the Stubborn Resilience of Colonial Economic Arrangements
In Malaysia, there is a often a belief that the tripartite racial division of the country also has a rural-urban dimension. While the Chinese and Indians make up (almost) a majority in the country's big cities due their traditional roles as businessmen and white collar professionals, the Malays dominate the rural regions, where they have lived and sustained themselves through agriculture for centuries. The urban-rural nature of the division lead to large income gaps between the Malays and the non-Malays and contribute to under-representation of Malay leaders in the country's economic life.
However, a trip to the rural depth of the country's central Cameron Highlands proved the author to be largely wrong on the assumption above. A plateau averaging 2000 km above sea level, and largely dominated by flower, vegetable, and tea plantations due to the resulting temperate climate, the Highlands, to the author's initial disbelief, are dominated by Indians and Chinese. So much so that the main towns of the Highlands seem to have bigger presences of Chinese and Indian public schools as well as Hindu and Buddhist temples, than Malay schools and mosques.
But a closer review of the Highlands' history put some sense into the rather surprising racial makeup here. Originally 100% inhabited by native mountain tribes (who to this day hold some settlements in the Highlands' many valleys), the Highlands were discovered to be suitable place to grow tea by the British. Undoubtedly exploited to meet the insatiable demands of Europeans for tea, the Highlands became another hot-spot for tea cultivation under British colonization, much as the case for Ceylon, Darjeeling, and Assam.
In the process, the Brits brought over thousands of experienced tea plantation works from India, whose descendants continue to dominate the demographics of the Highlands. But the growing Chinese populations of British Malaya's urban centers soon increased demands for Chinese vegetables and flowers, much of which, thriving in China, would be hard to grow in tropical climates. It is not at all surprising to see opportunistic Chinese entrepreneurs, as they often do, set up shop in unfamiliar locations like the Highlands to meet the growing demands for vegetables and flowers.
Yet, what is conspicuous, from understanding the history of the place, is that the original economic setup of the British has changed little even today. The many tea plantations of the Highlands proudly advertise their British heritage amid vintage posters from the 1920's. The British may have long gone and the ownership of the plantations have changed hands many times since then, but the brands as well as the methods at which the products are produced, marketed, and sold, have remained the same. This is all in spite of the fact that the market for tea, in particular, has changed quite a bit...
The Highlands, or Malaysia in general, is not the only place where European colonial heritage is still deep-rooted in the local economy, even as its cultural and architectural heritages are gradually being wiped away. The likes of ex-British and now Malaysian-owned palm giant Sime Derby, who own much of the country's palm oil production, echo their counterparts across the region and the rest of the world. Even without the legal support of the colonial days, such giants still act as if they are monopolies of their respective fields.
The Europeans designed these firms in such way in order to control the lucrative global commodity trade...and post-independence leaders, cash-strapped and war-weary, saw little reason to change them. Yet, because the colonial monopolies are designed to strangle competition, adherence to colonial productions only helped to exacerbate the growing wealth gap, under which the rich, who inherited the economic resources of the colonial masters, and the poor, who lost everything in the nations' respective struggles for independence.
Of course, given the harm of maintaining colonial economic arrangements, it begs the question of what is a possible, more equal and fair alternative. Obviously, the answer is not an easy one to find. The most extreme responses to anti-colonialism, whether it be violent redistribution of wealth under communism or shutting out foreign competition to nurture national economic champions from scratch, have only served to make economies stagnant and inefficient. It is the author's belief, however, that the ideological intent of creating economic fairness behind such action is justified.
Because, ultimately, one thing is clear: given the motive of colonial enterprises to benefit the mother countries rather than the local populace, maintaining them as they are defeats the very purpose of all the sacrifices made to gain independence in the first place. These enterprises are the physical symbols of subjugation, and for them to remain, there needs to be at least a structural revamp to make them more inclusive of marginal players. Perhaps, only then, will some Malays finally make their way to the Highlands, working alongside Indians and Chinese as they do in the main cities.
However, a trip to the rural depth of the country's central Cameron Highlands proved the author to be largely wrong on the assumption above. A plateau averaging 2000 km above sea level, and largely dominated by flower, vegetable, and tea plantations due to the resulting temperate climate, the Highlands, to the author's initial disbelief, are dominated by Indians and Chinese. So much so that the main towns of the Highlands seem to have bigger presences of Chinese and Indian public schools as well as Hindu and Buddhist temples, than Malay schools and mosques.
But a closer review of the Highlands' history put some sense into the rather surprising racial makeup here. Originally 100% inhabited by native mountain tribes (who to this day hold some settlements in the Highlands' many valleys), the Highlands were discovered to be suitable place to grow tea by the British. Undoubtedly exploited to meet the insatiable demands of Europeans for tea, the Highlands became another hot-spot for tea cultivation under British colonization, much as the case for Ceylon, Darjeeling, and Assam.
In the process, the Brits brought over thousands of experienced tea plantation works from India, whose descendants continue to dominate the demographics of the Highlands. But the growing Chinese populations of British Malaya's urban centers soon increased demands for Chinese vegetables and flowers, much of which, thriving in China, would be hard to grow in tropical climates. It is not at all surprising to see opportunistic Chinese entrepreneurs, as they often do, set up shop in unfamiliar locations like the Highlands to meet the growing demands for vegetables and flowers.
Yet, what is conspicuous, from understanding the history of the place, is that the original economic setup of the British has changed little even today. The many tea plantations of the Highlands proudly advertise their British heritage amid vintage posters from the 1920's. The British may have long gone and the ownership of the plantations have changed hands many times since then, but the brands as well as the methods at which the products are produced, marketed, and sold, have remained the same. This is all in spite of the fact that the market for tea, in particular, has changed quite a bit...
The Highlands, or Malaysia in general, is not the only place where European colonial heritage is still deep-rooted in the local economy, even as its cultural and architectural heritages are gradually being wiped away. The likes of ex-British and now Malaysian-owned palm giant Sime Derby, who own much of the country's palm oil production, echo their counterparts across the region and the rest of the world. Even without the legal support of the colonial days, such giants still act as if they are monopolies of their respective fields.
The Europeans designed these firms in such way in order to control the lucrative global commodity trade...and post-independence leaders, cash-strapped and war-weary, saw little reason to change them. Yet, because the colonial monopolies are designed to strangle competition, adherence to colonial productions only helped to exacerbate the growing wealth gap, under which the rich, who inherited the economic resources of the colonial masters, and the poor, who lost everything in the nations' respective struggles for independence.
Of course, given the harm of maintaining colonial economic arrangements, it begs the question of what is a possible, more equal and fair alternative. Obviously, the answer is not an easy one to find. The most extreme responses to anti-colonialism, whether it be violent redistribution of wealth under communism or shutting out foreign competition to nurture national economic champions from scratch, have only served to make economies stagnant and inefficient. It is the author's belief, however, that the ideological intent of creating economic fairness behind such action is justified.
Because, ultimately, one thing is clear: given the motive of colonial enterprises to benefit the mother countries rather than the local populace, maintaining them as they are defeats the very purpose of all the sacrifices made to gain independence in the first place. These enterprises are the physical symbols of subjugation, and for them to remain, there needs to be at least a structural revamp to make them more inclusive of marginal players. Perhaps, only then, will some Malays finally make their way to the Highlands, working alongside Indians and Chinese as they do in the main cities.
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