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Millennium Development Goals in Malaysia
Malaysia is one of the wealthiest and most developed countries in Southeast Asia, outranked only by Singapore and oil-rich Brunei. Since 1970, the percentage of the population living below the poverty line has fallen from 50% to 5%, extreme poverty is rare, infant mortality has dropped from 40.9 to 7.9 per 1,000 live births, and adult literacy has increased from 60% to 94%. Assessed by UNDP as already having achieved 7 of the 8 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the Malaysian experience is being presented as a model for the Asia-Pacific region. The government points in particular to its focus on agricultural productivity, development of labour-intensive exports, and investment in health and education.
Encouraging as these statistics are, they fail to identify underlying inequality and the Gini coefficient for Malaysia is the highest in the region. Poverty mainly occurs in rural areas amongst indigenous groups, especially in the Eastern Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak – in Sabah 23% of households live below the poverty line and 20% of its population have never been to school. The 9th Malaysia Plan, covering the period 2006-2010, does acknowledge that economic growth alone is insufficient and that pro-poor policies should be introduced. The Plan aims to further reduce the poverty rate to 2.8% and to eliminate the most extreme form of poverty by 2015.
HIV/AIDS in Malaysia
The Goal to reverse and halt the spread of HIV/AIDS is the only MDG that Malaysia has not yet achieved. Although prevalence is low compared to other Southeast Asian nations, the number of people living with HIV/AIDS has increased exponentially to over 70,000 at the end of 2006. Initial infections were mainly confined to injecting drug users but the virus is now spreading through heterosexual transmission, to women especially. Although there has been no specific link between prevalence and Malaysia’s migrant population, the continued high volume of transient labour represents a risk factor.
The lack of urgency in government policy is reflected in the high degree of stigma and discrimination experienced not just by people living with HIV/AIDS but also by those attempting to break down the barriers of ignorance which Malaysia’s conservative society presents. For example, government plans distribute condoms, needles, and treatment for injecting drug users have been opposed on the grounds that they encourage drug abuse and extramarital sex and are un-Islamic. For similar reasons, there is limited sex education in schools and an almost complete absence of data on sexual awareneness and practice amongst young people.
Political leadership has been low key with preventative action left to civil society groups which lack delivery capacity. However, the government has agreed to triple the budget for the 2006-2010 National Strategic Plan on HIV/AIDS to $30 million pa, potentially transforming a lacklustre performance to date.
Politics in Malaysia
Malaysia is a secular state with Islam as its official religion. It is also a rare example of a constitutional monarchy in which diverse regional traditions of power are satisfied by a 5 year rotation of the monarch between 9 hereditary state rulers. The role is ceremonial but all new legislation and key appointments are approved by the King.
The country is a multicultural society, with Malays comprising 60% of the population, the Chinese 25%, Indians 10%, and Sikhs, Eurasians, and indigenous tribes make up the remaining 5%. The core tension between the economically dominant Chinese and the less successful Malays has been overtly managed since 1969 by the New Economic Policy (NEP), a system of racial preferences in education, employment and business that favours ethnic Malays. The government and mainstream media take considerable pains to promote Malaysia as a nation of racial harmony, and attempts to point out otherwise are condemned as incitements to racial hatred.
This racial profile and its apparent harmony has been reflected in the composition of the coalition Barisan Nasional (National Front) that has governed Malaysia since 1973. Its main component parties are the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) and Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC). The dominant political figure of this period was Dr Mahathir Mohamad, prime minister from 1982 until 2003. Mahathir is widely credited with establishing Malaysia’s distinctive blend of economic dynamism and overbearing control. He was succeeded by his deputy, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, when the National Front won an overwhelming victory in the March 2004 general election.
After taking office, Badawi vowed to fight political corruption, but his rhetoric softened after he lost support within UMNO following the arrest and suspension of several senior party members for vote-buying and other offences. Badawi also lost his way with the wider electorate through failure to soften the impact of the NEP and redistribute the benefits of economic prosperity. Announcement of a snap election in February 2008 prompted Anwar Ibrahim, a maverick politician imprisoned by Mahathir, to unite his own National Justice Party in an unprecedented non-aggression pact with the main opposition parties in parliament, the predominantly Chinese socialist Democratic Action Party (DAP), and the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS). Many prominent civil society activists joined this opposition or stood as independent candidates.
Despite the ruling party exploitation of state-controlled media and refusal to permit election rallies, this opposition group was able to claim 82 of the 222 seats. This outcome has shaken the Malaysian status quo by denying the ruling coalition the 2/3 majority which has enabled it to govern as necessary by constitutional amendment. There is speculation that Badawi may be forced to resign or even that National Front partners may abandon the coalition. Five state assemblies are now controlled by opposition parties and already the Penang government has announced its intention to ignore the NEP in regional contracts.
Human Rights in Malaysia
This less stable political outlook is an unlikely platform for much-needed improvement in Malaysia’s record on human rights. The country is home to the notorious Internal Security Act which permits detention without trial for 2 years with the right to indefinite renewal. Unfortunately, since the September 2001 attacks in the United States, the ISA has been invoked to detain alleged terrorists in the name of national and international security. About 90 suspects remained in detention towards the end of 2007 and Malaysia has so far refused to reply to a request from the UN Special Rapporteur to visit the country to explore whether counter-terrorism actions are in breach of human rights.
Despite the fear of political Islam, religious adherence is considered intrinsic to Malay ethnic identity, and Malays and other Muslims who wish to convert from Islam face severe obstacles, as Shariah law overrides the secular national constitution at state level. Although the right to practise other religions is protected in the constitution, there is no shortage of evidence of restraint in the face of local authorities which are invariably controlled by Malays. One example is the persecution of the members of the religious group Sky Kingdom, which was declared in 2005 by the government to be a "deviant sect of Islam"; its premises demolished; and its members arrested and tried without due process rights.
Alongside corporal punishment and the death penalty, a focus of human rights concerns has been police brutality and deaths in custody, colonial-era attitudes which came to a head in late 2004 when a Royal Commission of Inquiry was set up to make recommendations for institutional reform. The government accepted all of the recommendations but much work remains to overturn the unacceptable culture of police behaviour.
Malaysia has compounded this image of excessive use of authority by recruiting a uniformed People’s Volunteer Force (RELA), half a million citizens whose principal task is to enforce periodic clampdowns on illegal foreign workers – in the second half of 2007 they were instructed to round uo 500,000 illegal migrants. In a country which has refused to sign the 1951 Geneva Convention, it is too much to expect this vast force to understand the distinction between migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers, let alone their rights. A climate of hostility towards migrant labour creates many instances of arbitrary forceful eviction and looting of personal goods. A legitimate group of about 40,000 refugees from Burma is increasingly caught up in misunderstandings over implementation of Malaysia’s yo-yo policy on migrant labour.
The Economy in Malaysia
The hiring of migrant workers, especially in the country's "3D" (dirty, dangerous, demeaning) sectors, has been a consequence of Malaysia’s economic success. Estimates suggest that there were 1.9 million documented migrants in 2007 with possibly a further 700,000 undocumented. Many of these workers, mostly from Indonesia, the Philippines, India, and Bangladesh, face considerable hardship in the absence of legislation protecting their most basic rights. Seemingly unable to devise a framework to cater for economic fluctuation, the government alternates between appeals for more labour and oppressive expulsion of illegal workers.
Malaysia is engaged in prolonged negotiations for a free trade agreement with the US. Critics are concerned at the potential loss of the right to protect strategic industries, a fundamental tool of the country’s advance to tiger economy status.
Information and Media in Malaysia
In terms of technology, Malaysia enjoys many of the advances of the developed world. Telecommunications services are excellent, and more than a dozen newspapers are published daily. However, with its tough censorship laws, the country typically ranks in the lower half of the universal press freedom index issued by Reporters without Borders. Laws such as the Printing Presses and Publication Act, and the Sedition Act, together with direct monitoring and control of the media, make independent publication and public discussion virtually impossible. The only independent news source in the country, the online newspaper Malaysiakini.com, operates under the threat of prosecution. Journalists or bloggers can be imprisoned for publishing “false news”.
The Environment and Climate Change in Malaysia
Malaysia is one of the most bio-diverse regions on earth and, up until the 1970s, boasted the world's most extensive tropical forests. However, during that decade, agriculture and infrastructure development caused massive deforestation, discharge from industrial and mining operations polluted water resources, while rapid industrialization gave rise to urban smog, water toxicity, and strains on sewage and waste management infrastructure. In the 1990s, the government paid lip service to calls for sustainable development while continuing many projects, notably the Bakun hydroelectric dam project in Sarawak, that came under fire from environmentalists. The indigenous peoples of Malaysia have also been fighting to defend their land and forests against dams, logging, oil palm plantations, mining activities, and resort development.
Always somewhat reticent about publishing environmental data, Malaysia was subject to the embarrassing disclosure that its carbon dioxide emissions expanded 221% between 1990 and 2004, the highest rate in the world during a period in which the Kyoto Protocol, ratified by Malaysia, seeks to reduce emissions. An equally embarrassing and contributory factor is the annual rate of deforestation which almost doubled during this time from 0.35% to 0.65%. Malaysia was the world’s biggest producer of palm oil in 2007 and the expansion of this crop has been cited as a significant cause of deforestation, a view not accepted by the Malaysian government.
Malaysia is acutely aware of the potential impact of climate change on its own sensitive tropical ecosystems, in particular an estimated 10% fall in rice yields for each one degree rise in temperature, and the hydrological implications of more intense flooding and drought. The country’s formal 5 year economic plans will in future include a chapter addressing the mitigation of climate change.
The OneWorld Malaysia Guide was first published in this format in November 2004 with a text written by Volunteer Editor Uma Kukathas
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| View from Petronas Tower © Alicia Ong |
Encouraging as these statistics are, they fail to identify underlying inequality and the Gini coefficient for Malaysia is the highest in the region. Poverty mainly occurs in rural areas amongst indigenous groups, especially in the Eastern Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak – in Sabah 23% of households live below the poverty line and 20% of its population have never been to school. The 9th Malaysia Plan, covering the period 2006-2010, does acknowledge that economic growth alone is insufficient and that pro-poor policies should be introduced. The Plan aims to further reduce the poverty rate to 2.8% and to eliminate the most extreme form of poverty by 2015.
HIV/AIDS in Malaysia
The Goal to reverse and halt the spread of HIV/AIDS is the only MDG that Malaysia has not yet achieved. Although prevalence is low compared to other Southeast Asian nations, the number of people living with HIV/AIDS has increased exponentially to over 70,000 at the end of 2006. Initial infections were mainly confined to injecting drug users but the virus is now spreading through heterosexual transmission, to women especially. Although there has been no specific link between prevalence and Malaysia’s migrant population, the continued high volume of transient labour represents a risk factor.
The lack of urgency in government policy is reflected in the high degree of stigma and discrimination experienced not just by people living with HIV/AIDS but also by those attempting to break down the barriers of ignorance which Malaysia’s conservative society presents. For example, government plans distribute condoms, needles, and treatment for injecting drug users have been opposed on the grounds that they encourage drug abuse and extramarital sex and are un-Islamic. For similar reasons, there is limited sex education in schools and an almost complete absence of data on sexual awareneness and practice amongst young people.
Political leadership has been low key with preventative action left to civil society groups which lack delivery capacity. However, the government has agreed to triple the budget for the 2006-2010 National Strategic Plan on HIV/AIDS to $30 million pa, potentially transforming a lacklustre performance to date.
Politics in Malaysia
Malaysia is a secular state with Islam as its official religion. It is also a rare example of a constitutional monarchy in which diverse regional traditions of power are satisfied by a 5 year rotation of the monarch between 9 hereditary state rulers. The role is ceremonial but all new legislation and key appointments are approved by the King.
The country is a multicultural society, with Malays comprising 60% of the population, the Chinese 25%, Indians 10%, and Sikhs, Eurasians, and indigenous tribes make up the remaining 5%. The core tension between the economically dominant Chinese and the less successful Malays has been overtly managed since 1969 by the New Economic Policy (NEP), a system of racial preferences in education, employment and business that favours ethnic Malays. The government and mainstream media take considerable pains to promote Malaysia as a nation of racial harmony, and attempts to point out otherwise are condemned as incitements to racial hatred.
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| goodbye Mahithir © Aliran Kesedaran Negara |
After taking office, Badawi vowed to fight political corruption, but his rhetoric softened after he lost support within UMNO following the arrest and suspension of several senior party members for vote-buying and other offences. Badawi also lost his way with the wider electorate through failure to soften the impact of the NEP and redistribute the benefits of economic prosperity. Announcement of a snap election in February 2008 prompted Anwar Ibrahim, a maverick politician imprisoned by Mahathir, to unite his own National Justice Party in an unprecedented non-aggression pact with the main opposition parties in parliament, the predominantly Chinese socialist Democratic Action Party (DAP), and the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS). Many prominent civil society activists joined this opposition or stood as independent candidates.
Despite the ruling party exploitation of state-controlled media and refusal to permit election rallies, this opposition group was able to claim 82 of the 222 seats. This outcome has shaken the Malaysian status quo by denying the ruling coalition the 2/3 majority which has enabled it to govern as necessary by constitutional amendment. There is speculation that Badawi may be forced to resign or even that National Front partners may abandon the coalition. Five state assemblies are now controlled by opposition parties and already the Penang government has announced its intention to ignore the NEP in regional contracts.
Human Rights in Malaysia
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Despite the fear of political Islam, religious adherence is considered intrinsic to Malay ethnic identity, and Malays and other Muslims who wish to convert from Islam face severe obstacles, as Shariah law overrides the secular national constitution at state level. Although the right to practise other religions is protected in the constitution, there is no shortage of evidence of restraint in the face of local authorities which are invariably controlled by Malays. One example is the persecution of the members of the religious group Sky Kingdom, which was declared in 2005 by the government to be a "deviant sect of Islam"; its premises demolished; and its members arrested and tried without due process rights.
Alongside corporal punishment and the death penalty, a focus of human rights concerns has been police brutality and deaths in custody, colonial-era attitudes which came to a head in late 2004 when a Royal Commission of Inquiry was set up to make recommendations for institutional reform. The government accepted all of the recommendations but much work remains to overturn the unacceptable culture of police behaviour.
|
| Refugee children in Malaysia © Refugees International |
The Economy in Malaysia
The hiring of migrant workers, especially in the country's "3D" (dirty, dangerous, demeaning) sectors, has been a consequence of Malaysia’s economic success. Estimates suggest that there were 1.9 million documented migrants in 2007 with possibly a further 700,000 undocumented. Many of these workers, mostly from Indonesia, the Philippines, India, and Bangladesh, face considerable hardship in the absence of legislation protecting their most basic rights. Seemingly unable to devise a framework to cater for economic fluctuation, the government alternates between appeals for more labour and oppressive expulsion of illegal workers.
Malaysia is engaged in prolonged negotiations for a free trade agreement with the US. Critics are concerned at the potential loss of the right to protect strategic industries, a fundamental tool of the country’s advance to tiger economy status.
Information and Media in Malaysia
|
The Environment and Climate Change in Malaysia
Malaysia is one of the most bio-diverse regions on earth and, up until the 1970s, boasted the world's most extensive tropical forests. However, during that decade, agriculture and infrastructure development caused massive deforestation, discharge from industrial and mining operations polluted water resources, while rapid industrialization gave rise to urban smog, water toxicity, and strains on sewage and waste management infrastructure. In the 1990s, the government paid lip service to calls for sustainable development while continuing many projects, notably the Bakun hydroelectric dam project in Sarawak, that came under fire from environmentalists. The indigenous peoples of Malaysia have also been fighting to defend their land and forests against dams, logging, oil palm plantations, mining activities, and resort development.
|
| Fruit from the oil palm |
Malaysia is acutely aware of the potential impact of climate change on its own sensitive tropical ecosystems, in particular an estimated 10% fall in rice yields for each one degree rise in temperature, and the hydrological implications of more intense flooding and drought. The country’s formal 5 year economic plans will in future include a chapter addressing the mitigation of climate change.
The OneWorld Malaysia Guide was first published in this format in November 2004 with a text written by Volunteer Editor Uma Kukathas
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