Assessment for Kadazans in Malaysia

Risk Assessment | Analytic Summary | References

Risk Assessment

The Kadazans appear to have none of the factors that increase the likelihood of protest in the future. While Kadazan-majority parties have suffered electoral losses to the National Front in recent decades, divisions between the political parties that represent the group's interests have limited efforts to attain group demands. National Front coalition governments in Sabah have also actively promoted economic development in the resource-rich region to help bring it in line with the rest of the country.

Analytic Summary

The Kadazans are concentrated on northern Borneo in the Malaysian state of Sabah. There has been no significant group migration across the country but there have been notable immigrations of other communal groups to the tribal region.

The term Kadazan was previously used to refer to members of Sabah's largest aboriginal group, the Dusuns; however, its contemporary usage also includes several other tribal groups. These various aboriginal groups are considered under the general classification of "pribumi" or indigenous.

Group members speak multiple languages and they practice different social customs than the country's dominant Malay community (LANG = 2). Most Kadazans are Catholics or animists whereas the Malays are Muslims (BELIEF = 3).

The Kadazans have resided in Sabah since prior to the 1800s. The regions of Sabah and Sarawak were British protectorates until they were incorporated in the Malaysian federation in 1963, reportedly to offset the inclusion of Chinese-majority Singapore. Historically, the region was part of the Sulu Sultanate, which is a part of the Philippines. This historic status has periodically led the Philippines to press territorial claims to Sabah which has increased interstate tensions.

A Kadazan political party, the United Pasok-Momogun Kadazan Organization (UPKO) governed Sabah from 1963 to 1967. For the next almost twenty years though a Malay-dominated party ruled the region. It was during this period that Sabah experienced numerous influxes of Muslims from the neighboring countries of Indonesia and the Philippines. Some 500,000 entered the area in the late 1980s which boosted Muslim influence in the Christian region. More than half of the new entrants were Moros who were fleeing the ongoing Muslim Moro rebellion in the southern Philippines.

In the mid-1980s, another Kadazan party, the Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), swept to power. It sought to implement widespread reforms to address the political and economic status of the tribals and the continuing migrations of Muslims into the region. However, it soon ran into difficulties with the federal government which was dominated by the National Front (NF) coalition. The PBS's defection from the NF in 1990 led to reduced funding for development projects in Sabah which exacerbated the area's poor economic conditions. Although the PBS won the 1994 state elections, defections from the party led it to be replaced shortly afterward by a NF coalition party. The National Front has attempted to improve the region's economic development although the Kadazans appear to have lost much of their political influence.

Group members face demographic stresses which are due to environmental damage in the region, primarily logging which has rendered the water in rivers unsafe for consumption along with increasing the incidence of flooding. Further, there are greater pressures on the availability of land due to the presence of some 500,000 immigrants from Indonesia and the Philippines.

The tribals are underrepresented in the political and economic arenas as a result of historical neglect (POLDIS03 = 2; ECDIS03 = 2). In 1970, the government instituted the New Economic Policy (NEP) which sought to redress the disadvantages of indigenous (pribumi) communities through the provision of subsidies to indigenous-owned businesses, job quotas, and requirements that non-Chinese personnel be included in large new ventures. In reality however, any benefits reserved for the country's pribumi have largely benefited the dominant Malay population rather than aboriginal groups.

The Parti Bersatu Sabah continues to press for regional autonomy but it is not clear what portion of the group actively supports greater self-rule. Most Kadazans are concerned with obtaining a greater share of public funds for social services along with better economic and educational opportunities. The protection of the tribals' culture and lifeways is also a key issue along with protection from attacks by other communal groups.

Group interests are solely represented by conventional political parties and associations such as the PBS and the newly reconstituted UPKO. The majority of Kadazans support group organizations although there are divisions within the community (COHESX9 = 3). These divisions have not erupted in any intragroup violence. There has also not been any violence between the Kadazans and minority groups in Sabah.

Kadazan political activism, in the form of protest activities, first emerged in the early 1960s and while there were few political actions throughout the 1970s and 1980s, in recent years there are some signs of political mobilization (PROT60X = 2; PROT99 = 1). No protests were reported between 2000 and 2003 (PROT00-03 = 0). The tribals have not engaged in any rebellion in pursuit of their goals.

References

Chin, James, "The Sabah State Election of 1994," Asian Survey, Vol. XXXIV, No. 10, 1994.

The Europa Yearbook, Fear East and Australasia 1993.

Far Eastern Economic Review, 1990-93.

Keesings Record of World Events, 1990-93.

Lexis-Nexis news reports, 1990-2002.

Phase I, Minorities at Risk, overview compiled by Monty G. Marshall, 08/89.