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Here are four sets of opinions, existing in the public domain, that have a bearing on the subject of national unity and progress in the country. Diverse they may be, they represent the views of Malaysians of different vocations, from different backgrounds and with varying life experiences.
Let’s find out the common grounds and discuss the approach towards togetherness and national unity.
Comments may be both in Bahasa Malaysia as well as in the English language for wider audience coverage.
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http://lipassepi.blogspot.com/2010/05/sinatraz-discrimination-in-private.html
Sinatra_Z – Discrimination in the Private Sector
MAY 26 — Often we hear complaints regarding smart non-Malay students with many As not getting a place in local universities. Political parties, NGOs and the media often highlight their plight and injustice.
I, for one, agree with the push by the government in solving this problem. Regardless of a student’s racial background, a smart student is an asset to the nation and he or she should be given a chance to get an education and contribute to society.
I fully support the move by the government in abolishing quotas in most of the public universities, promoting merit-based distribution of scholarships and move to incorporate more non-Malays into the government.
Although some may argue the main reason for the lack of non-Malays opting to be a government servant is due to perks and wages rather than discrimination, we should view all these as positive.
A good example would be the recent flood at the Selangor Chinese Assembly hall interviews to fill up the vacancies with the Malaysian-Anti Corruption Commission (MACC). Ironic when one considers the recent political spin that has been put upon the MACC, thanks to the Teoh Beng Hock case.
I guess Er Soon Poi put it quite well when he said, “I am impressed with the salary and allowances offered in the public sector and I am interested to become a government servant although I have little knowledge about the MACC” (The Sun May 23, 2010).
I admit there is the perception that there is an ethnic dominance in the Malaysian civil service. I agree with this view and fully support any move to diversify the Malaysian civil service.
To me this is one of the many polarities that divide the Malaysian society. But I have always reminded myself of the old saying, “It takes two hands to produce a clap”. So I am going to discuss what many politicians and activists are quite reluctant to talk about.
Perhaps it is a bit uncomfortable for some of these politicians to talk about or the fact that it does not serve their political purpose.
Discrimination
It started with complaints by local Malay graduates that they faced difficulty in getting good jobs in big companies, mainly multinational corporations which offer good salaries. Especially big, foreign companies with good perks in sectors like banking, finance, electronics, IT, etc.
I have heard of this way back when my seniors were complaining about it. At first even I shrugged it off.
There is this general perception that Malay graduates are “bad in communication skills, mainly English, and not as competent as the non-Malay graduates.”
Come on, let’s be honest. I have more than once encountered this remark, “Ahh you speak pretty good English for a Malay.” Malaysians are huge hypocrites, I tell you. No wonder our politicians are like that as well.
As much as one would like to put a cast on the stereotyping of lazy, incompetent and spoon-fed Malays, there is something really wrong when say 90 per cent of the executive or high ranking technical staff comes from a single ethnic background. Especially when one consider the fact that the Malays are not the minorities.
Are these Malay graduates so incompetent? Because last I heard back in university, there is quite a healthy number of Malay-Muslim students getting on deans’ lists and receiving medals during convocations.
Their English can’t be that bad and based on my experience, the level of English competency is equally horrible regardless of ethnic background when it comes to local graduates. Chances are, there might be a problem with the Malay graduates in Malaysia generally, but instead maybe there is a problem with the human resource manager in said company, don’t you agree?
It becomes even more apparent when that minority ethnic, be it Malays or whatever, tend to fill positions like receptionists, office boys, dispatchers, etc. It’s like having diversity for the sake of showcase, so what better place to put them if not right in front at the reception desk.
The Mandarin factor
Now, once in a while when I browse through the classifieds, I would see an ad that goes something like this: “Mandarin competence” or “Chinese Speaking”. At first I would assume it to be something harmless. Perhaps that company does a lot of deals with China hence they need Mandarin speakers to help them deal with their foreign clients.
But it gets quite dodgy when the companies that have those kind of job ads don’t really deal with foreign clients, especially China. It gets even dodgier when the advertised vacancy is something like a “Systems Administrator” or “R&D Engineer”.
Last I checked, I have yet to find any datasheet, programming language, operating system or technical textbook that is written in Mandarin. Perhaps there are that one or two technical manuals written in Mandarin because of that Made in China product. But chances are if the Germans and Japanese can include an English technical manual with their product, I am pretty sure a “Made in China” product has it as well (Okay, maybe with bad English).
There’s something really amiss when you have a vacancy ad which lists the Mandarin factor for a Japanese manufacturing plant.
Look, this is Malaysia, the official languages here are Bahasa Malaysia and English. Unless a company deals with China or Taiwan, there is no need for compulsory Mandarin. We all know why you put down that criterion. And if there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s people pretending to be something else when the real reason is very obvious.
Some of you might say “But hey Zaidel what about that ad that goes ‘Untuk Bumiputera Sahaja’ You bloody Perkasa racist!” I say yes, it is quite racist as well, like I said it takes two hands to clap and having this masked hypocritical Mandarin ad is just as bad as having a openly gung-ho racial ad like the “Bumiputera” criterion as well.
So how do we go about this then?
Some may take the path of hyperventilating rants and dramatic raving, which usually ends with the conclusion that the only way to solve every problem in this nation is by voting anything else other than Barisan Nasional.
I actually prefer something more concrete (and less hyperventilating). In the civil service a minimal quota system can always be implemented. For instance, a minimum of one in every three new staff must be of a different ethnic background. That sort of situation fits for the civil service and is easily monitored by the Parliament, hence a regulatory measure can be implemented.
However, in the private sector having regulations may hamper productivity and meddle in the market forces. If, say, the government suddenly announced a regulatory measure such as a quota, it would affect the general productivity.
Based on previous experience when it comes to regulatory policies in the private sector, we do know that this does not work well, e.g. 30 per cent Bumiputera Equity shares. As much as I want diversity in the workplace, I realise it must be balanced with the current needs, market forces and productivity level, and the fact that private sectors should decide for themselves.
So instead of a regulatory measure, I suggest we do an incentive-based measure. One measure could be a tax cuts for companies that introduce diversity in their workplace.
For instance, if a company has a minimum of 25 per cent Bumiputeras working as executives with them, they are then entitled to a 10 per cent income tax reduction. To make it fair, we do the same for, say, a 100 per cent Bumiputera company that manages to introduce a minimum of 25 per cent non Bumiputeras into their company.
This way the government won’t be meddling into the private nature of the private sector and gives the freedom for these companies to take their time in introducing diversity in the workplace without hampering their productivity.
Diversity incentives are quite common in the rest of the world and we have seen it to be quite effective. It’s a win-win situation. To those which think that they may not be ready yet, no worries, business as usual. Maybe next year.
Conclusion
Now some of you may find it hard to chew on this, but like it or not, it’s there, it exists. There is discrimination in the private sector just as in the civil service.
Though many of us find it convenient to blame the civil service, many seem to shy away when it comes to the private sector. However, rather than leaving this as an article that merely focuses on ranting and raving, I would prefer it to be something that we all can ponder upon and come up with solutions that would benefit everyone in the long run.
Not everything is about voting Pakatan Rakyat or Barisan Nasional.
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Of Ashaari and Chinese Malaysians — Tay Tian Yan
May 21, 2010
The Chinese population is declining. What can we do?
Several days ago I read of the death of Al-Arqam founder Ashaari Muhammad.
He was a controversial figure in this country, but I have not mentioned his name here because of this.
What interested me were the three wives, 38 children and 200-odd grandchildren he left behind.
There were four in the first generation, expanding to 38 in the second, and their human-making mechanism has so far produced more than 200 lives cumulatively.
In view of their superior productivity, it wouldn’t be a problem for the third generation to create another 500 new lives.
A few more generations down the road, and the family tree will include tens of thousands of names.
Compare that with a typical Chinese family.
A couple gives birth to two children, and these two will bring on four grandchildren, and the number will swell to eight in the third generation.
But, there is also another probability.
Among the four grandchildren, one has migrated to Singapore, one seeking better opportunities in China, one looking for greener pasture Down Under while another in the New World.
And then they bring their parents along with them.
Up till the third generation, there are only one old man and one granny left at home.
And the local family population will be nil as soon as the couple pass away.
Interesting arithmetic, huh!
What can we do? Ask the Almighty or Buddha.
If Mahathir, Utusan Malaysia and Perkasa have been so well versed with mathematics, they wouldn’t have made a big noise at all in the first place.
Perhaps they might even set up a foundation to protect species on the brink of extinction, including Chinese Malaysians! — mysinchew.com
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MUAZ OMAR
“wants to see the dismantling of barriers to realise the nation’s potential”.
SUNDAY, MAY 23, 2010
Nation needs closure not soothsayer
MAY 16, 2010 — Attempts to blemish the social fabric is threatening to drive a wedge between the different races in the country and is growing at an alarming rate.
The controversial “Melayu Bangkit (Malays Arise)” congregation organised by Gerakan Kebangkitan Rakyat (Gertak) and government agency, Terengganu Integrity Institute on May 13 was called off after the event was widely criticised by the public and opposition due to its divisive nature.
It is not surprising that a national government agency is involved in organising an event that is bent on reliving the darkest period of the nation’s history.
For decades, National Civics Bureau (BTN) has been instilling fear and hatred among the different races blaming the May 13 incident on the non-Malays for being insensitive and greedy.
Umno has conveniently chastised DAP as the perpetrator of the bloody event and the big win scored by the party in the last general election has been deemed as a signal of the deteriorating of the Malays’ political power.
DAP is being used as the bogeyman and Umno’s mouthpiece has called DAP’s rise to a position of power as a threat to the Malays’ way of life — position of the Malay language, Islam, Malay Sultans and the Malays’ special position.
The conditioning of the Malays have been so effective that it has managed to convince the Malays that this land belongs to them with the other races being conveniently labelled as immigrants (pendatang).
This process has been systematically carried out with the assistance of mainstream media dailies and television, namely the right-wing daily Utusan Malaysia and TV3 television station.
What this has evidently produced is an insecure Malay community which faces difficulty accepting that times have changed and the dogmatic ‘Malay Supremacy’ is unable to stand the test of time.
It is worrying that even with the advancement of internet where information is readily available, there are large swathes of urban and educated Malays that still profess to the mantra of ‘Malays First’.
Decades of systemic brainwashing and indoctrination has successfully bred distrust and mistrust between Malays and non-Malays.
Notoriously celebrated figures have also jumped on the bandwagon to drum up the pro-Malay sentiment.
This is typified by none other than the publicity-hungry parochial former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad who was pencilled in to officiate the congregation.
Mahathir has conveniently slammed his critics citing the old-school nag reminding Malaysians on the history of the May 13 incident and for all to abide by the social contract as a precursor for peace among the races.
He forewarned that the country will repeat the mistakes of the past if it denied history implying that the congregation is meant to educate Malaysians on the history of the country.
“I feel that if we forget our history then we will repeat this history,” said Dr Mahathir.
The congregation like many other right-wing NGOs like Perkasa is focused on putting out the agenda that the non-Malays creeping into the rights of the Malays and that the Malays need to unite politically to protect their rights that are slipping away.
The success of the Malay Agenda has always been linked to the political strength of Umno and as the beacon of the Malays, the myth that a strong Umno will protect the survival of the Malays economically and politically.
Proponents of Malay Agenda has time and again use history, sentiments and emotions to heighten the siege mentality among the Malays.
For Malays to progress with time together with the rest of the country there is no room for this kind of mentality.
While the Malays need to shed their insecurities, the non-Malays need to feel appreciated in a land they call their own.
Doomsayers and soothsayers like Dr Mahathir, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Perkasa President Datuk Ibrahim Ali and many other Hang Tuah-wannabes will not help to achieve these objectives and are threatening the social fabric of the country.
The nation needs closure from the episode of May 13 and does not need to relive the past; lessons have to be learnt but scare-mongers have to be done away.
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“May 13 needs to be remembered because racism and unhindered freedom of speech will cause unrest in this multi racial country. That is why we have the Sedition Act. The Act is solely to prevent the people from being too extreme in their views.
Now, in the aftermath of the 1969 incident, what now for the nation? I propose National Harmony Day should be celebrated on May 13 every year to remind ourselves how blessed we are living in a land where moderation and acceptance are the keys to national success in whatever there is to come. We should learn that, when hatred and resentment towards each other is no longer existed, we can now look forward towards building the nation with so much rigour, trust and mountainous sense of pride in our history.
Our founding fathers and leaders of the past had painstakingly upheld their selfless deeds and worked hard in making our Malaysia a successful nation. The greatest achievement we had was to live in harmony in the face of so many malevolent foreign and domestic challenges. We should not dirty this greatest achievement just because of a certain racist and political agenda.
Like the wise words I learned from school – “A society which does not look back with pride upon its past can never look forward towards its future”.
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Kempen SSS 
We have to learn history of what triggered 13th May 1969 so that the bloody riot between the Chinese and the Malays will not be repeated under any circumstances.
Illuminati:Banking and money group.
Wake up!,
In addition to learning history, we need to get those running on an agenda of eroding the rights and interests of others to stop doing so. The so-called Malaysian Malaysia slogan is subversive to the Special Position of the Malays and the Bumiputeras of Sabah and Sarawak. Those flogging that concept do not have any regard for the fact that freedom and democracy has its limits and that it has to take into account of that Special Position. The British Colonial Secretary, when debating the Malaya Independence Bill in the 50s, told the British parliament that the Malay Special Position has always been there “since day one”.
That agenda contributed significantly to the racial riots of 1969. The Special Position has been placed under the protection of the Sedition Act. The authorities must act on those questioning Article 153 of the Constitution and haul in those concerned under the Sedition Act. This is necessary in view of increasing racial polarisation in the past several years. This is important in order to avoid another racial riot like 13 May 1969.
Tuan Admin,
Berkenaan dengan kemasukan ‘smart student’ ke universiti-universiti mealui pencapaian banyak ‘A’, ianya tiada guna sekiranya pelajar tersebut kurang jati diri. Maksud saya, sekiranya segala usahanya selama kini hanya tertumpu untuk mendapatkan ‘A’ dlm peperiksaan, saya rasa, pelajar tersebut akan lebih mirip kepada sebuah robot. Contohnya, kalkulator akan lebih pantas mengira dari seorang manusia, tapi adakah kalkulator itu boleh dikatakan lebih ‘smart’ dari seorang manusia?
Saya rasa sistem endidikan kita sekarang ini tidak bersifat menyeluruh. Ia hanya tertumpu semata-mata kearah mendapat sebanyak mana ‘A’ yang mungkin.
Mana lebih patut utk ditawarkan masuk ke Universiti (dgn bantuan kerajaan, contohnya). Yang dapat 10A tetapi tidak begitu menghayati Rukun Negara & Perlembagaan atau yang dapat 5A 5B, tetapi seorang yang patriotik terhadap negaranya? Apa lagi sekiranya tempat itu ditawarkan kepada bekasan sekolah vernakular, yang sememangnya membelakangi penggunaan Bahasa Kebangsaan?
Ia, mungkin yg 10A itu cemerlang bila lulus nanti, tapi apa gunanya kalau dia berhijrah utk berkhidmat di negara lain? Dan yang dididik disekolah vernakular pula, bila besar menentang negara?
“Dimana bumi dipijak, disitu langit dijunjung”
Apabila puak2 subversif itu menuntut pembukaan UITM/MRSM/SBP kepada semua, mereka sangka ia akan menguntungkan mereka. Di situlah sebenenarnya terletak “syok sendiri” mereka, kerana saya sangat bersetuju dengan pendapat penulis Sinatra_Z bahawa kebanyakkan pelajar yang mendapat Dean’s List dan anugerah2 akademik di IPT sebenarnya adalah pelajar Melayu. Dan inipun setelah sistem meritokrasi dilaksanakan di universiti2! Bahkan saban tahun ketika keputusan SPM diumumkan, pelajar2 Melayu dari Sekolah Kebangsaan-lah yang menonjol, bukannya mereka dari yang Sekolah2 Jenis Kebangsaan. Jelaslah bahawa kepercayaan bahawa sistem pendidikan SJK dan graduan mereka adalah lebih baik, sebenarnya adalah keyakinan palsu dek propaganda sang cauvinis!
Jadi jika kita ada Pelajar A yang mendapat 10A dan fasih berbahasa Melayu, dan Pelajar B yang juga ada 10A tapi lintang pukang BM-nya dek didikan SJK, lebih elok diutamakan Pelajar A untuk kemasukkan ke IPT. Sekurang2nya wang rakyat akan dibelanjakan ke arah memelihara elemen-elemen keharmonian kaum, bukan menenatkan lagi polarisasi kaum yg semakin ketara di IPT2.
Glaswegian,
Prestasi cemerlang penuntut-penuntut Melayu semangkin bertambah dan adalah dibanggakan. Amat banyak berbeza dari zaman dimana jenis makanan (diet) kaum Melayu tidak mendorong kapada kesihatan fisikal dan pemikiran, terutamanya diluar bandar, sebelom berbagai kemudahan diadakan bagi menaikkan taraf hidup dan pengtahuan mereka. Kaum Melayu masih lagi kekurangan dalam berbagai hal, termasuk keupayaan membeli komputer atau membayar perkhidmatan internet untuk mengambil faedah dari alam citra. Tetapi semangkin bertambah Melayu yang terpelajar yang sedarkan keadaan dan mahu bersuara dialam citra dan sebagainya – mereka yang mahu “stand up, speak up and be counted”. Ini juga membanggakan dan amat digalakkan.
SJK Cina selalu dikatakan menggunakan “Rote system of learning”, mengulang kata-kata guru, menghafal apa yang dibaca seolah olah membuta tuli. Tambahan pula terlalu banyak mata pelajaran yang diikuti. Bahasa sahaja ada tiga: Mandarin, Bahasa Malaysian dan Inggeris. Selalu juga terbaca rungutan diatas melampau banyak kerja rumah diberi. Maka cemerlangan mereka mungkin ada dari segi memperolehi banyak A. Tapi dari segi daya memikir dan luas pandangan adalah disangkal. Termasuk pandangan terhadap tanggung jawab sebagai warga negara, ta’at setia, hormat kapada dan kesanggupan hidup dengan Perlembagaan negara sepenuhnya. Ciri-ciri yang menyumbang kapada keharmonian kaum dan persepaduan negara.
Semerah Padi ,
Maka itulah yang dibayangkan dibawah cadangan Satu Sekolah Untuk Semua (SSS), dimana Kerajaan menjalankan suatu kajian mendalam keatas sistem pelajaran yang ada sekarang ini, iaitu sistem sekolah kebangsaan dan sekolah vernakular.
Kajian tersebut boleh mengenal pasti segala masalah, kelemahan dan kekuatan sistem pelajaran sekarang ini dan mengesyurkan cara-cara mengatasi masalah yang dikenal pasti, mengnenepikan kelemahan dan mengukuhkan kekuatan sistem yang ada itu. Kajian itu mesti berdasarkan matlamat sistem pelajaran negara. Perkara menimbulkan rakyat yang ta’at setia, menghormati dan mengikuti Perlembagaan negara mesti dijadikan satu dari matlamat besar sistem pelajaran negara.
Dengan itu kriteria pengambilan penuntut-penuntut keuniversiti perlu dikaji semula, contohnya, dengan tidak hanya berdasarkan pencapaian gred A SPM dan sebagainya sahaja. Begitu juga kajian diatas sekolah vernakular. Mana yang baik perlu diteruskan, mana yang tidak ditukarkan. Sekolah vernakular boleh diteruskan tetapi perlu menggunakan Bahasa Malaysia sebagai bahasa pengantar supaya sejajar dengan Perkara 152 Perlembagaan negara.
Dear Sir,
On the article written by Muaz Omar. He wrote :-
“Attempts to blemish the social fabric is threatening to drive a wedge between the different races in the country and is growing at an alarming rate.
Have he ever stop for one moment why this is happening? Is it not “An action is EQUAL and opposite of its reaction?”
Would something like this surface if other races become Malaysians and not embraced so tightly to their chineseness, indianess etc. This is MALAYSIA, isnt it? Why find every possible angle to question and “pick up a fight” with the people of Tanah Melayu, the Malays & the Bumiputeras. If the “Lain-lain Kaum” do not wish to be Malaysians, how could you expect the Malays & Bumiputera to give up what were theirs in the land in the first place? The “Lain-lain kaum” do not whole heartedly “Mendaulatkan Bahasa Kebangsaan”, an example for a start? How about becoming whole heartedly Malaysians?
Ok, it is not crytal clear who is right or who is wrong here.
WHY NOT START to “breath” THE RUKUN NEGARA & PERLEMBAGAAN, day in and day out, and see which is the better path leading to building great nation called MALAYSIA? Certainly not by speaking MANDARIN or TAMIL in this land!
Kenn,
One wonders what exactly the writer means by “Attempts to blemish the social fabric”. The social fabric must be based on the Constitution of the country. It seems that those who do not respect the Constitution and do not live by it are the ones who blemish the social fabric of the country. Those who keep raising the matter of Article 153 on the Special Position of the Malays and the affirmative action under the New Economic Policy that was derived from it are the ones responsible. A few even go to the extent of questioning it. The so-called Malaysian Malaysia concept subverts Article 153. That Article is protected under the Sedition Act.
When no action was taken under the Sedition Act or under the ISA which is meant for subversive activities, Perkasa and the 76 Malay NGOs held a rally. And now the Melayu Bangkit rally which was postponed due to the Sibu by-election is rescheduled to take place. Your statement about action attracting a reaction is well in place.
The accusation of the “divisive nature” of such rallies should take into account of what “the others” have been doing all these while. In fact, since the start of the highly divisive Malaysian Malaysia sloganeering. The so-called “reliving the darkest period of the nation’s history” is designed to make Malaysians remember and try to avoid the hideousness of such actions that precipitated the racial riots of 13 May 1969. It’s to remind people not to find faults and all sorts of excuses to drive a wedge among the rakyat, including even accusing and propaganda-ing that the national unity courses organised by the National Civics Bureau (BTN) as “instilling fear and hatred among the different races blaming the May 13 incident on the non-Malays for being insensitive and greedy.”
There must be mutual respect among the various communities for racial harmony and national unity. That has to begin by accepting the Social Contract under which the non-Malays, who were stateless all those years under British rule and earlier, got citizenship, and the Malays got their Special Position written into the Constitution. There must be respect for the Constitution. All Malaysians need to know and acknowledge the history of this country and not grudge being called “pendatang” by one politician that was exploited and also propaganda-ised by other politicians.
Discrimination exists on both sides of the divide, says writer No. 1. In the civil service where there is a Malay majority (and which accounts for only 10% of the work force of the country), and in the private sector where the important posts are held by non-Malays. Now, how can this problem be minimised or resolved in order to bring peace and progress in the country?
The Civil service, especially the Administrative And Diplomatic Service (ADS), said to be the elite service in the entire country, is dominated by the Malays. Complaints have been heard with varying reliability of supporting facts and proofs, of missed promotions and less significant job assignments, etc. These have been the carry over of the British colonial service – the elite and glorified Malayan Civil Service (MCS). Before the advent of rampant Datoships, having an MCS title to one’s name was the pride of the day. Not quite equivalent to the British Rajs of India, the MCS guys stayed in huge bungalows in Taman Perdana and the nearby hills and dined at the then prestigious Lake Club and Selangor Club to the envy of colonial subjects, independent Malayans and, later, Malaysians.
However, there have been rules, regulations, procedures, laws and by-laws devised and incorporated since those MCS officers of British colonial times. The Public Services Department has been responsible for the proper implementation and observation of all the myriad of rules and regulations. Subjected to various disciplinary committees, Promotion Boards and the like. I believe that by and large they have been properly observed and implemented. Those comments that include even hitting at the Bureau Tata Negara national unity courses are unjustified and are strongly politically motivated. They should be disregarded.
The uniformed services like the Police, the Army, the Navy and the Air Force are generally shunned by the non-Malays. The number of generals, superintendents and commissioners appointed among them over the years have been more than proportionate to non-Malay presence in those services. Clearly, we cannot have more generals than the proportionate number of soldiers.
The privately-owned banks, corporations, manufacturing and trading houses, etc, do carry out discrimination of various kinds, as the writer pointed out. There the rules and regulations have not been codified and fine-tuned like they have been in the civil service. It’s a lot at the discretion of the Supervisors, Managers and Directors. Summary judgments, hardly any disciplinary committees and promotion boards. Many have the sole “right of hire and fire”. Who suffers more out of discrimination etc among the races in the civil service compared to the private sector is very arguable.
Now one hears of calls for more positions to non-Malays in the civil service. Does one hear from those making such calls an offer of the same for Malays in the private sector? There must be a quid pro quo. Like citizenship for the non-Malays and Special Position for the Malays at independence. Then there will be a valid basis for togetherness, harmony, unity and progress in the country.
Maju,
There must be reasonableness among all Malaysians. There must be the spirit of give and take, a two-way street for the development of harmonious relations. The economically advanced should not grudge the assistance given to the disadvantaged to catch up a little. Those having the majority posts in the various professional jobs in the country should give way and not impede attempts at giving more of the new posts to the disadvantaged lot. After all, it has never been a case of robbing the rich to give the poor or sacking one professional and giving his job to someone from the disadvantaged lot. It’s from the enlarged economic pie, from new opportunities created in the country.
Higher intake of non-Malays into the civil service may be based on a corresponding intake of Malays in the Chinese-owned banks, manufacturing and trading concerns, though it would be difficult to implement such a basis as the employers of private entities are varied. However, up to now, there appears to be not a word from the association of big Chinese businesses on opening up opportunities in their organisations to Malays and others. They also have not been heard to comment on the “Mandarin speaking only” job advertisements that have been criticised in the newspapers and elsewhere, especially in view of Bahasa Malaysia being the National Language of the country.
The rationale and justification for affirmative action and for reasonableness and two-way traffic among the various communities in the country have been stated every so often in this blog. Respect and abiding by the Constitution is necessary for harmony and progress in the country.
I really like this blog. Please continue the great work. Regards!!!
hari,
We are encouraged by your liking this blog. We will endeavour to do the best we can, always.
The problems in this country are multifarious. Perhaps more complex than in other countries because of our multi-racial composition. All Malaysians must try to do their bit in preserving harmony and bringing about lasting unity and prosperity in the country.
The Muaz Omar man goes to town walloping what he calls “the Malay Agenda”. Wonder what agenda he is on.
He listens not to what Tun Dr Mahathir said – “I feel that if we forget our history (racial riots – ed.) then we will repeat this history”. TDM has 22 years of experience in running the country. Muaz of course would pooh-pooh the Elder Statesman. Repeat: wonder what agenda Muaz is on.
He says the nation needs closure from the episode of May 13 racial riots and does not need to relive the past. He says lessons have to be learnt but scare-mongers have to be done away. Is he not contradicting himself there? What is he trying to say? “Done away with”? Pretty strong words for a man wanting closure.
He probably supports the so-called Malaysian Malaysia non-respecting- Constitution Article 153 anarchists and subversives. He probably believes that the Malays – unlike him – would forever be happy living in this country with just 18% corporate wealth, which might slide down in an open competition on an uneven playing field. He probably is even blinded of that fact in his zealousness of “doing away” with “doomsayers and soothsayers”.
Then he says it – “Umno has conveniently chastised DAP as the perpetrator of the bloody event and the big win scored by the party in the last general election has been deemed as a signal of the deteriorating of the Malays’ political power.” It is now clear which agenda he is on.
It is now clear that he belongs to the anarchistic group that wants to re-write the history of this country when he talks of UMNO “conditioning the Malays .. to convince the Malays that this land belongs to them with the other races being conveniently labelled as immigrants (pendatang)”. Some people here and elsewhere have pointed out that the Malays have been going in and out of this Malay Archipelago for some 6,000 years, man. They would advise you to read the book, “The Malay Civilisation”, published by The Historical Society of Malaysia, 2007.
It doesn’t take brainwashing and indoctrination for the Malays to know their roots and to want to protect and promote their interests in the face of ungrateful and selfish people who keep asking for more, more and more. And people wanting vernacular schools when using Mandarin and Tamil as the medium of instruction in schools is clearly against the Constitution. On the other hand, it does appear that this Muaz Omar has been brainwashed and indoctrinated to the extent of forgetting and forsaking his own roots – without even realising that the chauvinistic DAP fellows are strongly sticking to theirs. This poor, lost soul. He has abandoned his race when others with him have adamantly not.
But then again, he could be a non-Malay, masquerading as a Malay. There are all sorts of dirty tactics used in blogosphere these days,
I am all for unity and the fostering of a harmonious and united Malaysia but certainly not the way this Muaz fellow is trying to propagate. As has been pointed out by others, he has to realise that in order for “the non-Malays to feel appreciated” in this land, they need to fully accept the Social Contract, respect and live by the Constitution of the country, including the Malay Special Position, which the British said in their Parliament has been there “since day one”. No two-ways about that.
Nono,
The fault, dear friend (ed.), lies not in the stars but in ourselves that we are underlings – William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar.
Indeed, in expressing nationalist sentiments and desiring independence from British rule, then Malayans formed themselves into political parties along racial lines. The British, having had no legacy of giving independence to a multi-racial population at that time (the disaster in India leading to the creation of Pakistan was based on religious lines), allowed the registration of such parties. The attempt to forge unity by forming an alliance of racial political parties has yet to prove effective in bringing cohesion and a truly Malaysian identity some 50 years on. Political parties that allow mullti-racial membership have also not been attractive to Malaysians in general for one reason or another.
Set up with the objective of promoting the rights and interests of members, such racial parties will necessarily be doing just that. Seen to be doing otherwise would incur the wrath of members. Then the phenomenon of money politics, corruption, cronyism and nepotism set in. On both sides of the political divide. Even secret societies, thuggery and gangsterism comes into the equation in certain instances. The net result is the lack of respect of and the non-abiding by the Constitution of the country fully.
We badly need leaders who are steadfast and brave enough to try and solve the problems boldly. Using the existing tools like the Sedition Act and the Internal Security Act, not to curb dissent but to bring in line those who do not respect and live by the Constitution. Including those bent on alienating themselves and insisting on the use of vernacular languages as the medium of instruction in schools – in contravention of Article 152 on Bahasa Malaysia as the National Language of the country.
Aysay man. Chinese population decline also want to blame on Malay kawin empat & banyak anak ha?
And blame “Mahathir, Utusan Malaysia and Perkasa … made a big noise at all in the first place”.
And blame “the Almighty or Buddha” oso?
And ask for “a foundation to protect species on the brink of extinction, including Chinese Malaysians!”
Terrible man, this Sin Chew kind of articles — mysinchew.com is Sin Chew isn’t it?
There are also those who are hell-bent on showing the utmost displeasure and to discourage the transmission of unity among and across the diverse ethnicity of the population.
Wander what makes such people ticks?
Dal,
There are several categories of those people. One is the seclusionist, self-alienating category that insists on the vernacular languages being the medium of schools despite Bahasa Malaysia being the National Language. What makes them tick is perhaps the delusionist grandeur of so-called exclusivity, like those claiming to be the only ones civilised in “the Middle Kingdom”, which delusion or myth was debunked by no less than eminent historian, Professor Wang Gung-wu, some years ago.
Another category is the anarchistic, everything-is-wrong-except-themselves, a lot residing in Penang now. This category will find any and every excuse to protest, demonstrate even illegally, accuse the Police of brutalities when flushed with water canons, accuse the MACC of responsibility over Teoh Beng Hock’s death when the cause of the death is not yet known until this very day. They also cohort with secret societies, thugs and gangsters (the Underworld) in the very premises of the Selangor State Government, as stated by one ADUN and one MP some months ago. They even support communist terrorist leader Chin Peng wanting to enter and die in Malaysia. What makes this category tick – it’s simply their propensity for dissent, for criticising, protesting and anything that causes disorder, weaken the government in power, believing that doing so would get them some power.
Yet another category is the people who say they feel insecure despite having control of the economy and possess enormous wealth etc, and say they want more power in order to feel more secure. And they appear not to think what the others feel – those who don’t have control over the economy and have only a little wealth and a small percentage among them qualified and registered in the professional fields.
A final category is the religious and other groups who appear to use politics to serve their own ends, mainly greed for power. Some who say Muslims who vote infidels would not go to Heaven yet themselves sleep on the same bed as the infidels now. It’s difficult to understand what makes them tick; one wonders if they understand it themselves.
Let us hope and pray that God will show them in the various categories the right path. One that leads to harmony and unity for the country.
Mengapa tak dikaji sebab sebenor deme beruduyun duyun ke Chinese Assembly Hall untuk peluang kerja dengan MACC tu? Bukan ke sebab ada udang disebalik batu. Udang besor besor pulaknya.
Tak berduyun ngejor peluang keja Polis atau Askar. Maalomlah keja MACC mengawas deme yang nak kasi duit. Boleh jadi peluang buat duit yang dikejor deme.
Woh la wei … wat you say …”Proponents of Malay Agenda has time and again use history, sentiments and emotions to heighten the siege mentality among the Malays” … wat u mean using sentiments and emotions … u never read books about 13 May riots ha … who used sentiments and emotions at Kampong Bahru that time ha …
U dont read history ha … or u want history to start from day you got citizenship only ha … I tink your name not really Muaz Omar la … Come, come, boy … be fair la … Melayu suffered so long you know … British wanted them to be only farmers and fishermen you know … don’t build enough schools, no English schools in kampongs, no help in business like for Chinese lor …
Kura,
Every community in this country has an agenda. We started on the journey to nationhood on the wrong footing. As stated by Nono above, our leaders before Merdeka formed political parties along racial lines. And the British, then as colonial masters, allowed them and had them registered. A party declared to be protecting and promoting the racial group’s interests has to pursue the declared purpose and objective. Agendas there will be by the various racial groups until eternity unless the situation is changed by brave and responsible leaders or changes by itself due to self or mutually destructive actions among the groups. We await brave and responsible leaders. Meanwhile, we do what we can to bring about harmony and unity in the country.
But what is important is the restraint in the pursuit of such agendas. There must be limits. There must be decorum, respect and reasonableness. There should not be any encroachment on any group’s rights and interests. All parties should be cautious and pursue their rights and interests based on the Constitution. And writers like the one you referred to should not use words like those quoted by you.
If we hope that the Chinese to open up their company to the Bumi and pay the same salary as their Chinese counterpart even with the same amount of work, we will wait for a long time and a solution that cannot work.
What we should do as a Bumi is to help Bumi’s business. If the Chinese doing business in Malaysia and their customer is mostly Bumi, then we are at fault because we help them to survive, why would we help someone who do not want to take Bumi as workers? Instead what we should do is to avoid company that treat Bumi like this, instead of waiting for government to introduce measures like that, why don’t we make a list like the halal list. A company that is intent to have only Chinese workers, or advertise Chinese only workers can be entered into this list and we as a Bumi should avoid doing business with this kind of company. Its so easy to get into the list, advertise Chinese only workers requirement, then you are in the list. We use our power as a consumer and Rakyat.
We should stop this nonsenses!!!!
koko,
Discrimination exists everywhere in the world and we cannot condone it. But helping Bumi businesses is not discrimination. It cannot and must not be looked at as discrimination. It’s helping those who deserve help. The Malays do not have a culture of doing business like the Chinese do. Yet the Malays need to succeed in business to improve themselves and to help reduce the economic imbalance so that it will help in promoting harmony and unity in the country.
The basis must be where the products or services are available, Malays should get them from Malay shops and businesses. Where qulaity of products and services are involved, discretion may be applied, hopefully in favour of the struggling Malay businesses. Reliability in providing services like house construction and renovation may be a problem but those in need of such services should apply their discretion and select carefully. Study the background of the contractors concerned, ask for referrals and check them with others.
Interested parties can even enquire at the relevant Malay contractors regulating agency like the one that registers and grants them classes for participating in Jabatan Kerja Raya tenders and contracts. Jabatan Kerja Raya and such agencies can provide the contact numbers and addresses of such agencies.
The Planet is over-populated, that’s why there are so many economic problem, diseases, famine, wars and suffering, We need to reduce the current population to 3 to 4 billion and maintain it until we can colonize other Planets
Samson,
Colonise the other planets and reduce the current population as you will but it must be done in acceptable ways. Not decimation through wars and other destructive or racist measures. Adolf Hitler tried but died and became hated throughout history for doing so. The scientists have been working on over-population, long-term sustenance of mankind and there has been no world war for 65 years now. Let’s keep on speaking for peace, goodwill and harmony and no racism throughout the world.
In Malaysia, we have to achieve a developed nation status. We need to do it without any quarter feeling left out, left behind or discriminated against. We need to define those words and understand the basis of our multi-racial existence since independence. So that who feels discriminated, feeling left out or left behind is properly identified. We need not rush to being fully developed. We need to do it in a rational manner that would ensure continued peace and harmony.
It has been repeatedly explained that there should be a bridging of the huge gap between the majority Malays and the 23% Chinese in terms of wealth and education. The Malays have felt marginalised and left out economically and educationally by the British colonial policies. It was the underlying cause of the racial riots of 1969. The New Economic Policy was aimed at reducing that gap. Perkasa asks that the NEP be continued in the New Economic Model. Let’s respect one another among the races. The Malays should not ask the others to leave the country for no rhyme or reason. The others should not call Perkasa and those supporting them racist.
Wars there will always be. It’s tolerable so long as they can be contained to localised or regional conflicts. Since World War II, there were the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Balkan War, the Iran Iraq War, the so-called Weapons of Mass Destruction or Getting-Rid-Of-Saddam Hussain Iraq War. A few million lives were lost. But it is far less than the billions you mention. In fact, it is not possible for population reduction via wars to the tune of billions. Unless a nuclear World War occurs. In which case it may mean the destruction of the entire mankind.
Perhaps we should concentrate on sustaining, conserving and widening the world food and other valuable resources. Even potable drinking water has its limits. Let’s concentrate on the renewable resources in terms of food and life amenities and reduce the renewable ones like producing children. Saying so may sound crude. But we need to face realities considering the problems you speak about.
UPDATED 7.23 PM: We regret that we replied thinking that your comment was under the latest post. Some minor adjustment in our reply may be necessary and may be done in due course.
raising end educating kids are big responsibility reqiring money and resources from parents. If you have 38 kids and less educated mothers, how can you compete with these minority who work harder and concentrating more on quality than quantity?
I have read so many posts concerning the blogger lovers but this paragraph is in fact a good paragraph, keep it up.