if all the Chinese in Malaysia return home to China their
Motherland ,
there would be no rcaial problems in Malaysia .
the Chinese are causing lots of racial problems in Malaysia and
in Tibet , and in Xinjang .
why are the Chinese in Malaysia refusing to go home to China ?
On Apr 25, 8:09=A0am, pluto <pl...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> Where are the Malays headed? =A0 =A0 =A0
=A0http://www.malaysianbar.org.my=
/opinions/comments/where_are_the_malays...
>
> Thursday, 24 April 2008 07:54am =A0
> =A9The Star (Used by permission)
> A Writer's Life by Dina Zaman
>
> Whether at a forum, dinner, cocktail or mamak restaurant, everyone has
an
> opinion on what a Malay is.
>
> SO, I have been accused of being a liberal, urban Malay. All because I
tol=
d this
> person that I don=92t eat at mamak restaurants.
>
> My not eating at Indian Muslim restaurants has nothing to do with
elitism =
and
> class. It has everything to do with germs and health. MSG can do wonders
t=
o
> one=92s intellect and personality. And, of course, a sensitive digestive
s=
ystem.
>
> I must also profess to you, dear reader, that I don=92t even indulge in
fa=
st food.
> Only once a year, during Chinese New Year, when Prosperity Burgers
abound.=
>
> But, really, in this day and age, what is a Malay? Is a liberal Malay
any =
less a
> human being than a rural Malay, and is a kampong boy less intelligent
than=
his
> city cousin?
>
> And are the pious only relegated to the grassroots? I know of many urban
p=
eople
> who are as pious, if not more so. You can=92t pigeon-hole a Malay,
likewis=
e a
> Chinese, Indian, Orang Asli, Indonesian and so forth.
>
> This navel-gazing, I suppose, was prompted by the recent state of
politica=
l
> events. Namely, March 8, 2008.
>
> Overnight, it seems like everything has changed. There is euphoria in
the =
air.
> Pakatan Rakyat has won (er ... five states only). Everyone (well, not
ever=
yone
> but those who voted for the alternative government) is
happy-happy-happy.
>
> But on the ground, the Malays, have realised or are realising that their
u=
topia
> is being threatened. Young Malays now will have to work very hard to
prove=
that
> they are eligible for scholar****ps and places in universities.
>
> Prior to March 8, very stellar and deserving bumiputras received
scholarsh=
ips
> and placements in good universities. At the same time, mediocre young
prin=
ces
> and princesses of the soil received similar offerings, too, but maybe in
l=
ess
> outstanding educational institutions.
>
> Then there's this bumi discount on property. I can understand why the
aver=
age
> Malay person is upset at not being able to afford housing, because he
earn=
s a
> pittance, while a VIP or Malay man of means takes advantage of the
discoun=
t,
> even though he can very well pay for the piece of property minus the
disco=
unt.
>
> Yet, the very idea of a non-Malay receiving the same privilege irks the
av=
erage
> Malay, as he believes it is his and his race=92s birth-right; hence,
this =
negates
> the resentment the average Malay has towards his richer cousin.
>
> At the end of the day, I think, everything boils down to money. You can
be=
> black, white, blue, but when it comes to economics and your wallet ?
>
> In the one month or more since March 8, I have heard so much bile about
ho=
w the
> other races were going to cream us Malays that I even dreamed of it. My
qu=
estion
> is, if we are going to be ethnocentric about it, who are we Malays?
>
> Because, my dear, these days I keep bumping into Malays who profess to
me =
that
> they=92re actually not pure Malays but have darah kacukan like Bugese,
Jaw=
a,
> Chinese, Pakistani, Mat Salleh ... just like how American actors claim
in
> tabloids that they aren=92t really white but have Cherokee Indian blood
et=
al.
>
> In the same breath, they also claim to be true blue Malays who=92d kill
fo=
r their
> country. Either I have a hearing problem, or they are confused.
>
> Joel S. Khan in his book Other Malays: Nationalism and Cosmopolitanism
in =
the
> Modern Malay World wrote on the various arguments about
=91Malay-ness=92: =
that (1)
> it was constructed out of an imperial discourse characterised by the
myth =
of the
> lazy Malay (2) how emerging nations of Malay identity and nation in the
co=
lonial
> period were shaped by European discourses of nationhood, based on
writings=
by
> leading Malay secular-nationalist intellectuals.
>
> Ah hah! Are we Malays a product of social and intellectual engineering
the=
n?
>
> We=92re known to be a gentle, moderate race. We=92re also known as a
race =
that=92s
> reputedly lazy, living off the benefits the NEP has afforded us and
becomi=
ng
> close-minded.
>
> At the same time, we also know of successful Malays who have done very
wel=
l
> internationally. But we also tell each other that we do not want to work
f=
or a
> 100% Malay organisation, and that we do not relish the idea of sending
our=
> children to a government school with 100% Malay enrolment.
>
> We=92re known to be loyal to our families and country, but we also do
not =
like it
> if another Malay is doing better than us. Dengki (great envy) seems to
be =
in our
> blood.
>
> We=92re also known for our =91berhalus=92 manner when we speak. Well, we
u=
sed to.
> These days, =91saya=92, =91kamu=92 =91kawan=92 are replaced by the
rather =
crass =91aku=92,
> =91engkau=92. Just look at our television shows and films! Our books!
Even=
=91demure
> Malay women=92 now speak to each other so roughly.
>
> But I was informed rather smartly by a friend that speaking properly
> (=91berhalus=92) would be to stoop to a feudal time ... a master and
serva=
nt
> mentality. Good manners and political correctness when speaking are
despis=
ed.
> Maybe I=92m too old fa****oned.
>
> It is marvellous though to have these deep and meaningful discussions on
w=
hat it
> means to be a member of a dominant and =91superior=92 race. Go to a
forum,=
dinner,
> cocktail and, yes, even the mamak restaurant, and you'll find everyone
has=
an
> opinion on what a Malay is.
>
> Very clever friends will spout history and the relevant Hikayat, while
act=
ivist
> friends will fall back on the NEP and the Constitution.
>
> My Muslim activist friends make a huge demarcation between being a
Muslim =
and a
> Malay, and that we are more Malay than Muslim.
>
> This is a different ball game all together, and something I have been
obse=
rving
> over the years. It will take another one or two essays to explain the
diff=
erence
> but, really, if the talk my father and I attended over the weekend is a
go=
od
> example, I really don=92t know where we are headed, as a race and ummah.
>
> The Who Needs An Islamic State discourse, organised by the Muslim
Professi=
onal
> Forum and Malaysian Think Tank London, had four panellists =96 Dr
Abdelwah=
ab
> El-Affendi, University of Westminster, London, and author of Who Needs
an
> Islamic State?; Dr Dzulkifly Ahmad, Member of Parliament and director,
PAS=
> Research Centre; Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, president, National Human Rights
Soc=
iety;
> and Sulaiman Abdullah, a syariah lawyer.
>
> It was quite a lively debate, especially the verbal muay thai between
Sula=
iman
> and Malik Imtiaz.
>
> While we followed the debate, a few young men behind us commented,
=93Ala?=
mamak
> dua ekor tu (those two mamaks)?=94 referring to, I believe, Malik Imtiaz
a=
nd
> Sulaiman who are of Indian descent.
>
> It may be harmless to you, but if at the end of the day, it still boils
do=
wn to
> being Malay, and that other Muslims will still be distinguished by their
> ethnicity, I really don=92t know where we=92re heading. It=92s always Us
v=
ersus The
> Other.
>
> The writer is back in her kampong.
>
> Set as favorite Bookmark Email This Facebook del.icio.us Digg Furl
Yahoo! =
My Web
> StumbleUpon Google Bookmarks Technorati reddit
>
> We are sorry, for registered members only.
>
> Comments (4)
> Subscribe to this comment's feed
> The Malay people are still evolving
> written by Alex Tan Ken Seng, 24 April, 2008 at 09:41 am
>
> In my opinion, the Malays, being a relatively young and small race
(compar=
ed to
> China and the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu in South India) are still
> evolving.
>
> This is based on what I learnt from my Sejarah cl***** in the 1980s, and
f=
rom my
> observations of Malay neighbours, teachers, classmates and friends while
l=
iving
> in Kajang, Selangor my whole life (I also spent slightly more than a
semes=
ter in
> UTM, Skudai, Johor in 1989 before deciding I'd rather do A-Levels and
ther=
eafter
> go overseas for my degree).
>
> For those less in-the-know, Kajang is just less than an hour south of
KL, =
and an
> hour north of Seremban.
>
> I have also recently read V S Naipaul's "Among The Believers" as well as
"=
Beyond
> Belief", books on his impressions and encounters of Islam and Muslims
duri=
ng his
> travels to Asia during my childhood years.
>
> I regret that I have yet to get hold of "Myth of The Lazy Native", to
get =
a
> different viewpoint.
>
> For me, I can understand why certain Malays hate the Chinese. After all,
i=
sn't
> it "unfair" and "unjust" that just because the Chinese in general have
the=
> capital, therefore they're "lucky" enough to start profitable
businesses?
> Whereas the Malays have to continue living hand to mouth. Also, not many
C=
hinese
> are willing to make friends with the Malays, right?
>
> For me again, the main blame for the deterioration in race relations in
th=
is
> country started probably as early as during Tun Razak's time. It
definitel=
y
> started/continued during Dr. Mahathir's reign. So if we really need to
bla=
me
> anyone, it would be the relevant Ministers (e.g. Prime, Deputy,
Education,=
> Housing, Finance, Rural Development) and other powerful people in the
1980=
s and
> 1990s right up to today.
>
> Me, who knows, if I'm still single and available this yearend, I might
jus=
t
> marry a Malay one day when the laws won't force me to convert. Either
some=
one I
> already know, or someone I have yet to meet.
>
> Alex Tan Ken Seng
>
> Note - I was born in the year of the khinzir, as far as the Chinese
zodiac=
is
> concerned.
>
> Building a Better Malaysia
> written by Megat Shaharuddin Merican, 24 April, 2008 at 03:12 pm
>
> Dear Alex,
>
> The painful reality is that for many years this country has been
fractiona=
lised
> by stereotypes, prejudice and bigotry which have indeed been
instrumental =
to
> poor race relations.
>
> The reality also is that such aberrations sadly transcend all races
withou=
t any
> exception thereby exacerbating the situation.
>
> But I believe Malaysia, as evidenced from the recent general election,
is =
slowly
> moving away from those years of acrimonious and needless polarisation.
>
> With such move coupled with much determination from her citizens and ...
>
> read more =BB
|
