National Unity and Integration Department (NUID) director-general Datuk Azman Amin Hassan disclosed in an exclusive interview with The Malaysian Insider that the nation’s four current race hotspots were in densely-populated poor areas.
He described Kampung Medan in Petaling Jaya as the country’s No. 1 race hotspot, saying that the place remained a hotbed of racial conflict a decade after violent clashes in the urban slum resulted in six deaths.
“Kampung Medan is very congested. Crime is high. You don’t feel safe,” Azman said, and observed that the living conditions there bred fear and suspicion among the Malay and ethnic Indian residents.
He said he once lived there a week in 2001 while trying to mediate between the two groups and noticed the two communities did not interact with each other.
The 57-year-old, who has been serving in the NUID since joining the civil service in 1977, said Kampung Medan’s conflict started when the area was still a squatter colony, and worsened after it was turned into a low-cost, high-rise housing project.
The Universiti Sains Malaysia graduate, who majored in developmental communications, said stress from living in a crowded and limited space caused tempers to flare and led to frequent feuds within families and between neighbours.
“The high-end groups have no problem because they can socialise in their clubs,” Azman said.
The Kelantan-born, who mooted the set-up of a conflict resolution programme as far back as 1999 to train peacemakers for the job, will be retiring in May.
He called on the federal government to take firm action if it was serious in preventing a repeat of the Kampung Medan riot.
He said he appreciated the Najib administration’s decision to increase the NUID’s budget this year by RM52 million, bringing the total to RM251 million, but suggested that a more comprehensive plan was needed to deal effectively with the problem at its root.
“The government has to do something. We’re talking about poverty eradication,” Azman said.
“Forty-per cent of the population live on the bottom income level and they must be lifted up. We need help from other agencies,” he added.
