.: ShaolinTiger - Kung-Fu Geekery :.

Well my last post Racial Bias in Malaysia and Racism in General.. caused quite a stir, reaching almost 70 comments, many of which are very high quality. Thus I vote myself for PPS Ping of the year seen as though it's that time on the calendar! (PPS Second Birthday). BTW seen as though I can't actually vote for myself, you can all vote for me instead!

So this post is a continuation of the previous topic, a summary of comments and discussions that sprouted elsewhere as 60+ comments is a little to much for most people to read, as a lot of them are very long and involved, thanks to everyone who took the time to comment properly and give their input, and thanks also for all the praise, it's good to be appreciated. I have read all of the comments in full and replied to those where I had something else to add, there are many interesting points and I believe comments from all of the ethnic groups within Malaysia so it gives a good representation of the current state of affairs.

Some people seemed to think I was saying that Malays are naturally dumb or something, that definately wasn't my intention and it shouldn't be interpreted as such, for my reply to one comment I shall quote myself..

Actually I never said Malays were stupid or untilligent, they just don't have to work hard, so why would they?

I wouldn't if I was in the same situation, why not take advantage of it? That's the smart thing to do. The fact is it fucks up the country, and yes many of the Malays I get to work with are dumb, why cos if you read the whole article you'd see:

Most of the talented people in the country leave, because of this exact problem.

The hard working, smart people don't benefit proportionally in Malaysia as they should, so they leave, this includes Malays along with the other races. There is no meritocracy, I agree it's easier for a Malay to rise to the upper echelons, but that's generally for the public sector, not the private sector. There is a still a seperation.

Some points made about change or the hope of change..

Nicely written by KY:

Racial tensions will solve itself in a few generations, provided religious freedom is granted.

The system was in place primarily to diffuse tension between the difference races by archiving some sort of financial and educational equality. In that sense, it is quite a success, I'm quite sure many of us wouldn't want to have the situation like Philipines, Indonesia, or Thailand; where you either completely lose your racial identify, or you face ridiculous racial treatment in the society, take your pick.

Time has changed and the system is outdated, I agree with you. It is mostly due to the greed of the power that be to maximize their profit, hence we are staying in status quo.

With the recent change of administration, I am hoping we are slowly seeing the beginning to and end of this... I really hope to.

Another observation I made is that the Malays outside KL seem a lot more hard-working than those in KL, that's from my personal experience, those in KL seem more indoctrinated in the system and reliant upon the benefits they receive.

A good point from Belacan:

in one part of my group, i find many smart and hardworking malay blokes but in another part of the group, you find people who have been sitting there and get gaji buta. that's why my boss, who is a Malay, sent people like me to kick some asses.

this is a social thingy. i have been told by a few pro-umno malay youths that the time has come to wake up his fellow folks, but need to thread carefully.

first of all, let's start by eradicating poverty irrespective of race. the implementors should not just focus on the malay poor. what about the chinese, indian and orang asli poor? altho i am generalising, but sadly, i think public perception is as such.

Eloquently put from YP, questions that need to be answered:

I guess the main reason the special rights was put into place is no longer valid these days. There's racial harmony in the country (as compared to the 1950s) and the poverty gap between Malays and non-Malays is much smaller now.

Do the non-Malays want these rights in place? Do the Malays themselves want these rights in place? I'm sure if you'll get a mixture of different answers (both yes and no) from both groups. Ideas like keeping people happy, wanting the extra edge.. or ideas like fighting for equality or not wanting one's abilities to be undermined just because one has special rights...

Is there a need for special rights to be in place in this time and day? Yes.. because the non-Malay bumis (who, I believe are actually classified differently from the Malays) still need it.. but do they get as easy access to it?

Something needs to be done, but I doubt our government will do anything in the near future. The seat of power is something too precious to risk.

The truth of human nature from tigerjoe:

My main argument in having the NEP phased out is that what was once provided as a privilege, is now seen by so many as an entitlement. That is just plain wrong, as it gives clear indication that specific privileges are being taken for granted.

Something given for free will have no value to the recipient; unless they always remember that it is given as a gift. When one remembers, then only will one place a value on that gift. The day we forget is the day we take the gift for granted, and fail to treat our gifts properly.

Very well worded opinion from dawg:

Fantastic post mate! You certainly hit the nail on the head.

I can't help but agree with your assertion that the anachronistic racial policies currently enforced by the government is leading the country down the road of utter ruin.

To gain that valuable piece of insight one only has to look at the state of Malaysian society today. The education system is a disgrace. The civil service is irredeemably corrupt.
The government-backed oligarchies are massively inefficient and utterly hopeless in the face of free competition due to suffocating protectionism. And to what end? That the political parties may retain the support of the grass roots? That the politicians, with their vested interest in the status quo, may continue to reap without sowing?

Racially -polarised politcs should not have to be a part of the equation of power any longer. It is detrimental to the holistic development of the society as a whole and it will only perpetuate the blight of sectarianism in our midst. Yet we still find our supposed betters delivering the same populist rhetoric and pandering to the same racist tendencies in order to maintain their respective bases of power. And thus we find education, the only viable antidote to racism, prostituted on the altar of power in the name of satisfying those racist tendencies and thereby perpetuating the vicious cycle of racism electing racism! Such is the sorry state of Malaysian politics.

I was born a Malaysian and I will die a Malaysian. Malaysia is more of a homeland to me than either China or India ever will be. So why am I still being treated like a barely tolerated outsider in my own country, my rodina?

Shao, I salute thee for bringing this matter to light.

Another nice point here from YP:

We see unhappy non-Malays seeking to leave the country. We see Malaysians opting to stay and work overseas. We see Malaysians sending their children to other countries to study and telling them to settle down there. The idea is simple, Malaysians don't mind being treated as second class citizens elsewhere, but definitly not in their own country. From the other side of the matter, we see Malays enjoying the rights but yet, there are groups of Malays wishing that these rights not be in place anymore... simply because no matter what they do, their success is always attributed to their race and the special rights they are accorded. I wonder if this is fair to them. As in every race, there are the more capable people and the less capable... so in a way, I feel that the whole idea of having special rights is undermining the capability of our Malay counterparts.

I believe the fundemental flaw with the system is it's based on 'Bumi' status, not anything else, Chinese can be poor too, so can Indians, and the other minorities (Iban, Kadazan, Melanau), which in part are Second class bumi's. Which again, brings about more inequality..

I also reinforce again it's a social problem, kids are given their ideals mainly by their parents, and later in their lifes by teachers and peers..If Malay familes at home put down Chinese for various reasons, and Chinese families at home put down Malays for whatever reasons the new generations will continue to have the same resentment against the other races.

Some of these issues are covered in Sepet for example where orkid get scholarship for getting 5As in her SPM while Mr. Sepet gets nothing for getting 7As in his SPM. Sadly this is a direct relation to reality. Someone mentioned about the 5% discounts, that's not the major issue here, mainly it's the lack of equality or even meritocracy in the education system, the lack of fairness in government projects (Tenders are not accepted on price, quality, experience or ability of the company to do the job in a professional manner, they are awarded to family or friends).

From a Sarawakian Bumiputera:

I dislike the preferential treatment that us Bumiputeras are entitled to. Most of the time, whoever's in charge translate bumiputeras into 'Malays', while conviniently leaving out the non-Malays bumiputeras. These type of people are also the ones that are denying permit to open new temples and churches. The preferential treatment made us lazy. Even when we didn't study hard, there will be an opening in the university for us. Even when we didn't have the proper qualifications, there will be work for us. This made us lazier by the day. While I feel that it is justified in 1957, I don't think it has a bearing in the 21st century where you have to work hard, by yourself, to succeed.

Is the problem religious? Racial? Social? Cultural? So many factors to take into consideration, the general consensus is however it should be discussed, it should be solved and people shouldlook into positive reform of the government policies with a light to improving disparity between races (Both in economic terms and relating to education).

Someone else mentioned the line:

It's ok the Chinese are rich, they can afford to pay for their kids to study overseas

But it's not like they have a choice is it? And many are not rich, they forgo new cars or moving to a bigger house to sponsor their kids to study overseas, I wouldn't consider that rich, and often they can only afford to send one of their children, not all.

Many Malaysia Chinese students also end up with personal bonds for 100,000RM to a private company or to the civil service (teachers taking TESOL overseas for example), which they have to work out due to lack of options, lack of money from their parents and lack of government sponsorship..

I can give a real world example that I encountered this week, and things in the same vein through-out this project..This is not intended to be racist, it's just what I've experienced and demonstrates the flaws in the system and the attitudes it promotes.

There are 9 critical business processes, 2 headed by Chinese, 1 by Indian and 6 by Malay

When we ask for information required for our project from these departments:

• The Chinese heads often call us to clarify exactly what we want
• They also give us complete answers and more information than we require thus making our job easier
• The Indian head also provides full information and a little more than required
• One of the Malay heads gives good information, but sometimes has to be pushed to submit
• 3 of the Malay deparments give adequate information and have to be pushed to submit
• The other 2 rarely respond and we have to escalate the issue, then we get minimal information

There was an interesting article today too about the Religious issue and PAS in particular..

So a group of younger candidates from urban professional backgrounds is trying to put its stamp on the party. (PAS)

They want to rebrand it as one that is capable of managing effectively a dynamic modern economy, albeit running it in accordance with Islamic principles.

However, they are unlikely to be able to dismantle the biggest hurdle to the party winning power - its insistence on an Islamic state.

That is an anathema to the more than 40% of Malaysians who follow religions other than Islam, and it is likely to stall efforts to unite Pas with the country's other opposition parties - vital if they are to reduce, let alone overturn, the government's huge parliamentary majority.

Source: BBC News

Some guy behind me just noticed me typing and asked about my blog, I wonder if he'll read it

Anyway I think that's enough about this topic for the moment, thanks for the great discussion everyone.

First up I believe intrinsically everyone is racist to some degree, every single person. It's human nature, people fear what is different from them and are generally most comfortable with their own 'kind'. Granted it varies hugely (From Nazis and skinheads with pure hatred for non Arians to Positive racism). I mean here's an example, you would agree that Africans/Carribeans/African-Americans are the best atheletes in the world right? Well it's true, they are, but that's a racial stereotype, and well it just happens to be true, and yes it's a positive thing, but it's still a judgement based on race, thus racist. Positive racism in some cases however as gone so far, that is another rant for another day tho..

People of every race tend to whine about other races, it's normal. Whites in UK moan about pakistanis, eastern europeans, the french, the germans and vice versa.

When I was in UK I had Chinese, Pakistani, Bengali, Black and Burmese friends, so I tasted many sides of the equation.

There is a big problem with racism in Malaysia, it's mostly in the sense of positive racism and the 'Bumi' status (cheaper houses, lower interest rates, easier acamedic lives and so on)..

Malay folks get many easy breaks and advantages solely based on their race, which in turn makes them lazier as they aren't required to work so hard as the other races to acheive the same thing. The sad thing is the policy was a good one initially, it's just too out of date now and it's doing more bad than good..

Jordan Macvay also wrote something interesting about this called Malaysia's Two Solitudes, he also has a leg in each culture, being married to a Malay lady and working mostly with Chinese.

Pick Yin also followed up on this..

It's mostly like an open secret, it's always discussed, but never openly, always without the same racial group.

Here also I have a diversity of friends, Malay, Baba, Nyonya, Chinese, Sino-Kadazan and Indian (Both Indian Indian and local Indian), so I also get to hear many sides of the story...

There has also been books about the issue, the most recent one being The Chinese Dilemma, in part this book is a follow up or revisit of Mahatir's famous first work The Malay Dilemma..

The power of the Chinese is exaggerated and the laziness of the Malays is overrated, they still both exist in pockets but apparently the field is more even nowdays..

What sparked this off anyway? Hmm shall I just cuss everyone?

Some dude in this office eating like he's a third world tree ape, wtf man, no one wants see your half digested food, shut your mouth when you eat and stop smacking your lips. I don't know why it just causes the rage to rise in me and I start mumbling insults under my breath and feel like punching the guy in the face.

Anyway...I find a lot of Malays in the business world arrogant, and yet they have nothing to be arrogant about, they have no skills, the work they produce is poor, they are in the position due to a family tie, someone they know, and mostly because of their race. Do they realise this? And do they care?

The Tidak Apa attitude still prevails, mostly born from the all the easy breaks the Bumi's get, from the education system, through into the work place. The civil service in Malaysia is a joke and many mostly Malay companies are the same, they work short hours, do little work and when you expect them to do some work they do everything to get out of it. Mostly it's not their fault, it's the systems fault, the government, the establishment, the society, the culture...not the individual, but every individual could work to change it, but due to the problem itself, they wont.

An example is customer service in Malaysia, it's still non-existent, it's still secondary, take the money first, fuck the service, fuck the return business. The big companies are monopolies here so they don't care..I will say however, Maxis customer service is getting pretty good.

The work place is still fairly segregated too, most big companies in Malaysia are Malay..

Like where I am now, this floor has 0 Chinese, >5 indians and 1 matt salleh (me)..The whole company from what I've seen so far (1000+ employees) has less than 10 chinese, probably less than 50 indians, the rest Malay.

Look at all the small start up companies, those fighting for business, those people making money, those people taking risks, are any of those companies Malay companies? Very, very few...they are mostly Chinese and Indian.

The Malay start-ups only start up when they can get a lucrative government contract that they don't have to work hard on through a contact. It's like the way tenders and proposals are done here for the big companies, generally it's who you know, or how much you bribe, not who does the best work and has the skillset for the job (Look at the MRR2). This is changing somewhat, but the whole system still stinks, and it's actually bad for the country..

Most of the talented people in the country leave, because of this exact problem, the smart Malays have two options, they can use their skills abroad, do something interesting, exciting, innovative, or stay in Malayia, learn to abuse the system and their family ties and make shit loads of money.

Many of the late twenties Chinese also go overseas to earn more, and have qualms about coming back, an interesting E-mail was posted on Jeff Ooi's blog recently.

The reasons keeping Malaysians away from Malaysia..

As I read all this, I tremble with fear. I love my country and long to return. I am willing to take a 70% pay cut. I am willing to face a demotion. I honestly want to contribute my expertise in complex financial services and capital markets. But really, is there a future for me, for my children and for their children? I am truly frightened.

I can deal with the lack of democracy, the lack of press freedom, the ISA, our inefficient and bureaucratic civil service, our awful manners and even a little corruption. But I cannot deal with racism in my homeland.

There are also cases like Dr Gomez having no reason to return to Malaysia because of stupid short sighted views.

The lack of meritocracy in the Malaysian education system is frightening, the problem is it creates more disparity and continues into the work place..

The Chinese and Indians have to work much harder to get the same results, by doing this they are also improving themselves, the Malays however can sit back a bit so when they both reach the corporate world, even tho the non Bumi's have been at a disadvantage, they actually end up better of, so in the end the system is hurting everyone.

Anothere interesting article from Nicster Rants, I agree with his sentiment and I do agree though the people that run away and come back now and then to moan about how crappy things are in Malaysia should just shut the fuck up and go back wherever it is they think is so wonderful seen as though they don't have the balls to stay in Malaysia and try and change things for the better. There are some interesting comments on the post.

I made all these observations because I care about Malaysia and want to improve, my situation is fine pretty much, so it's not for personal gain, I chose to live in Malaysia so I want it to be a better place..

I think that's enough for today...I shall let you digest this first.

*EDIT*

Read worthy related posts I've since found:

TV Smith - Stereotyping
Verbal Gurgle - Maligned Malay
Ixonia - Racism & Bigotry in Malaysia

They are on the rise..there have been a few fatalities too..people stabbed to death, beaten into a coma and so on.

There are adverts on the radio too about ending up in prison because of road rage, must be getting serious.

Even our own Kimberly de Cun kena before..

I have a bit of rage now and then, I get pissed with those people hogging the express lane, like I wrote about previously...

Or those Mercedes with permanently 'broken' indicator bulbs..

Those moto's that NEVER have working back lights, I mean wtf, the bulb costs like 50 cents.

Mac also encountered a situation, with polis some more..

Do you guys suffer from road rage? Or have experienced the other side before? (Been followed/tailed/attacked?)

I'll outline one situation I recall from personal experience.

I was driving along the LDP towards SS2 from Sri Damansara on the express lane, not going particularly fast or weaving in and out of lanes..

I came up behind a car going considerably slower than myself, probably 80km/h to my 110km/h so I slowed down (middle lane was empty so he could have pulled in to let me pass) but he didn't, so I changed to the middle lane to go past (probably gave him the finger too I can't remember).

Anyway little did I know there was a moto rider riding on my rear quarter panel (one of the blind spots), literally, so when I pulled in the middle lane I gave him a nudge.

I checked back and he was fine so I continued my journey and exited at TTDI, I saw the moto flying up behind me and thought hmmm....maybe he wants something..

So anyway I carried on, then I noticed him riding along side me shaking his fist at me furiously like a rabid chimpanzee.

I proceeded on not wanting to have to get out of the car and kick the shit out of him, but then the inevitable happened, I reached a red light..

So I stopped, he squealed to a halt next to my car and started hammering the window.

So I wound down my window and the conversation began..

Me: Wassup?
Guy (Jabbering at 100 words per minute): Blah blah, almost killed me, blah blah idiot driver, blah blah, police, blah blah, arrest you blah blah, idiot, blah blah *shakes fist more*
Me: What you talking about?
Guy: I'm gonna make police report about you
Me: (Peers out the window, looks the bike up and down, checks guy out) Are you hurt?
Guy: No..
Me: Is your bike damaged?
Guy: No..
Me: So what the hell are you going to report?
Guy:.....*dumbfucked silence*...
Me: *Smiles*
Guy: (Waves his fist some more) I know you, I'll see you around

Then he proceeded to speed off, scary eh, he'll see me around 0_o

Anyway saw some good guidelines from from an OSAC (Overseas Security Advisory Council) report.

The following practices and tips can be used to avoid becoming a victim of road rage. Please share this security notice with your family:

* Avoid eye contact and if you need to use your horn, do it sparingly
* Get out of the way. Even if the other guy is speeding, it's safest to not make a point by staying in your lane.
* If someone is following you after an on-the-road encounter, drive to a public place or the nearest police station.
* Keep your doors and windows locked at all times.
* If you are involved in an accident notify the police immediately.
* It's a good idea to carry a cell phone in your car, making it possible for you to call for help for yourself or someone else.
* Most of the violent incidents occur late at night. Use prudence when planning your night out and try to return home at a reasonable hour.
* Never fully roll down your window to talk to a stranger. If required, roll the window down only enough to be heard.
* Do not stop to aid disabled motorists. Telephone for help instead.
* If you are in need of help, make sure you have police emergency numbers available at all times.

The tips are not meant to cover every single situation that you may face. Each situation is different and you must use your judgment on what the appropriate action should be.

This be a public service announcement from teh ST