MALAYSIAN YOUTH POLL REVEALS SHARP ETHNIC DIVIDE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KUALA LUMPUR 001913

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/26/2016
TAGS: PHUM PREL PGOV KDEM KWMN PINR SOCI KISL MY
SUBJECT: MALAYSIAN YOUTH POLL REVEALS SHARP ETHNIC DIVIDE
AND POLITICAL APATHY

REF: A. KUALA LUMPUR 1547


B. KUALA LUMPUR 1516

C. KUALA LUMPUR 365

Classified By: Political Section Chief Mark D. Clark for reasons 1.4 b,
d.

CORRECTED COPY OF KL 1908

Summary
--------------


1. (SBU) A recent opinion poll, funded by The Asia
Foundation, of over 1,500 young Malaysian adults aged 18-32
showed sharp differences of views on religion and national
identity and the relation between state and religion among
the country's three largest ethnic groups - the Malays,
Chinese and Indians. The majority of Malays, defined under
law as Muslims, identified themselves first as Muslims and
secondarily as Malaysians, in stark contrast to the other
ethnic groups. In addition, Malays exhibited far greater
willingness to involve the government in religious affairs.
About a third of all Malay respondents hoped that Malaysia
would become "more Islamic" and supported adoption of Islamic
(hudud) statutes for criminal offenses. Less than a third of
Malays surveyed supported equal rights for all cultures and
religions. The survey found common ground across ethnic
boundaries in terms of Malaysian youths' high degree of
cynicism toward elected officials, apathy about current
affairs and political disengagement. Over 40 percent of
respondents would forgo elections in exchange for
government-guaranteed peace, stability and economic growth.
The survey's results highlighted the strong sense of
Malay/Muslim identity and illustrated the sharp inter-ethnic
differences that will continue to work against the emergence
in Malaysia of a large multi-ethnic, multi-religious
political party. Post has forwarded the complete survey data
to EAP/MTS. End Summary.

Survey Background and Respondent Demographics
--------------


2. (SBU) The Merdeka Center for Opinion Research provided
foreign diplomats on September 22 with recent opinion survey
results about current attitudes of young Malaysians. The
Merdeka Center is a for-profit, independent opinion polling
organization that has focused on socio-economic issues in
Malaysia since its establishment in 2001. It is owned by two
private sector individuals. The organization is largely
funded through polling contracts with domestic and
international sponsors, including project-specific USG grants
totaling $56,000 in 2006 from the International Republican
Institute. Diplomats received the survey with great
interest, as the government supplies few statistics broken
down by ethnicity. In addition, the government-controlled
mainstream media does not typically fund or publish surveys
that illustrate differing attitudes of Malays, Chinese and
Indians - especially concerning sensitive topics such as race
and religion.


3. (U) The Asia Foundation (TAF) funded the Merdeka Center's
latest telephone survey that was based on interviews with
over 1,500 young adult Malaysians aged 18-32. Participants
were selected at random from every state. The survey was
designed to acquire a better understanding of the perceptions
of Malaysian young adults toward their society, and to
quantify their level of interest and engagement on civic
issues affecting the country. The survey was conducted
between May 24 and June 7 and had a 3.1 percent margin of
error. The respondents' religious breakdown roughly mirrored
that of Malaysia's overall population, with 60 percent
Muslim, 16 percent Buddhist, 11 percent Christian, and 7.5
percent Hindu. The participants' ethnic breakdown also
mirrored that of Malaysia, with 58 percent Malay, 25 percent
Chinese, 8 percent Indian, and 9 percent indigenous. Over 40
percent were students, with 29 percent employed in the
private sector, 8 percent employed by the government, 8
percent unemployed and 6 percent self-employed. Those aged
18-23 comprised 58 percent of respondents. Participants were
equally divided by gender, slightly more urban than rural,
and 80 percent were single. TAF expressed interest in using
the survey's results as a baseline from which to complete
future surveys and conduct trend analyses.

Role of Religion - Significant Ethnic Divide
--------------


4. (SBU) The TAF-funded survey pointed out stark divisions
along ethnic lines regarding the role of religion in daily
life. Malays identified much more strongly with their
religion (Islam),compared to the other two ethnic groups.

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Sixty-one percent of Malays considered themselves Muslim
first, with only 28 percent identifying themselves first as
Malaysians. The Chinese put ethnicity first (47 percent),
followed by nationality (44 percent) and religion (5
percent). Indians were the most nationalistic, with 75
percent identifying themselves first as Malaysians, followed
by their ethnic group (14 percent) and religion (5 percent).
When asked whether they rely upon their religion when making
major life decisions, 92 percent of Malays and 85 percent of
Indians answered affirmatively, while only 37 percent of
Chinese agreed. Only 9 percent of Malays agreed that "it is
not wrong for unmarried couples to hold hands in public
places," compared with 96 percent of Chinese and 58 percent
of Indians.


5. (SBU) With regard to the connection between government and
religion, only 3 percent of Malay respondents agreed that
"government and religion should be kept separate," compared
with 64 percent of Chinese and 47 percent of Indians.
Thirty-four percent of Malays agreed that "government should
increase the implementation of Islam by introducing hudud law
for Muslims," compared with only 2 percent of Chinese and 0
percent of Indian respondents. (Note: hudud, or Islamic law
encompassing criminal offenses, currently does not apply to
any Malaysians; all citizens are subject to a secular
criminal law system.) Thirty percent of Malays hoped
Malaysia would become "more Islamic," while that outcome was
supported by 0 percent of Chinese and 4 percent of Indians.
Only 31 percent of Malays agreed that "all cultures and
religions should be given equal rights," compared with 61
percent and 66 percent of Chinese and Indian respondents,
respectively. A majority of Malays (53 percent) stated that
they would not accept a woman as prime minister, compared
with only 11 percent of Chinese and 6 percent of Indians.

Dismissive View of Politics
--------------


6. (SBU) The survey included various questions that attempted
to determine the greatest concerns of respondents, as well as
their degree of awareness about local and global political
affairs. The young adults surveyed were primarily concerned
with completing their education, advancing their careers and
supporting their families. According to the Merdeka Center,
"only a handful" expressed concern about wider societal
issues. In its summary report about its survey, the Merdeka
Center concluded that "a majority of youth tend to have a
negative, cynical and dismissive view about politics." The
survey indicated that most of Malaysia's young adults remain
disengaged from their political environment. When asked how
frequently they discuss "government policies and current
issues" with friends, family members, school mates or
colleagues, the most frequent responses were once per week
(43 percent),once per month (26 percent),and rarely/never
(17 percent). Respondents placed high value on holding
elections, but 41 percent would agree to eliminate elections
if the government could guarantee "stability, peace and
economic growth."

Activities and Interests
--------------


7. (SBU) Malaysia's young adults, like those in many other
nations, appear to focus largely on advancing their
educations or careers, and pay significant attention to their
families and home environment. When asked an open-ended
question about how they spend their free time, the young
adults listed "stay at home" as their primary response (34
percent),with "shopping complexes" (15 percent),"sports
venues/fields" (6 percent),"scenic areas" (6 percent) and
"go to town" (6 percent) as the next most popular responses.
Favorite hobbies were reading (24 percent),sports (23
percent),listening to music (9 percent),watching television
or movies (8 percent),and fishing (6 percent). Only 26
percent have visited another country, with nearby Singapore
the most common destination by far. Fifty-three percent of
respondents stated they have no access to the Internet, and
only 15 percent said they accessed the Internet 6 or more
times per week. Mobile phone penetration was significantly
higher, with 86 percent of respondents owning at least one of
the devices.

Comment
--------------


8. (C) Malaysia's controlled and often stolid political
environment feeds and reinforces the high degree of political
and civic disengagement noted by the survey. In decisions
dating back to the 1960s, Malay-dominated governments have
eliminated local elections, maintained tight political
content control over the country's mainstream media, banned

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political activities at universities, maintained a pervasive
political and economic patronage system that damages
meritocracy-based advancement for non-Malays (refs A, B and
C),and more recently warned Internet news providers of
retaliation for publishing anti-government or religiously
"sensitive" content. Political openings in the post-Mahathir
era, while positive, have not dramatically changed the
situation. This unique survey illustrates some of the
underlying drivers of Malaysia's racial and religious
tensions. While those tensions appear to be growing, they
still remain well under control by regional standards. The
survey highlighted the sharp inter-ethnic differences that
work against the emergence in Malaysia of a large,
multi-racial, multi-religious political party capable of
challenging the status quo. If, as the survey strongly
indicates, the younger generation of Malaysians is so deeply
divided along lines of race and religion, ethnic based
politics will remain a dominant feature of Malaysia's
political landscape for the foreseeable future.
SHEAR