In a vicious cycle, incidents escalated until armed gangs roamed neighbourhoods slashing people. Five of the dead were Indians. The sixth was an Indonesian construction worker mistaken for Malay. Police arrested at least 184 people, more than half of them Malays. Opposition politicians said the clashes were prompted less by race than by frustration over poor living conditions and the result of uneven development during the boom of the 1990s.
Many people agree.
The government spends billions of ringgit on ornate cities like Putrajaya instead of quelling urban anger, which is dangerous. They have nothing to lose. Political problems heightened the situation. The Malays were split by the 1998 sacking and imprisonment of former Deputy Premier Anwar Ibrahim. Many Malays turned their backs on the United Malays National Organization, the dominant party led by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.