Revisiting Lee Lam Thye’s Ideas on Racial Polarisation in Malaysia

• Main Author: Abdul Razak, Mohd Abbas
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences, International Islamic University Malaysia 2021
• Subjects: H Social Sciences (General); HT Communities. Classes. Races; JA Political science (General)
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/92368/1/92368_Revisiting%20Lee%20Lam%20Thye%E2%80%99s%20Ideas.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/92368/; https://news.iium.edu.my/?p=156242

Introduction Malaysia is a great country with a diverse population. It might not be the perfect or best country in the world, but definitely the best in the Muslim world. Foreign experts in the area of Sociology, find Malaysia to be a classic role-model for countries that are embroiled in racism, sectarian violence, terrorism, class and caste systems. At the personal level, I find Muslims in Malaysia having the highest level of tolerance in living side by side with other religious groups. Researchers from South Africa, Australia, and America come over to Malaysia to conduct research on how race integration works in the country. Particularly, they are interested in learning Malaysia’s secret recipe so that it can be applied in their own homeland. Though the vast majority of the people are Malay, they have accepted the fact that the other ethnic groups that came along with the coming of the British to Malaya (now Malaysia) have become part and parcel of the larger Malaysian society. It is a beautiful country with sunshine and sandy beaches mainly on the East coast of the peninsula. Here in Malaysia, we only have two seasons, either it rains or shines. Despite the aforementioned good qualities of the country seen by others, there are some within the country that differ in their perspective looking at Malaysia. Their critical observation calls for the betterment of what is presently good within the people of the country. One among the many Malaysians who had been observing the Malaysian society and culture for a very long period of time is none other than Lee Lam Thye (1946-). Unlike the outsiders’ perspective, Lee’s observation calls for more profound qualities in the Malaysian people as the nation tries to grapple with the latest development that is happening around the globe.