YOURSAY | ‘What is important is justice (be it legal or social), equality, and fairness.’
In Malaysia, racism infects all groups
Meerkat: In the 60s, when I was a teenager, I lived in a "Chinese" area. Across the railway line was the Pudu Jail and the wardens were largely Malays.
We, as kids, tended to mix with kids our own race. We live near one another. And have lots in common. Was that racism? I think not.
I don't apologise for mixing with people of my race. It's just circumstances. When we had the opportunity, we forged strong friendships with the Malay boys across the railway line, too. Individually and as a whole.
We played football against one another - communal teams if you like. Yet we joined forces, picked the best of us and played against "outside" teams. Now, both Malays and Chinese were then considered "inside."
There were many other ways we exchanged cultural diversities. The adults were the same, too. We knew we were different but we embraced (not just tolerated) our differences.
The rot set in when the politicians became racist and the government machinery were skewed. Resentment started because of that.
MVA: Malaysiakini columnist Fa Abdul’s article is a good overview of the ‘racism’ in Malaysia. But to imply that only Muslims teach their young about religion, good and bad, and sins is certainly not right.
All responsible parents teach their kids to be god-fearing. And there are irresponsible parents in all races and religions.
Hopelessly: Once again, it seems Fa got confused by the many aspects of the issues. What is important is justice (be it legal or social), equality, and fairness.
I, for one, would not be too quick to judge someone as being racist due to one’s personal preference, even though there can be a very fine line.
So instead of complaining everyone is racist, Fa should focus on the broken justice system, i.e. the judges who imposed inadequate sentences, which effectively encourage the convicted and others to commit offences without much worry.
Now, if I hate nasi lemak, does it make me a racist?
ABC123: If only the Chinese think Malays are lazy and slow-witted then, yes, I agree Chinese are racist.
But Indians, Iban, Kadazan, Indonesians, Nepalese, Bangladeshis, Africans, Americans, British, Australians, French, Italians, Germans, and other Europeans... all also think Malays are lazy and slow-witted. So, is it racism by the Chinese?
Or all the other races and nationalities are wrong and all suffer from the same blindness coincidentally and only the Malays are correct? Or should the Malays look at themselves and self-evaluate?
You say Chinese only want to hire Chinese. Do you know that Indians and Caucasians also prefer to hire Chinese over Malays?
In fact, even Malays prefer to hire Chinese and Indians for key technical roles which require brains and capability, but they keep the management roles and easy rank-and-file roles for Malays.
David Dass: ABC123, it is such attitudes that hold us back. Your views are clearly racist and untrue. And such views will create a backlash.
A preference to marry a person of one's race, religion and culture should not be seen as a racism. That is quite natural and quite understandable. Looking at people of another race as inferior because of colour and other characteristics that one attributes to a person of a different religion, culture and race is racism.
Misconceptions, stereotyping and generalisations rule. Some years ago, an Englishman friend of mine was asked to conduct a survey of attitudes of educated middle-class Malaysians to one another. I do not know how wide and comprehensive the survey was. But the results were interesting.
Each viewed the other in negative terms. In conversations within communities, the reference to other communities was often in derogatory terms. The Indian community was separated by language and location of origin from India. And Indians were conscious of colour and caste differentiation.
But generally, among all communities, money was the ultimate measure of a person’s worth. Class was measured by money and not necessarily by behaviour and education.
It is difficult to explain the reaction to the cheating of the bogus dentist. I dread to think what kind of damage and pain she would have inflicted.
The public must have confidence in the standards we have in our educational system. They must have the comfort of knowing that the doctors and dentists and other professionals who minister to them and who are responsible for the services and structures we use on a daily basis are well-trained and competent.
Our exams must be race-neutral and admissions to universities must be only to those who are capable of benefiting from the education they receive. Not everyone is made for academic studies. Some are better suited for vocational or skills training.
Not Convinced: No one race is born stupid or lazy. The white colonialists once viewed Asians as such. But look at where we are today.
All races are capable of achieving greatness, and make a contribution to the world, if given the opportunity. And that is why excellence in education is important.
One need not look far for examples – compare the Singaporean or Indonesian Malays with Malaysian Malays.
Tony Soprano: In my long intercultural experience, I am also flawed and given to occasional intolerant outbursts (especially when I was working in Saudi Arabia).
But IMHO (in my humble opinion), visceral racism is often confused with what I'd call cultural intolerance. For example, Koreans, Japanese and Chinese are not particularly distinct in appearance as compared to black vs white or Malay vs Chinese.
But some outsiders may admire the Japanese, for example, while offering the Koreans nothing but negative stereotypes. That's not really racism. It's a cultural intolerance.
I had a Chinese wife but I would never marry a Japanese woman, having lived in Japan previously for four years. That's a cultural choice, not a racist one.
Many Westerners denigrate other Western groups in various ways. Forget about the obvious European vs American prejudices - Luxembourgers used to look down on Belgians and call them derogatory names, for example.
And while I dislike most religions, it's not about race, since some of the pain-in-the-neck Muslims are Caucasian converts. Only when the negative stereotypes and ignorant assumptions about other groups arise because of their appearance, is it truly racism.
Abasir: In that Bumiputera-only university we know, a class of students in the early 70s was asked what they would do if any of them spotted someone cheating during an examination.
Anonymously-written responses were requested which, when collated, revealed that no one would report the cheating. Later, when asked why, the answer was equally revealing – ‘kesian dia’ (pity him/her).
The fake dentist and her sympathisers, like those students, see nothing wrong maybe because there is no "Jakim-ised" injunction against such wrongdoing.
ZhuGeLiang: The bogus dentist, Nur Farahanis Ezzaty Adli, broke the law and should be punished as nobody should be above the law. But the law must be fair and just.
As one of the commenters said, "Nobody was hurt." On the contrary, she did a good job otherwise her business would not be booming. Isn't a jail sentence a bit too harsh? Wouldn't a fine and warning be sufficient?
She should be given a second chance, especially when she is still so young. A jail sentence will destroy her future.
And I am a Chinese. So, what Fa said is not necessarily true. The truth is some people are more racist than others, and these people cannot see right from wrong.
Anonymous 2475091498015598: In the 60s and 70s, the pupils in school were not conscious of racial differences and got along fine. Furthermore, the parents did not teach or influence the minds of the young ones with a "us versus them" mentality.
The polarisation emerged when some ultras wanted to implement the so-called affirmative policies. Well, the move was noble and timely to remedy the income and living standard gap among the various races. But the zeal was too rapacious that it became discriminatory, to put it mildly.
All this while, religion was a distant factor in deepening the disunity. Now this force is aggressive and brazenly creating an even greater divide. The main players, politicians, who created this monster must take control and save this blessed country.
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