Race clouds Malaysia anniversary fest

Malaysia marked 50 years of independence Friday with dances and parades in a colorful show of ethnic unity that belied worsening race relations and growing fears about eroding minority rights.

Smartly dressed Malays, Chinese, Indians and other ethnic groups making up this racially diverse nation danced in a parade at the Merdeka Square, or Freedom Square, where Malaysia's first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman announced the country's independence from Britain on Aug. 31, 1957.

Malaysia's constitutional monarch, Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin, presided over the two-hour celebration, joined by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, his Cabinet ministers and foreign dignitaries including Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the Thai crown prince and the sultan of Brunei.

Abdullah reminded Malaysians that the struggle to fulfill the objectives of independence have not been won even though the country has achieved remarkable economic progress and prosperity for nearly all citizens.

"The struggle is for all Malaysians. We must ensure that no region or community is left behind. We will hold true to the concept of justice and fairness for all citizens," Abdullah said.

But racial equality remains a distant dream, say many observers, citing an affirmative action program for the majority Malays and the pervasive influence of Islam in what founding fathers envisaged as a secular nation.

Malay Muslims form about 60 percent of the country's 26 million people. Chinese are 25 percent, Indians 10 percent and the rest belong to other minorities.

At independence, the Malays were the poorest and the most backward. But the New Economic Policy, the affirmative action program started in 1971, gave Malays privileges and preferences in jobs, education, businesses, housing, bank loans and government contracts.