Blow to 'racial harmony'

HIS EYES WERE fixed downwards on the road while his fingers, wrapped around the motorbike's throttle, nervously revved the engine. 'I just can't say what happened,' he whispered. 'Muslims have been killing Indians. It's terrible and people are scared.'

The unnamed resident of Kampung Medan, an untidy, working-class suburb on the fringes of Kuala Lumpur, was referring to Malaysia's worst ethnic clashes in more than 30 years. The battles extended over several days of last week and left at least six people dead before an uneasy calm settled over the handful of neighbourhoods touched by the violence.

Authorities have been quick to deny that the spark for the conflagration was racial. After flooding the area with hundreds of armed security personnel, they put the blame for the bust-up on a series of minor disputes that ran out of control. Almost 200 people have been detained, some of whom could face charges for murder. Forty others were injured.

In a meeting with local people, Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi took aim at those he claimed had inflamed passions by spreading false information. 'This was not a clash between Malays and Indians. It could be that rumours were spread by irresponsible people who wanted to take advantage of the situation. Do not stoke any more fires, but think of our children's future instead. I am very saddened by what has happened, and I offer my condolences to the families of those who have died.'

Whatever the cause of the disturbances, the unrest has cast a shadow over Malaysia's carefully crafted efforts to promote racial harmony among its three main ethnic groups. Since the late 1960s, Indians, who comprise less than 10 per cent of the population, have for the most part lived peacefully alongside the majority Malays, who make up about 60 per cent, and ethnic Chinese, who account for about 25 per cent.

The long period of stability was nurtured after the disastrous - and far bloodier - race riots of May 1969, which pit Malays against Chinese in the aftermath of a highly charged national election. That bloodletting prompted politicians to usher in the pro-Malay affirmative-action policies that are the hallmark of the modern Malaysian state. With the ruling coalition, the Barisan Nasional, made up of a group of parties whose appeal and support runs along ethnic lines, all those in Kampung Medan and beyond know that violence tinged with racial overtones carries immense political significance.