kong, secretary general of
the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship in Malaysia.

"Political tension, religious tension and racial tension
have culminated at the same time."

With such a diverse population Malaysia has long been seen
as a barometer of racial relations in multiethnic Southeast
Asia. One particularly contentious case involves an appeal
to Malaysia's highest court by a Malay Muslim woman, Lina
Joy, who converted to Christianity but has been banned from
officially changing her religion on her identity card.

But the broader context of Abdullah's warning is economic
and political, analysts say. The Malay Muslim majority is
under pressure to scale back economic privileges they enjoy
under an affirmative action program introduced more than
three decades ago to dilute Chinese control over the
economy.

Malaysians are locked in a divisive debate over the fate of
the program following a recent report that said Malays had
surpassed their ownership target of 30 percent of companies
in the country. On Wednesday, Abdullah said the report was
"grossly incorrect" and sought to end the discussion by
warning that failure to trust the government's calculations,
which show much lower ownership levels, would be the "same
as accusing the government of lying."

Opposition leaders say Abdullah is using national security
as a pretext to quash debate on the issue.

"More and more issues are being categorized as sensitive and
now there's this threat of an iron fist," Lim Kit Siang, the
leader of the opposition, in an interview. "There should be
room for rational discussions."

Lim also accused members of Abdullah's party, the United
Malays National Organization, of hypocrisy on the question
of race relations.

"They are telling people not to play the race card while
they are playing it to the hilt," Lim said.

Members of Abdullah's party have been particularly strident
and explicit in their criticism of Chinese and Indian
parties, with whom they share a coalition, at the party's
general assembly, which is being held this week.

One party member, Ramli Simbok, was quoted in the local
press as having said, "When we, the Malays, are weak, the
Chinese will take advantage."

Another party member, Azimi Daim, warned Chinese and Indians
to stop questioning the special rights of Malays.

"When tension rises, the blood of Malay warriors will run in
our veins," Azimi said.

The prime minister has been under attack from Mahathir, his
predecessor, over many issues ranging from management of the
economy to corruption and nepotism within government.

Even though Mahathir was not present - he suffered a minor
heart attack last week and is resting on doctor's orders -
analysts said his presence could be detected in Abdullah's
often defensive tone.

"Internally they are being assaulted by their former
president. This has weakened the party," said Hishamuddin
Rais, a political columnist for several Web sites. Mahathir
was party president and prime minister from 1981 until 2003,
when Abdullah succeeded him.

Abdullah's party "in a time of internal crisis is always
looking out for foreign enemies," Hishamuddin said.

In his speech Abdullah responded to much of Mahathir's
recent criticism.

He said he was aware that economic sentiment was soft but
said reining in government spending had been necessary to
reduce the budget deficit from 5.3 percent of gross domestic
product in 2003 to 3.5 percent today.
"We are now in a better position to spend," he said.

The government will build more schools in rural areas, he
said, and will focus on strengthening its reputation as a
center for Islamic finance and halal food production.

In response to accusations that Abdullah had lowered the
country's profile compared to Mahathir, whose acerbic often
anti-Western comments kept the country in the news, Abdullah
said he preferred "artful diplomacy."

--------------------------------

Agence France-Presse
Thursday, November 16, 2006

Malaysian PM jettisons Mahathir-era economic strategies

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said his
government will not pursue economic strategies adopted two
decades ago by his predecessor Mahathir Mohamad.

The comments are the latest salvo in a bitter feud between
the two men which has raged this year, creating fears of a
split in the ruling party.

"Merely continuing the existing economic model that we have
had for the past 20 years will not make Malaysia competitive
in the long-run," Abdullah said at the annual gathering of
the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO).

Abdullah said that in the past, wealth was generated not by
innovation and creativity, but by foreign direct investment,
government contracts and privatization. "Now that era is
gone," he said.

"Since we want to be more broad-based, we cannot entirely
rely on construction and manufacturing. We must look at
sectors that can still generate wealth for many Malaysians
especially those in rural areas, like agriculture."

Mahathir, 81, who turned Malaysia from an economic backwater
into one of the powerhouses of Asia, has accused Abdullah of
mismanagement and lamented the sidelining of his pet
projects.

While in office he eschewed the agricultural sector, in
favour of grand projects like the national Proton car, steel
manufacturing and the Bakun mega-dam.

Abdullah said his government will ensure economic growth by
exploring new sources of development and ensuring equitable
distribution of wealth, while focusing on rural development
and modernization of agriculture.

"The development of the agriculture sector to become higher
value-added will give the country a competitive advantage.
The move to develop the agriculture sector and agro-based
industries is not a backward step," he said.

UMNO members at the week-long general assembly are expected
to demand Abdullah do more for the economy and to remain
committed to an affirmative action plan aimed at helping the
country's majority Muslim Malays.
Economic growth hit 7.2 percent in 2004 but slowed to 5.2
percent in 2005. Foreign investment also fell in 2005 to
3.97 billion dollars from 4.62 billion dollars the year
before.

The ruling party was braced for a showdown between Abdullah
and Mahathir at the general assembly, but Mahathir was
forced to bow out after suffering a mild heart attack last
week.

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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