Economic Strength, Stratification and Ethnicity

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ECONOMIC GROWTH, STRATIFICATION AN D ETH NICITY

-"$:-h. title of this chapter raises two broad questions. Firstly, what i changes have taken place in the social stratiflcation structure as a result of economic growth? Secondly, what are the. significance and implications of social-economic stratification on development-on its nature, speed as well as its distribution? The flrst is historical in approach and should interest social historians; the second is more atalyical and certainly meaningful to development strategists and planners. Nevertheless, it is useful to pursue the first question flrst, since it will help to clarify various problems related to the second question. In Malaysia,the development of the contemporary stratification system began with the socio-economic growth that came in the wake of western colonial rule. Traditional Malay society was based mainly on an agricultural economy, although some primitive forms of tin mining were also practised. In terms of the operation andior of people o. )y.lgph.iB pf".agriculrurallasd, at least three categories tould be identifled, namely:

(a) those who controlled

selves;

the land and thus the peasants who worked on it; they normally did not work the land themsurrendered

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(b) those who operated the land and who normally

(c)

a p,ortion of their produce to (a); tho'b.e who directly served (a) either by producing or by rendbring services.

..lr:i; : {**f5"a 2.-t. t . ., Those in category (a) were made up of rulers ana/of chiefs and their immediate kindred. Besides having people from category (b) to produce on their land, they also collected gifts and taxes from those in category @) as well as from some foreigners involved in the tin mining or barter trades. The incomes they accumulated were 'fighting spent on retaining (c), made up of personal retinues of m..r', servants utd tlru"t, and also for the purposes of personal aggrandizement. Those in category @) were made up of the peasanfly...