Malaysia
In an effort to build a good nation, there are two important realities that people must do, namely unity and development. The meaning of “unity” is undoubtedly formed in a long historical process. Unity is something that is formed not instantaneously, but through a long process. Each country has obstacles to unite its people and Malaysia, which has people with several different ethnic, cultural, and religious groups. Bringing together countries with many different ethnicities takes a long time to negotiate and consider each group’s perspectives. In Malaysia’s case, there was a long process of negotiations between the government and the three main ethnic groups to improve relations after the May 1969 incident. The Malaysian government had a major role in uniting each ethnic group throughout Malaysia, Peninsula, and East Malaysia.
Furthermore, Malaysians are blessed with opportunities for cross-cultural interaction where they can grow in multicultural societies. Without traveling to other countries, Malaysians can quickly learn from one another about problems related to cross-cultural interactions over the years. This was also revealed by Tunku Abdul Rahman, the first prime minister of Malaysia, who said that Malaysia’s future depends on how well many different kinds of people can live and work together (Yusof, 2017). Unity certainly is always developed in order to obtain maximum results in coexistence between ethnic groups in Malaysia. For the sake of maintaining the Unity of Malaysia, several essential factors have been contributed in Malaysia as a united country such as the political, economic and educational system policies.
Politics
the contribution of Malays in the traditional political system has played a major role in shaping plural society in Malaysia. In addition, the political system also has a major role in making strategies to achieve a harmonious and prosperous country (Mujibu Abd Muis, 2012). For example, The concept of 1Malaysia Negaraku is a concept introduced through the Malaysian political stage which is also a new starting point for uniting Malaysians. This concept was brought by former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak. In this concept, Malaysians are asked to discard thoughts that encourage divisions and understand that Malaysia is a common property despite ethnic, cultural and religious differences.
Besides, Thaib and Rahman (2015) stated that Malaysia could use a strategy to achieve national integration by forming ethnic-based political parties in the current political system in the form of a ‘large coalition of leaders’ from all ethnic groups to govern the country. The formation of ethnic-based parties does not mean aggravating ethnic conflict, but they can be agents of cooperation. On the other hand, this strategy is considered to bring a stable political order to developing countries in the contemporary world. Also, Tun Mahathir, also known as Tun M, has his own views on the political parties’ concept. The term unity government is a concept adopted by Tun M, whose primary meaning is to make a ‘non-partisan government.’ According to him, politicians and political parties prioritize politics so much that they forget the state, which faces various problems. With this concept, Tun M wanted to form a solid Cabinet, which will lead to political stability (thestar.com, 2020).
Economy
In some developing countries, economic power is mostly concentrated in the hands of a “market-dominant” ethnic minority, as is the case in Southeast Asia. The Chinese, usually a small portion of the population, enjoy a very dominant economic position. In Malaysia, the average Chinese household has 1.9 times more wealth than Bumiputera (Khalid and Yang, 2007). the difference between the economic power of ethnic minorities and the unfavorable position of the majority ethnic group is a source of potential political instability in the country. However, the market-dominant minority group received little attention from economists. From the 1970s to the 1990s, the growth rate of real national income per adult in Malaysia was 2.93 percent. After the financial crisis in the 1990s, Malaysia has been catching up with more substantial growth. From 2002 to 2016, the growth rate of national income per adult was 3.7 percent. However, growth rates have always been a matter of debate, especially Malaysia, as a country with diverse societies.
Economic imbalances along racial lines are the path to disaster. This naturally caused political and social instability, also a racial riot erupted a little more than a decade after the state gained its independence. In response to racial riots in 1969, the government developed a comprehensive affirmative action plan known as the New Economic Policy (NEP) in 1971. According to Khalid and Yang (2017), The NEP was formulated with the primary objective of achieving national unity and fostering national development. NEP through a two-sided strategy aimed at eradicating poverty and restructuring society.
The first strategy is based on class, while the second strategy is designed to improve the socio-economic conditions of the Malays. The approach used in the NEP broadens affirmative action as enshrined in the Constitution. Article 153 of the Constitution explicitly highlights the particular position of Malays and this inclusive growth policy has continued to be adopted throughout the post-NEP Malaysian economic history and included in the National Development Policy (NDP) (1990-2000) and the National Vision Policy (2000-2010). The inclusiveness agenda continues in the New Economic Model (2010-2020), where the policy objective is for Malaysia to become a high-income country by 2020 and sustainable and inclusive; the latter is defined as “enabling all people to fully benefit from the country’s wealth” (National Economic Advisory Council, 2010). These policies have the primary goal of eradicating poverty and eliminating racial identification with work and also can improve social inequalities between Malays and Chinese.
Education
Education is one of the foundations in the progress of a nation. The better the quality of knowledge held by a nation, the better the nation’s quality will be followed. Education is also an important factor in achieving harmony among ethnic groups in Malaysia. With a good quality of education, this will develop the ability and shape the character and civilization of a nation with dignity and has a high tolerance. Besides, in this era of globalization, education is seen as an important medium to foster social mobility of ethnic groups, especially the underdeveloped.
After independence day, Malaysia faces the problem of socio-economic inequality between ethnic groups, and this case causes the government to have an idea to reduce poverty, strengthen national integration and unity in the education system. Malaysia, with the National Cultural Policy (NCP), establishes English as a medium of communication between ethnic groups, especially in schools and workplaces, to integrate socially and prepare the next generation to face the challenges of globalization (Abdullah, 2010; Khattab, 2004: 176 ). As such, Malaysians are actively encouraged to be multilingual in education to increase the success of cultural diversity and national development.