Why are there so many racialist parties?
Colonial capitalism. The British.
One large point I think is also the failure in developing a national vision to dissolve the communal differences between groups. As a result the parties take on a parochial character.
And what do indonesians make of it?
Most Indonesians in Malaysia and Singapore (ie, those with MY/SG citizenship) would be counted as Malay in classifications and often continue to identify as Malay rather than individual ethnic groups (Orang Minang, Bugi etc) as a result. There is a reason for this but I’ll keep my answer short.
As for Indonesians in Indonesia or migrated to Malaysia and Singapore after independence - I am not too sure.
Indonesian national identity was developed through efforts by anti-colonial Indonesian nationalists (many where also Chinese) in establishing a Malay-based national language (Indonesian), and so racial classifications had little effect after independence. The Dutch also had not imported as much foreign labourers as the British did, and often utilised the plentiful population surplus in Java for their colonial economy.
A somewhat similar trend could be seen in Indonesia’s history with their Chinese minority and the indigenous populations of the islands outside of Java but that would not fall under racism or racialism - a colonial construct with extensive roots in Western Modernity and Colonization.
So when I say particularity, it genuinely is a particularity found only within Malaysia and Singapore in Southeast Asia, but can be seen in many examples across the wider Global South.
I know that there is some level of racialist tension between malaysia and singapore (and brain drain of malaysian chinese into singapore)
Brain drain is somewhat of a concern due to uneven development and the higher wages seen in Singapore. This is the result of the semi-peripheral nature of the Malaysia in the World Economy. Other than that it’s not much of a political issue - as in, it is not covered as much in the political theatre of both respective nations (usually).
Malaysia sometimes complain about brain drain but that is the nature of Capitalism when you are imbedded in global trade networks. The neoliberal leaders follow the mercy of International Capital, and so backlash faced is due to their own subservience and nothing more. Having the 11th most powerful passport in the world has its downsides.
Singaporeans also have a nascent anti-immigrant base, something along the lines of “they are taking our jobs” but that is also the reality of being a city-state for Western conglomerates to park their headquarters in. Capitalism is the root cause. Not that I expect the labour aristocrats in Singapore to take heed.
You can't explain Malaysia-Singapore relations in one sentence
in 1916: "It is possible that the republican movement in one country may be merely an instrument of the clerical or financial-monarchist intrigues of other countries; if so, we must not support this particular, concrete movement"
Why must we tail western liberals and their funded propagandists?
Is the world not govern by a Global Capitalist economy led by US capital? The least we can do is analyse the class forces at play, nationally and internationally before simplifying certain parties as just “anti-monarchy”.
As the OP’s linked article clearly states:
And later on,
You can disagree with this narrative, but there is truth in this description. A similar thing happens in Thailand’s neighbouring countries. Call it culturalist, or idealist, but it’s an observable reality that the Southeast Asian Left has had to confront.
The question now arises, are we to support (and what would “support” even entail if it’s just a random comment on an niche online board?) the Western ideologues who espouse the virtuous nature of liberal democracy, when 300 years of history has shown that it was built on colonization and imperialism, or atleast be cognizant of the fact that the Global South countries face overwhelming odds and to fullfil your personal idealist notions of democracy may actually hamper the larger goals of anti-imperialism and communism?