English Language Journal Vol 3, (2009) 57-66 ISSN 1823 6820

INTRODUCTION After years of independence, Malaysia has not truly witnessed its people today assimilated as one. The races relationship with one another is still questionable, despite the governments efforts to encourage racial harmony and national identity. Rehman (1993:57) says there was simply too much historical baggage between the races to blithely set aside. During the years of early independence, there were divergent interests amongst the races in Malaysia. The races experienced conflicts which are consequences of inter-racial issues in their interaction with one another. These dissatisfactions and race-related problems persisted over the years of independence. It is crucial that the present generation is exposed to the reality of the pre and post-independence Malaysian race relation scenario, to evoke awareness and positive race relations amongst them. Malaysians must be geared towards a better understanding of their multicultural people and not be lured into blind hatred and racial prejudice. Hence, the post-independence Malaysian Malay and English short stories are best suited to enlighten the people about the socio-cultural issues of that time.

PRE-INDEPENDENCE MALAYSIA In order to understand the post-independence race relations in Malaysia, the pre-independence Malayan society must be taken into consideration. The pre-independence plural society with the enormous differences in culture and value systems had to live together. So, the races with their historical baggage, racial sentiments and other race related problems had to adjust on their own to fit in the new environment. The situation was volatile. Appa Rao et al. (1977:70) describes the country as suddenly united, but hardly unified, there naturally were built-in elements of instability. Mahathir (1970:39) says the Malays wanted Malaya for the Malays while the Chinese demanded citizenship by right of birth. Kntayya (2002:203) in Ethnonational identities 2002 agrees with this claim, stating that, the colonial period first saw the instigation of opposing political demands between the Malays claim of `Malaya for the Malays and non-Malays claim of `Malaya for all the Malayans demands which still remain a central feature of contemporary Malaysia. He goes on to say that the Malays versus non-Malays can be traced back specifically to the development of a plural society in the colonial
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period. Comber (1983:53) supports this in saying that Malaysia from the beginning was a plural society, but there was no sign of integration among the various races living in it. The plural society had to survive despite the lack of bond. S. Husin Ali (1975:66) agrees with this scenario when he admits, .the bonds between the three that bind together the Malays, Chinese and Indians, who are of different stock and culture, have not altogether been very strong. Within a common politico-geographical unit, the Malays as well as the non-Malays still maintain separate ways socially and culturally and have shown very little signs of integration. S. Husin Ali (1975:23) gives factors other than racial origin and cultural background that have helped to separate the main ethnic groups from one another, First, in terms of demographic distribution, it has been shown that while about four-fifths of the Malays are in the rural areas, over half of the Chinese populations live in the towns, with a majority of the Indians concentrated in the estates. Second, the Malays are mainly peasants by occupation although there are many who also work as labourers and members of the security forces. A few, however, are mainly shop assistants, labourers in the mining and construction industries, traders and businessmen who run the retail and wholesale enterprises or are engaged in the various professions. As for the Indians, the majority of them are estate workers while there are also those who work in the government or in the business sector. The phenomenon in preindependence Malaysia contributed to the lack of bond amongst the races now. Some experts blame the British for the racial segregation back then, where the races were subjected to different settlements and vocations. Rehman agrees with the racial pattern designed and reinforced by the British, This was the pattern: the towns were the Chinese, with their shopkeepers and traders; the villages were Malay and non-competitive attitude towards living, with their farmers and fishermen; the plantation was Indian, with their rubber tappers and labourers (Rehman, 1993:28). While the Chinese were busy with businesses and the Indians working on rubber estates and railways, the Malays were on their padi fields or in their small fishing boats or sampans. Hence, with little or no interaction between the races, racial harmony was undeniably unlikely to see the light of day.

POST-INDEPENDENCE MALAYSIA After independence, the different races in Malaysia were not satisfied with the economic, political and social situations in the
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country, and they tried to ventilate their dissatisfactions via their different political parties. When they still felt that their aspirations and expectations were not met, the communities then clashed. As a result of the continued social strain and culture conflict, riots or racial clashes took place. The Bloody May 13 of 1969 epitomizes this. Abd Rahim (2002: 51 - 52) gives two reasons for the riot:
Firstly, there was dissatisfaction among the Malays with Tunku Abdul Rahman leadership and a development policy which failed to tackle Malay economic, educational and social problems. Secondly, the Chinese for their part felt that their achievement and contribution to Malay society should not be undermined by the reform process and that for example the Chinese language, Chinese education, Chinese culture, immigration rights and so on, should continue unchallenged.

Stenson (1980:9) claims intense dissatisfactions arising from these economic deficiencies lay behind the political crisis of May 1969. He adds:
Increased non-Malay representation in the federal parliament posed a seeming threat to Malay political dominance and sparked off retaliatory riots by urban Malay youth.

Butcher (2001) in his article May 13: A review of Some Controversies in Accounts of the Riots, states that many Malays, including a significant number within UMNO itself, accused the UMNO leadership of being too willing to compromise with the Chinese over fundamental issues such as language and education. He adds that among the Chinese there was very strong feeling that the MCA was too subservient to UMNO to accomplish much for the Chinese community. Mahathirs opinion of the May 13 riot is that, There was a lack of inter-racial strife. There was tolerance. There was accommodation. There was a certain amount of give and take. But there was no harmony (Mahathir, 1970: 4 5).

MALAYSIAN LITERATURE AND NATION BUILDING Comparative literary works in a developing country like Malaysia are important to examine the social agenda that was focused on nation building and fostering better ties between the races. Perhaps awareness of one races literary tradition and understand the
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strain and conflict of a particular race would bring people closer and united. Unity is undeniably important for national identity and nation building. It is indeed idealistic but may not be impossible. Shahizah Ismail Hamdan (2003:47) says that to a certain extent, the individual is more responsible for the formation of identity or selfhood than is thought to be. She explains that the idea that ones identity is based strongly on what is in the core of the interior-self is well and good. However, the core of the self is actually made up of exterior factors that have been gathered, accepted and internalised to become what is known as identity. Hence, we can suggest that Malaysians need to build their own identity by accepting their interior self as well as internalizing exterior factors such as their plural societys way of life and minimizing racial gaps. Aris Mohd Othman (1985:6) states:
Di negara Malaysia, jurang pemisahan antara kelompok-kelompok etnik masih luas dan ini timbul disebabkan oleh factor-faktor ekonomi dan politik. [In] Malaysia, the gap that segregates the ethnic groups is still wide and this is due to economic and political factors.

Chua, E. (2005) agrees with this notion when he says that although happily living and working together, people are sometimes seen or categorized in racial terms as Malays, Chinese and Indians rather than as Malaysians. This situation contributes to greater racial polarization. Racial gaps can perhaps be minimized via integration of anothers culture. One idea is that the people must be united and what better way than to practise a homogenous culture. Tope (1996: 31) argues that:
In the post-independence period, especially when nations are being built, cultural processes are geared toward national unity and development. A homogenous culture is required to build a national identity.

Asmah Haji Omar (1993:18) states that the effort of nation building may not be difficult to achieve if the country is homogeneous in terms of ethnic membership, linguistics and cultural heritage, religious denomination, economic prosperity and such like factors. She adds:
On the other hand, if the country indicates in some way the presence of heterogeneity in some or all of the factors mentioned 61

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above, then nation building on its road to success has to overcome the obstacles which take the form of strives and dissatisfactions which arise from the heterogeneous characteristics.

MALAYSIAS LITERARY CANON Malaysian literature such as post-independence Malay and English short stories can help achieve awareness and positive race relations in literature classrooms. It is crucial for Malaysians to be exposed to these short stories because being produced after 12 years of independence, particularly the pre-13 May 1969 period, they unquestionably delivered strains and conflicts experienced by the races. The stories gave insights to the issue of race relations in pre and post-independence Malaysia. The Malay and non-Malay writers with their different educational background created their versions of reality via their stories that actually gave instances of conflicts experienced by the races. The stories are more than vivid descriptions of writers imagination. They provide answers to race related issues in a new nation that was still struggling to exist after independence. Collie & Slater (1995:4) agree, saying that reading the literature of a historical period is, after all, one of the ways we have to help us imagine what life was like in our own countrys past. Hence, Malaysians, from these stories could learn about the races hardship such as poverty, lack of career opportunities and being uneducated. The truth may hurt, but the truth is much needed to help Malaysians understand the bloodshed of 1969. Perhaps the races are more tolerant of the other races when they are aware of the others sufferings. Then, racial prejudice and labeling would cease to occur, allowing more room for racial harmony.

CONFLICTS IN POST-INDEPENDENCE ENGLISH SHORT STORIES (1957 to 1969)

MALAY

AND

The Malay stories were taken from Awang Had Salleh (ed.) 1990, Dewan Masharakat June 1965 while the English stories were from Fernando, Lloyd (ed.). 1968, Hochstadt, H. (ed.). 1959 and Wignesan, T. (ed.). 1964. There were varied depictions of conflicts across the four quarters of the 12 year span. In the first quarter (1957 to 1959), the Malay stories Longkang [Drain] by A. Samad Said there was conflict of cultures and
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ignorance of each others value system, for example, as gambling is a sin for the Muslims but a form of taking risks to gather wealth for the Chinese. It appears that the urban Malays did not conform to their Malay value system of community. They were migrants from the villages who had high hopes of a much better life in the towns and cities, but which only achieved for migrants the prevailing poverty and hardship. The young Malays who were urban low-wage earners, endured the conflict as a result of a sense of loss in the new environment (towns and cities), poverty, and the deviation from their religion and culture, as they indulged in the nocturnal flesh trade and gambling. This conflict is inter-racial as it is the effect of the younger Malays tolerance of the other races and acceptance of their way of life. Hence, the races in the sixties continued to stay together with their racial dissatisfaction and racial gaps. In the third quarter (1963 to 1965), the Malay stories representing the era are Terlambat [Too late] by Yusniman Shah (1963) and Kalau Selaseh Sedang Berbunga [The flowering selaseh] by Ruhi Hayat (1965) while the English stories are Obsession by Ooi Boon Seng (1964) and The Temple Bells by Goh Poh Seng (1964). The Malay stories present conflicts about Malay poverty and filial piety while the English stories deal with conflicts of Chinese parents regimented ways of ensuring success for their children in the new nation. In the third quarter, the Malays felt threatened by the nonMalays better educational qualifications and credentials. As Malay men were expected to take up the role of family breadwinners, they felt the intensity of the conflict as they conformed to the Malay value system. In the sixties, there was little or no interaction between the Malays and the Chinese, so much the case that one did not understand the other in terms of culture and values. This was so as the races in the sixties were forced to live together with their racial baggage, dissatisfaction and racial prejudice. There was minimal interaction between the races. If there was any, it would have been on the surface, as in ordering of food and drinks in the shop, buying cigarettes or asking for the time. In the sixties, there was little integration amongst the Malays, Chinese and Indians in Malaysia due to the racial gaps that existed. The non-Malays did not feel provoked at all by the other races (especially the Malays) as compared to the situation in the first and second quarter because they had already secured such economic and social stability in the country that they did not seem to be bothered by the other races behaviours towards them. They did not feel vulnerable to the other races, especially to the Malays. On the
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contrary, the Malays felt provoked by the other races behaviours because they were still struggling to fulfill their aspirations to eradicate poverty, establish the status of the national language, careers, and maintain their privileges as indigenous people. Hence, the Malays felt intimidated by the non-Malays success, such as their command of the Malay language. The Malays also endured the conflict and reacted to the governments policy of prioritizing the English language, although they pledged to uphold the status of the national language. In the fourth quarter (1966 to 1969), the Malay stories Pengabdian [Submission] by Awang Had Salleh (1966) and Gadis Tionghua di Daerah Pendalaman [The Chinese maiden from the remote district] by Zaid Ahmad (1969) attend to conflicts about inter-racial love and Malay poverty. The English stories Coolie by Wimala Tissa (1966) and Ibrahim Something by Lee Kok Liang (1967) deal with Indian poverty and the race-related problems of Chinese Muslim converts. In the fourth quarter (1966 to 1969), the Malays experienced the conflict when they saw their people deprived of the opportunity to develop economically via higher education. They retaliated and accused the Chinese of being manipulators of opportunities in the new nation. In so doing, they became deviants of a harmonious and peaceful relationship with the other races. They felt their people were deprived and felt intimidated at the Chinese peoples economic success. The Chinese in the sixties conformed to the Chinese value of being diligent and taking risks in their undertakings including businesses, which were their major interest. In the sixties, the Malays were poor and uneducated. The frustrated Malays felt anger and prejudice towards the other races. Good race relation was easier said than done. National integration was merely an ideological word void of meaning and function. Chai Hon-Chan (1977) believes But to be functional, an ideology must be set in the framework and social development with the promise of raising the living standards of all groups and the reduction of social and economic disparities between and within ethnic groups (70 71). The social and economic disparities indisputably created more reasons for conflicts amongst the races. In this quarter, the Chinese businessmen on the one hand appeared to support the concept the Malays and Chinese living peacefully together despite the difference in religion and foods, but on the other hand stopped any form of inter-racial love from blooming. This stance was entirely different from their young daughters who sought to discover inter-racial love and were determined to see it
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succeed. The Chinese elders felt the inter-racial conflict as a result of their children signifying lenience to the other races. The young Malay men on the other hand were cautious in race-related matters of the heart. They were more discreet about their feelings for women from the other races in order to avoid conflict, as they conformed to the Malay values of being communal, neighbourly, courteous, good mannered and dignity (face saving). Generally, in the sixties, the races appeared insensitive to the other races traditions and values importance in their encounters, because of the racial gap and dissatisfaction that existed. The nonMalays felt the conflict communally because their communities were still facing disjunctions and because their aspirations had not been met. Issues of citizenship rights, more business opportunities for the Chinese, the poverty of Indians, better living conditions for Indian estate workers and tertiary education opportunities were still the concern of the Chinese and Indians. Hence they felt their communities were provoked more by the other races behaviour, especially the Malays, who in turn felt more and more threatened by them. The Malays were very territorial with their status as `sons of the soil and felt threatened by the other races aspirations and demands. The Malays felt provoked by the other races behaviour, when the Chinese and Indians were very unrelenting in their demands for certain rights. During this era, the different races in Malaysia were very vocal in their demands and aspirations through their political bodies namely, the UMNO (Malays), the MCA (Chinese) and the MIC (Indians). In the sixties, race relations were indeed fragile, as inter-racial love proved almost impossible and brought tremendous pain and frustrations to the people. Continuous conflicts were endured by the races in the 12 year period of early independence that jeopardized nation formation and national identity.

CONCLUSION The conflicts experienced by the ethnic groups during the early years of independence blew out of proportion when their economic and social aspirations were constantly not met. There was a lot of suspicion and racial hatred that actually led to the racial riot of 1969. Malaysians today need to learn from the past how to live in this melting pot. The plural society has to chant ` That was then, this is now and embrace the future with more respect and love for one another.

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