Building Bridges, Crossing Boundaries: Everyday Forms of Inter-Ethnic Peace Building in Malaysia edited by Francis Loh Kok Wah, Ford Foundation, Jakarta and Persatuan Sains Sosial Malaysia

Abstract

In contrast to all its ASEAN neighbours except for Singapore and Brunei, Malaysia is relatively free from political violence. The only two major episodes of political violence in living memory of most Malaysians are the communist insurgency in West Malaysia (1948–1960) and Sarawak (1962–1974) and the 'May 13' post-election Sino-Malay ethnic riot in 1969. Notwithstanding class war and communal conflict, the Malayan/Malaysian state successfully preserve civilian rule for most of the time after its independence from Britain in 1957/1963.