Double Decentralisation: The Case for Regional and (Elected) Divisional

Governments with substantial devolved powers in Borneoan Malaysia

Wong Chin Huat, PhD (Essex) Fellow, Penang Institute

The international forum on “Malaysia 50 Years On: Expectation v Reality”. organised by Borneo Heritage Foundation

October 5, 2013. One Borneo Grand Ballroom, Kota Kinabalu.

Academia: http://penanginstitute.academia.edu/ChinHuatWong

Email: chinhuatw@gmail.com Facebook: http://facebook.com/chinhuatw

Outline

• 50 Years of Malaysia: – The potential: a secular federal democracy

– The reality: Malayanisation and Malaynisation

• Double Decentralisation – Three-tiered Elected Governments

– Federalisation of Sabah and Sarawak

– Federal representation

• Second Federation? – How to fail the Borneo Agenda?

– What Malaysia’s Next 50 Years Must Not Be

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50 YEARS OF MALAYSIA

I

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The potential:

a secular federal democracy

• When Malaysia phrased out Perseketuan Tanah Melayu in 1963, theoretically, the legacy of “Malay ethnocracy” preserved in the 1948 demise of Malayan Union was buried. – The ethno-religious criterion for the candidacy of Menteri Besar is a

leftover of the Ethnocracy model.

• If the pre-colonial order of Malacca and other Sultanates could be used to justify ethnocracy or theocracy in Malaya, it does not apply to Sabah and Sarawak, which were never under Malacca’s suzerainty for even a day.

• Sabah and Sarawak would not have “agreed” to Malaysia Project at all if Malaysia was not to be a secular democracy, but an ethnocracy or theocracy.

• By right, a “Pan-South-China-Sea” world view should have replaced a “Malacca-Straits-Centric” perspective.

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Batu Sumpah at Tambunan

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The potential:

a secular federal democracy

• Beyond affirming secularism and democracy, Project Malaysia should have also strengthened federalism.

• Federalism is meant to accommodate differences and manage conflicts between heterogeneous units of the nation-state.

• Lijphart (1999) sees Federalism as part of a larger prototype of political system: consensus democracy (vis-à-vis majoritarian democracy).

• Federalism did not get to play this facilitative role in Malaya because: – The ethnic fault-lines coincide at most with municipal/district

boundaries, not state borders (except Penang) – Federalism was chosen much as a response to Malayan Union (a

unitary state)

• The merger with Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore provided the golden opportunity for federalism to grow and replace intra-coalition negotiation as the diversity-management mechanism.

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The reality:

Malayanisation and Malaynisation

• Where has the secular federal democracy gone? • Never the intention of UMNO. Malaysia was formed

because Tunku – desired Brunei, Sarawak and Sabah – dreaded an independent, Chinese-majority and red

Singapore (pushed by LKY)

• 50 years of Malaysia is therefore a process of – Malayanisation of Sabah and Sarawak – Malaynisation of Borneoan Natives

• In the words of the British, Tunku “looked upon the indigenous races of the Borneo territories as almost Malays” and his appeal for Malaya-Borneo merger was on the grounds that “all Malays should stand together”.

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The logic of UMNO dominance: The Basic Model

Party (UMNO)

Population/Electorate (Malay %)

Policy/Programmes (Malay benefits)

Partisanship (UMNO voting)

Opponents/Obstacles 1. Non-Malay Allies 2. Non-Malay Opposition 3. Non-Malay Insurgents/

External Threat

Challengers/Rivals 1. Other Malay Rightwing

Nationalists 2. Islamists 3. Malay Left Nationalists

Article 153 Article 160

Language

Religion

Economy

UMNO’s political function: dominating the multiethnic “power-sharing” by securing the electoral majority amongst the ethnic majority 8

The logic of UMNO dominance: The Singapore Problem (after 1959)

Party (UMNO)

Population/Electorate (Malay %)?

Policy/Programmes (Malay benefits)

Partisanship (UMNO voting)

Opponents/Obstacles 1. Non-Malay Allies 2. Non-Malay Opposition 3. Non-Malay Insurgents/

External Threat?

Challengers/Rivals 1. Other Malay Rightwing

Nationalists 2. Islamists 3. Malay Left Nationalists

Article 153 Article 160

Language

Religion

Economy

Singapore - Left-leaning - Chinese

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The logic of UMNO dominance: “The Borneo Solution” (up to 1963)

Party (UMNO/Alliance-BN)

Population/Electorate (Bumiputera %)

Policy/Programmes (Bumiputera benefits)

Partisanship (UMNO/Alliance-

BN voting)

Opponents/Obstacles 1. Non-Bumiputera Allies 2. Non-Bumiputera Opposition 3. Non-Bumiputera Insurgents/

External Threat

Challengers/Rivals 1. Other Malay Rightwing

Nationalists 2. Islamists 3. Malay Left Nationalists 4. Bumiputera State Rightists

Article 153 Article 160 Article 161A

Language

Religion

Economy

Sabah & Sarawak - Bumiputera - = “almost Malays”

Under-representation Singapore - Left-leaning - Chinese

over--representation State rights

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The logic of UMNO dominance: “The Borneo Problem” (after 1965)

Party (UMNO/Alliance-BN)

Population/Electorate (Muslim Bumiputera %)

Policy/Programmes (Bumiputera benefits)

Partisanship (UMNO/Alliance-

BN voting)

Opponents/Obstacles 1. Non-Muslim Allies 2. Non-Muslim Opposition 3. Non-Muslim Insurgents/

External Threat

Challengers/Rivals 1. Other Malay Rightwing

Nationalists 2. Islamists 3. Malay Left Nationalists

Article 153 Article 160 Article 161A

Language

Religion

Economy

Non-Muslim Bumiputera

State rights under-representation Dilution via immigration Proliferation of NMB parties

Coerced/ co-opted Conversion

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The reality:

Malayanisation and Malaynisation

UMNO’s 3-in-1 Mechanism of Regime Maintenance:

• Economically-powered ethnic expansion of Malay-Muslims (population %)

• Policing of Malay-Muslims (votes %)

• Malapportionment and Gerrymandering of constituencies (seat %)

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Malaysia: A Bipolar Society

Malay-Muslim-Bumiputeras

Non-Malay- Non-Muslim- Non-Bumiputeras

The Non-Malay Non-Muslim- Bumiputeras are shrinking because of conversion pressure.

Most Non-Malay-Muslim-Bumiputeras identify themselves with the Malays.

The Ethnic Fault Line (Malayness)

The Religious Fault Line (Islam)

The Policy Fault Line (Bumiputeraism)

Non-Malay-Muslim-Non-Bumiputeras are largely assimilated, hence completely insignificant as a distinct group.

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DOUBLE DECENTRALISATION

II

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Double Centralisation Double Internal Colonisation

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Three-tiered Elected Governments: Devolution in Sabah and Sarawak

1st Tier Federal Parliament - Both Chambers Elected Federal Government

2nd-Tier West Malaysian States

Sabah Sarawak

L: Regional Parliament E: Regional Government

L: Regional Parliament E: Regional Government

L: State Legislative Assembly E: State Government

3rd-Tier (Elected)

City Hall/Council L: Divisional/City Assembly E: Divisional/City Government

L: Divisional/City Assembly E: Divisional/City Government

Municipal/District Council

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Three-tiered Elected Governments: Devolution in Sabah and Sarawak

Sabah Map: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/57/Divisions_of_Sabah.png/600px-Divisions_of_Sabah.png

Sandakan 28,205 km2

Kapit 38,933 km2

Sarawak Map: http://www.ictu.tmp.sarawak.gov.my/images/geo_mapdivision.gif

Pahang 36,137 km2

Malaya Map: http://www.mymalaysiabooks.com/images/maps/country_states/westmsia_states.jpg

The Federal Territories of Labuan and Putrajaya are not represented in the maps. Exclusion is unintended and regretted.

Federalism ala India

19 Map credit: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/changing-states-an-animated-political-map-of-the-republic-of-india/410946-53.html

British India Pre-1947, 564 entities Republic of India 1960, 20 states and territories 2000, 35 states and territories Federalism is explicitly used in India to manage conflicts between and preserve diversity of ethno-linguistic groups. State and territory boundaries largely correspond to ethno-linguistic boundaries. With the exception of Kashmir, Punjab and Northeast, “secessionism” is directed at states, not the Union.

Federalisation of Sabah and Sarawak: Argument 1: Control and Allocation of Resources

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Reminder: Taib Mahmud is a Sarawakian, not a Malayan.

Federalisation of Sabah and Sarawak: Argument 2: Survival of Native Languages

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Malaynisation happens not only in religion, but even more so in language. National unity becomes the pretext of assimilation. Preservation of indigenous languages and cultures requires creation of economic values and state resources. Borneonisation ++ ? Article 161 should be a Positive clause to promote use of native languages, not just a Negative clause against its prohibition.

http://www.unesco.org/culture/languages-atlas/

Federalisation of Sabah and Sarawak: Argument 3: Diffusion of Communal Standoffs

• Internal colonisation of Sabah and Sarawak is much facilitated by pitting Muslims against Christians

• Zero-sum game Prisoners’ Dilemma

• Winner-takes-all Bipolar Society

• Think Swiss - Switzerland exists because no one dominates anyone.

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Federalisation of Sabah and Sarawak: Argument 3: Diffusion of Communal Standoffs

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The only way to stop influx and naturalisation of Muslim foreigners is for Muslim Sabahans seeing the desire consequences.

Sources: wikipedia

Three-tiered Elected Governments: Federalised Sabah and Sarawak

Sarawak (divisions) • Betong • Bintulu • Kapit • Kuching • Limbang • Miri • Mukah • Samarahan • Sarikei • Sibu • Sri Aman

Sabah (divisions + cities) • Kota Kinabalu

• Tawau

• Sandakan

• West Coast – “West Coast minus Kota Kinabalu

• Lahad Datu? – “Tawau” minus Tawau city

• East Coast? – “Sandakan” minus Sandakan City

• Interior

• Kudat

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Think out of the box. These are just hypothetical examples of sub-units. Sabahans and Sarawakians know best how their states should be sub-divided.

Three-tiered Elected Governments: Federalised Sabah and Sarawak

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Federal List (List I)

Federal-State Concurrent List (List III and List IIIA)

State List (List II and List IIA)

State-Division Concurrent List

Police, Border Control, Citizenship*; Education; Healthcare; Transportation; Shipping

*State to be informed of naturalisation of foreigners within the state. ** New power

Land, Native Customs, Local Government, Native Languages and Cultures**

Three-tiered Elected Governments: Federal Representation

• Elected and Strengthened Senate with 1/3 representation for Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan, plus special seats for Orang Asli – At least 1 senator from 1 division

• More even representation in the House of Representatives – At least 1 MP from 1 division

• Strategic Thinking: – King makers in Putrajaya?

– Or, King in your own countries?

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SECOND FEDERATION

III

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How to fail the Borneo Agenda?

• Making it a Christian/Non-Muslim v Muslim Agenda

• Making it a Borneo v Malaya Agenda

Rethinking Borneo Agenda – • The Malayanisation of Borneo can only be

stopped with the Borneonisation of Malaysia • Can Borneo offer a better way of politics for

Malaysia?

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Malaysia’s Next 50 Years

Must not be

• Malaynisation of Sabah and Sarawak and Malaynisation of Borneoan Natives

• Expansion of West-Coast Malaya’s Bipolar Society

• Winner-takes-all

• Malacca-Straits-Centric in identity and historical view

• The protected habitat of UMNO’s electoral one-party state

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Malaysia’s Second Federation

• France today is France’s 5th Republic • South Korea today is South Korea’s 6th Republic • Time for Malaysia’s Second Federation

– Consisting of 11 Malayan States, 2 Borneoan Regions, and a number of Federal Territories

– Devolution of power to 2nd- and 3rd-tiered governments

– Elected 3rd-tiered Governments nationwide –substantial cultural autonomy for divisional/city governments in Borneo

– Elected Senate as a mechanism to protect State Rights

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