Beneath Polarisation, Malaysia’s Youth Have Common Yearnings for Fairness

A recent opinion poll reported that Malaysia’s youth are highly polarised. This confirms obvious realities and ingrained beliefs. The survey’s other findings, and similarities with surveys of recent years, tell a deeper story. They offer glimmers of possibility that fostering fairer opportunities for all groups can help build bridges.

On 6 September, seasoned pollster Merdeka Center disseminated its report from the nationally representative survey conducted between 3 April and 12 May 2024, which sampled 1,605 Malaysians aged 18-30. Merdeka Center regularly tracks government approval ratings and sentiments towards the direction the country is heading. It occasionally focuses on select topics like ethnicity and public policy.

The results from this latest round created a few ripples in the press, partly because of the youth factor. Survey respondents, whether working or studying, are in their formative young adult years. They will grow into future leadership roles and have shown themselves to be a political swing vote.

Media coverage highlighted the clash on the question of equality versus ethnic preference in socioeconomic policy. The survey presented respondents with two contrasting positions and asked them to select which was closer to their opinion. Between continuation of Malay privileges and equal treatment for all Malaysians regardless of race and religion, 73 per cent of Malays chose the former while 24 per cent chose the latter.

Malays, who comprise 58 per cent of citizens, enjoy preferential treatment in higher education, public sector employment, business loans, and wealth ownership. The Bumiputera indigenous groups, who together with the Malays constitute 70 per cent of Malaysians, are entitled to the same benefits.  

As expected, non-Malay minority groups gravitated to the diametrically opposite position, with over four-fifths supporting the equality proposition. Chinese and Indian respondents lean most heavily in favour of equality (92 per cent), over Malay privilege (7 per cent). A solid majority (58 per cent) of Chinese and Indians, who constitute 30 per cent of citizens, also strongly perceived their community as “unfairly treated and discriminated against”.

These insights echo a February-March 2022 Merdeka Center survey, in which a resounding 81 per cent of Malay adults — of all ages, not only youth — agreed that “Malay special rights and privileges are a core feature of our society and should stay in place forever.” The vast majority of Chinese and Indian respondents “[did not] approve of Malay special rights and privileges”. But they differed on the consequence, with half agreeing with the need to be “patient for the sake of national unity”, while about one-third deeming the policy “should be abolished immediately”.

The surveys conducted two years apart show that the gulfs in perception and attitude towards ethnicity-framed policies are deep-seated. But are they unbridgeable?

The polarisation of Malaysia’s young adults is stark in magnitude and serious in its ethnic manifestation. The dilemma is complex enough. Framing it as a zero-sum choice between privilege and equality amplifies the clash — and overlooks other policy avenues.

We should note that the survey reflects relative preference and hence, might overstate the polarisation. Survey respondents who chose Malay privilege over equality are not necessarily opposed to equality but are more concerned about preserving pro-Malay policies. Conversely, valuing equality over Malay privilege does not equate with dismissal of the latter, as mirrored in the 2022 poll in which half of minority group respondents concede to the continuation of Malay special treatment.

We can also plumb these surveys a little deeper — and detect a common disaffection towards unfairness in the system within respective ethnic groups. Malays staunchly support preferential treatment due to many factors, but they generally do not feel that the public system adequately serves them. In the April 2024 survey, only 36 per cent of Malay respondents perceived that government programmes assisted ordinary Malays, compared to 51 per cent who felt that the benefits go to rich and politically connected Malays. This sense of unfairness is more acute for the Malays than their counterparts, among whom the survey finds a mirror image. Merdeka Center did not disclose these figures, but we can impute from the survey report that around 53 per cent of non-Malays believe that ordinary people benefit from government programmes, while 37 per cent see the rich and politically connected taking the spoils.

The yearning for fairness among non-Malays comes from a different and more direct angle. There is a palpable angst toward the unequal opportunity that many witness or experience, particularly in public higher education. Education admissions policies have not substantively changed for two decades. However, the intensity of emotions ebbs and flows with political tides.

Merdeka Center’s report on the April 2024 survey added a reference to another youth survey fifteen months prior. Interestingly, the share of Chinese and Indian respondents who felt their community was unfairly treated increased from 43 per cent in January 2023 to 58 per cent in April 2024. Concurrently, the proportion feeling they were fairly treated fell, from 46 per cent to 37 per cent. Malaysia did not introduce any new policy during this interval. However, a few developments unfolded, which plausibly induced this shift in sentiment.

The survey of January 2023, soon after the formation of the multiethnic Pakatan Harapan-led Unity government, likely generated expectations of more abundant opportunities for minority groups and inspired a feeling that more fairness was in the air. Since that hopeful peak, controversies surrounding the unequal treatment of minorities, particularly of top-scoring Chinese and Indian students not getting offers to public pre-university colleges or universities, have been publicised — as they do annually in the wake of admissions results. But unlike other years, 2023 saw post-election hopes deflated and perceptions of unfairness rekindled. Such grievances will be perpetuated as long as Malaysia does not provide tangible solutions.

The polarisation of Malaysia’s young adults is stark in magnitude and serious in its ethnic manifestation. The dilemma is complex enough. Framing it as a zero-sum choice between privilege and equality amplifies the clash. It also distracts policymakers from looking at better and fairer ways of providing assistance to the disadvantaged, promoting ethnic diversity, and rewarding the deserving. Making more headway on the greater fairness that all groups seek could be one pathway to allay the distrust and bridge the divide.

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