Came across this blog from our esteemed ex-Opposition leader:
50th Anniversary Overshadowed by Race TensionsThought the comments would make good reading...
As a westerner who has been living for 10 years in your country, I have an unbiased view of the multi cultural Malaysia. Of course, this broadcasting on CNN and the worldwide promotion of Malaysia being a multi racial country where everybody is living in harmony is a total joke. You all races hate each other for various reasons, and as a guest here, I’m a privileged witness.
Yet, I’m not sure which race (and I don’t like to use that word in our new century) is to blame.
During the fasting month, I would throw a “party” which theme would be for non Muslims (I’m personally Christian) to try fasting for one day to better understand what our fellow Malaysian Muslims undergo and the true meaning behind this month. I would invite Indians, Westerners, Chinese and Muslims. As it turns out, only Muslims and Westerners would participate after a whole day fasting and enjoy the breaking.
Today, I just realise that all (and I say “all”) my Chinese friends were under the belief that they are not allowed to enter a mosque. The ignorance and lack of interest in other cultures/religions of your own country, that is also Malaysia bodoh.
During Thaipussam, going to the Batu Caves is one unique opportunity to mix and celebrate with Hindus. Again, I see no or few Chinese and Malays.
And I can go on and on with similar stories for each and every festive. Each race is to blame, the Muslims no more than Chinese or Indians.
I do admire your work Mr Lim Kit Siang and I read you almost every day but there is such a negativism here that is really not constructive. Can I ask you how many friends of the other race you have and how much effort you do to mix with them.
Yes, Islam is becoming scary in Malaysia but it is only the reflexion of a few stupid people which unfortunately have been given the power to show the direction. Today, I have met and count amongst my friends as many Buddhists, Christians, Muslims or Hindus
and it only takes the will to mix to make it a multicultural society, it is not so difficult and I call on you all to give it a try. You’ll be surprised how nice people ALL Malaysians can be.
Comment, from http://blog.limkitsiang.com/?p=960#comments
I do admire your work Mr Lim Kit Siang and I read you almost every day but there is such a negativism here that is really not constructive. Can I ask you how many friends of the other race you have and how much effort you do to mix with them.
Spot on, andrisoa. It is really amazing how ignorant the non-Malays, even those who call for a Malaysian Malaysia, seem to be of how little they have done to reach out to the Malays. especially blame the vernacular school system and the “national” schools which are in effect Malay schools, because they segregate our young at a very tender age, and somehow expect this to have no effect on their ability to mingle with people from other cultural backgrounds at a later age.
What is even more irritating about the issue of vernacular schools is that there is so little actual logic involved when people debate the topic. Usually, it’s just a bunch of bigoted Malays who seem to think everything can be solved by dumping vernacular schools wholesale without making national schools more attractive, and a bunch of chauvinist Chinese who seem to believe that it is a God-given right for them to use public funds to establish and support a parallel school system that segregates Chinese children from the other races. There are very few voices of reason who realise that both the national and vernacular school systems have their faults, and that the national schools need to be improved in order to attract the other races again; see this recent debate on this blog itself for example.
As a Chinese who has never had any problems interacting with people from other races, I find it extremely sad that most of the Chinese I see, wherever I go, consciously or otherwise keep to themselves. Usually, they prefer to talk in Mandarin or a Chinese dialect, which further isolates them from people from other backgrounds. (Note: I am not saying that habitually speaking Chinese is a barrier to racial integration – I know a number of people fluent in Mandarin who have no problems relating with those from other races.) Likewise, the Malays also keep very much to themselves. It is only the Indians who have been somewhat successful in integrating and being truly Malaysian.
I think in essence, the problem is that we Malaysians don’t have a single Malaysian identity yet. We disagree very strongly over what it means to be Malaysian. A Bumiputra bigot might tell you that being Malaysian means you’re either a Bumiputra who can lord it over the non-Bumiputra, or a non-Bumiputra who has to submit to Bumiputra rule. A Chinese chauvinist might tell you that being Malaysian means you have the right to discriminate against everyone else just as much as the Malays discriminate against you, by demanding taxpayer money to prop up “your” schools and siphoning money away from schools that are meant to be truly Malaysian. There are very few people who would say that to be Malaysian means, for example, being able to talk to and deal with other Malaysians on any level without any hang-ups.
Basically, most Malaysians seem to conceive of this country as a homeland for three separate and distinct ethnic groups, and as long as we all keep to ourselves, don’t mind each other’s business, and hew to the status quo, everything will be just fine. I’m sorry, but the “salad bowl” conception of multiculturalism is simply disproven. Europe is experiencing a lot of problems now because their salad bowl model has created a distinct different group of people, mainly Muslims, who view themselves as separate from other Europeans and refuse to integrate.
Being Malaysian isn’t about being Malay, Chinese or Indian. I recall a while ago (maybe a year?) there was a survey showing that a majority of Malaysians don’t even dine with people of other races on a regular basis. I found it absurd, and pretty depressing since I have always had friends from different ethnicities, and never had any issues about sharing food with them or eating at the same table.
I know I’m rambling at this point, but I feel it’s just frustrating. After 50 years of independence, we Malaysians remain so divided and so hung up about race. After 50 years of independence, we still view it as viable to fight for our own racial interests and preserving our separate ethnic identities. We still think living in our own compartmentalised, segregated worlds is possible. For most Malaysians, this is how life should be. And for that alienated minority who truly think of themselves as Malaysians, who have lunch with their Malaysian friends on a daily basis, who look at their racial-minded compatriots and sigh…we are ignored. It’s so depressing, and it’s the worst thing about this country.
People love to gripe about the government’s racist policies. But often these people don’t see how they themselves are racist. They seem to think all our problems would vanish if we just abolished the NEP and ketuanan Melayu. They don’t seem to realise that the true root of all our problems is that very few of us perceive ourselves as “Malaysian first” (as I believe the DAP slogan goes). As long as we persist in maintaining separate ethnic identities, and insist on keeping ourselves compartmentalised from the other races, no matter how equitably we are treated by the government, we will remain divided. Abolishing the NEP without tackling this basic societal problem is like putting the cart before the horse.
And the worst part is, I know I will be shouted down from both sides of the aisle for saying this. The bigoted Malays will want to keep their special sense of being different, of being “true Malaysians”. They won’t care that even if a non-Bumi had a thousand lives to give for his country, he would always coem second in terms of precedence to a Bumi Mat Rempit. And at the same time, the chauvinist Chinese will insist on preserving their special “Chineseness” and “Chinese schools”, and maintain that there is absolutely nothing wrong with insulating themselves from the rest of the country. They think it’s just fine to think of yourself as Chinese first and Malaysian second. And thanks to the way things are in this country, it’s like this’ll never change.
The problem with Malaysia, I suppose, can be summed up in this witty joke: if it’s a Malay problem, it’s a national problem. If it’s a Chinese problem, it’s a racial problem. If it’s an Indian problem, it’s not a problem. Despite all being Malaysians, 50 years after independence, our children don’t even attend the same schools, don’t even get the same educational opportunities, and don’t even get accorded the equal rights of citizens that they deserve as members of a civilised society. It’s an utter farce, and it’s what’ll lead to the death of Malaysia.
Comment, from http://blog.limkitsiang.com/?p=960#comments
Just thought I’d leave some comments:-
First of all, i accidently bumped into this site and seriously enjoying alot of the articles here. Great Job.
I’m a malaysian chinese but lived overseas, travelling alot since i was young. I loved it everytime I come home, the food, etc.. I’m now permanently living back in KL and my bunch of frens are mostly indians and malays, have a few chinese friends. I’ve been to a mosque, minimarts in brickfields and seriously, places you wont find a chinese fella. I’ve also brought my bunch of frens around to temples and cheras/kepong pasar malams, etc.. Do you all have any idea how awkward it is when you enter a mosque, or be in a place you are not suppose to be in a way? Everyone looks at you like its wrong, even bringing my indian friends to pasar malam with full of chinese seems to be awkward to a certain extend.
So Andrisoa, i guess in a way, it is not socially accepted yet in this country to be multi-racial?? Haha.. how ironic.. But anyway, my bunch of friends and i are always still challenging this issue. We enjoy our company around each other, there are a number of malays and indians in my group, but weird enough, very little chinese. We laugh, share and depend on each other alot of the time. Sometimes when i go out to mamaks and see a bunch of mixed cultures on one table, i’m always glad to see it.. I believe the younger generations are slowly moving to be one.. But mind you, these younger generation that are mixing together are mostly not locally educated, we all come from very different backgrounds. So maybe there are issues with how the kids are socialising at school? Is it what their parents teach them? Even my parents are at times racists to a certain extend but i know better myself.
I know there are others out there who are fine with socialising with other races, but there are too many out there that keep away with other races as well. The indians are the ones that socialise around the most, the malays the second and the chinese are the worst bunch (Again sad but true..) They just have so much generalization on a certain race that they just have negative thoughts about them. Eg. Indians are drunkards, Malays are lazy and Chinese are sleazy. My indians frens say i’m not chinese and i’m actually indian and my malay frens call me a mat-salleh and all these for the apparent reason that malaysian chinese usually dont mingle around the way i do??
In the end, I believe it all boils down to the ‘mentality’ malaysians have. I’ve seriously given up on the current generation, older generation and the younger generation(babies) of malaysia on being multi-racial, i see some comments here like ‘not being able to develop a relationship with malays/indians/chinese’, i do get confused with statements like that? . Maybe the govt should start looking at the educational system and how our kids are mixing around at school cause it starts from there, then maybe there might be a slight chance at our 100th anniversary to realistically announce that we are a multi-racial country.
PS: I noticed alot of malaysians on this site complaining about malaysia and all. If you have travelled overseas to more developed countries like the US, UK, OZ, etc and come back to complain, stop complaining!! Try travelling to bangkok, jakarta, hanoi, medan, phnom phen, etc etc (Thanks to Air Asia), you will realise that your ‘home’, Malaysia is a great country!! In terms of all the countries around south east asia, i love it back home! Singapore is different by itself, but then again, you dont get things like mamak and pasar malams in sgp like you get them in kl.. RIGHT?
Comment, from http://blog.limkitsiang.com/?p=960#comments
