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Burmese and Malaysian Student Politics: A Preliminary Comparative Inquiry

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 August 2009

Josef Silverstein
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Extract

“Malaysia needs this kind of spirit.” With these words, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman, responded to a student demonstration supporting the nation against the 1968 territorial claims to Sabah put forth by the Philippines. Although he toned down his enthusiasm somewhat when later he learned that the same students had forced their way into the Philippine Embassy compound and had torn down its flag prior to their demonstration in front of his residence, there is no denying that this was another example of political change in Malaysia which is causing its leaders to come to grips with a comparatively new phenomena, students as participants in the political process.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Southeast Asian Studies , Volume 1 , Issue 1 , March 1970 , pp. 3 - 22
Copyright
Copyright © The National University of Singapore 1970

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References

1 New York Times, September 22, 1968.

2 After World War II and the assassination of Aung San, he became the head of the AFPFL and the first Prime Minister of the Union of Burma.

3 Maung Ba Hein became a Communist when the Party was formed in 1939; he died in 1946. Maung Ba Swe was a leader of the Socialist Party and became Prime Minister in 1956; he held the office until early 1957, when he gave it up in favour of U Nu.

4 Revolutionary Council, The Burmese Way to Socialism (Rangoon, 1962), p. 6Google Scholar.

5 Nyunt, Kyi, “What is Friendship and Amity?”, New Light of Burma (in Burmese), 08 6, 1967Google Scholar.

6 To classify terms as they will be used in the remainder of this essay, the Federation of Malaya or Malaya are the official and popular names of the country up to 1963. In that year, the Federation joined with Singapore, Sarawak and Sabah to form a new state which was called Malaysia. This remains the official name of the nation, despite the fact that Singapore withdrew in 1965 and became an independent state.

7 The Kuala Lumpur division of the University of Malaya — located in Singapore — came into existence in 1957; its original students were first-year transfers in Arts from the Singapore centre. A year later the faculty of Engineering was transferred to the new division. In 1959, the University of Malaya Constitution was altered to permit the creation of two equal units, one in Singapore and one in Kuala Lumpur. This marked the official beginning of the present university.

8 For an informed discussion of an early youth movement in Malaya, the Kesatuan Melayu Muda (KMM), see Roff, W., Origins of Malay Nationalism, Kuala Lumpur, University of Malaya Press, 1967, pp. 230–235Google Scholar. This should be read in the larger context of the political awakening of the intelligensia that Roff describes and discusses in the same volume, Chaps. 6 and 7, pp. 178–247. Also see Silcock, and Aziz, , “Nationalism in Malaya,” Holland, W. (ed.) Asian Nationalism and the West, New York, Macmillan. 1953, pp. 284–286, 292Google Scholar.

9 Wong, R. H. K., “Education and Problems of Nationhood”, Gungwu, Wang (ed.) Malaysia: A Survey, London, Pall Mall Press, 1964, p. 199Google Scholar.

10 Silcock and Aziz, op. cit., pp. 317–320; also see Parmer, N., “Malaysia,” Kahin, G. (ed.), Government and Politics of Southeast Asia, Ithaca, Cornell University Press (2nd ed.), pp. 290–292Google Scholar.

11 Emerson, R., Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, University of Malaya Press, 1964, p. 516Google Scholar.

12 See for example, the resolutions on this issue in PKPM, Ketetapan2 (Resolutions), adopted at the 9th Annual Conference,March, 1967, pp. 5–6Google Scholar.

13 PKPM, Annual Report: March 1963 — March 1964, p. 41Google Scholar.

14 See Ibid., “Declaration” passed by the PKPM on September 22, 1963; it called upon the Prime Minister to “take such action as necessary to implement the determination of Malaysian students to play their rightful role in the defence of national interests”.

15 PKPM, Laporan Tahunan Annual Report: March 1966 — March 1967. Eighth National Students' Council, p. 58Google Scholar.

16 UMSU, Laporan Tahunan Annual Report 19 September 1966–17 September 1967. Eighth Students' Council, p. 111Google Scholar.