The Politicization of Malay Villagers

National Integration or Disintegration

Bibliographic Data

ID6247356
AuthorsMarvin L Rogers (corresponding author)
Year1975
Volume7
Issue2
Pages205
Publication date1975-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueComparative Politics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0010-4159 • E-ISSN: 2151-6227
PublisherJSTOR (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/421549
OpenAlexW2317384712
LanguageEN
Citations received5

Prior to 1969, Malaysia was considered one of the most successful democracies in the Afro-Asian world.1 The twelve years following the birth of independence in 1957 were characterized by: adherence to most of the rules of parliamentary government; a reasonably free press; periodic elections; accommodation of ethnic interests by the ruling inter-communal Alliance party; steady economic growth; efforts to diversify the economy; and an impressive program to raise living standards in the rural areas. Despite political stability and superficial inter-communal harmony, however, socioeconomic frustrations were rising and communal tensions mounting. During one week in May 1969, the tranquillity of a decade was shattered by events which revealed an unexpected lack of support for the government, threatened to tear the multiethnic society apart, forced basic changes in the political system, and profoundly affected subsequent governmental policies. In the third general election since independence, on May 10, 1969, the Alliance party's electoral support in Malaya dropped from 58.4 to 48.4 percent.2 Only concentration of the opposition's strength in certain states enabled the Alliance to retain its majority in Parliament. Two days after the election, jubilant opposition party sup

Development economics · Economics · Malay · National integration · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Asian Studies and History · Law · Philosophy · Public Administration · Socioeconomic Development in Asia

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