ABSTRACT
In Malaysia, the pitting of Chinese against Malays during World War II, the ethnic violence between the Chinese and Malays following the war, and the Malay response to Britain’s Malay Union proposal suggested independent Malaysia was in for serious ethnic violence. Yet, until 1969, Malaysia avoided serious ethnic conflict as Chinese and Malay elites united around a win-win development strategy—the Chinese gained from laissez faire policies toward Chinese capital, while the Malays were favored by interventionist pro-growth and development policies. Unfortunately, elite unity around a successful development project did not carry over into elite unity around a democracy project as zero-sum differences over national identity—Malays saw Malaysia as a Malay country, while the Chinese viewed Malaysia as a multi-ethnic country in which they had equal civil and political rights. Ethnic tensions around national identity came to a head following the Alliance’s poor showing in the 1969 elections. Elites in the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), having lost their victory and stability confidence in democracy, responded by opting for a growth-oriented New Economic Policy (NEP) favoring the Malays and a more autocratic regime. This left Malaysia with a developmental autocracy committed to Malay political dominance.
