The politics of ethnicity, federalism and development in a Malaysian state : a case study of the Berjaya government in Sabah, Malaysia, 1976-1985
Loading...
Date
2005-09
Authors
Lim, Regina
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Universiti Sains Malaysia
Abstract
This thesis is a study of the political development of the Malaysian state of
Sabah under the administration of Parti Bersatu Rakyat Jelata Sabah (BERJA Y A -
Sabah People's United Party), which controlled the state legislature between 1976
and 1985. It attempts to disentangle the three dominant themes within social
scientific studies of Sabah: the issues of federalism, the politics of ethnicity, and the
political economy of development. The broad argument that the thesis makes can be
summarized thus: The emergence of a developmentalist discourse under the
BERJA YA regime in Sabah can largely be traced to its failure to reconcile the
localized ethnic politics of Sabah with the demands of a strong central state and thus
the need to find an alternative strategy of political support and control. The formation
of BERJAYA at the behest of the federal government, it is argued, began a process
of rationalization and the extension of federal control over Sabah politics. Yet
BERJA YA also became embroiled in the ongoing factional disputes on the federal
level, limiting the impact of this process. In such a context, the BERJAYA leadership
turned to developmentalism as its main legitimizing discourse. BERJA YA's policies of
development were considerably party-oriented and most of the strategies of
economic development benefited primarily at those who supported the BERJAYA
government both in terms of select individuals who benefited from patronage
networks and in a broader perception of preferential treatment for Muslims. While this
strategy proved effective while developmental growth was high during the first
BERJAYA administration (1976-1981), the relative collapse of the state economy
from 1982 onwards exposed its ethnic predilections and prefigured declining support
for the regime, particularly among the non-Muslim bumiputera groups. Despite the
consolidation of federal support for BERJAYA under the Mahathir administration, the unravelling of the BERJAYA project was by this stage unstoppable. In the final
analysis, the attempt to create a more compliant state administration under
BERJA Y A came undone precisely because it failed to take into acGount the localized
dimension of politics in Sabah.
Description
Keywords
Parti Bersatu Rakyat Jelata Sabah (BERJAYA - Sabah People's United Party)