40 years after May 13

Forty years ago in 1969, chaos erupted in Malaysia. 13th May is often quoted in history as the watershed of Malaysian politics, since it represented a whole new order that is imposed on Malaysians, a big change from the era of Tunku Abdul Rahman. May 13 was not only about the racial riots. It represented a bigger picture in the loss of liberty and the increase in power of the executive. In any case, since then, the glaring need for national integration has never been so urgent for Malaysia. In the subsequent year, Rukunegara was established to fulfill this purpose just like Indonesia's Pancasila. The first PM of Malaysia was also ushered out in the most unauspicious manner following the May 13 incident. Tun Abdul Razak rose to power and put in place the most controversial and criticised policy of NEP.

Fast foward 40 years later, his son rose to the pinnacle of power in an almost similar fashion after internal power struggles within the party. The racial rhetoric is still echoed by certain politicians in the belief that they may garner the support of the older generation. But personally, I think that residues resultant of May 13 still remains in the form of racial polarisation, but modern Malaysians are perhaps reorganising themselves more towards political allegiance instead. You could see that in the Perak fiasco where groups from all races and backgrounds can be seen rallying behind Nizar. On the Friday when Zambry was sworn in as MB, it was the people from the mosque who were at the streets voicing out their dissatisfaction over the way the issue is handled. I think at this point, modern Malaysians are able to grab concepts and political ideas rather than just mere surface classification of race and background. To look even further back, think about the Bersih campaign. Despite all the political turmoils that are happening in the country, I would say that Malaysians won't take to the streets again like what happened in May 13 because of the years of being sedated by the fear of ISA and police powers. They are stirred by some issues that are hyped up to be racial, but are not shaken enough to escalate it to pure violence on the street. If the fight does ever reaches the streets, it would be more of a rallying cry for democracy rather than blatant race issues.

Perhaps the notion of a bangsa Malaysia may be closer than ever as compared to the days of the older generation but the right leader must be there to initiate it. There is now deeper awareness of societal conditions and how the government and political system operates. Although the conditions are ripe, the search for a national leader that could legitimately issue a united front of Malaysia still continues on.