Tomorrow’s Malaysia As A True Multi Racial Society
By Andy Yong
It is a truism that the future is unknowable. It is not my intention to predict nor forecast about Malaysia’s coming years but I am optimistic that it will become a mature democracy. Can we?
Needless do I have to comment on the impact of the 12th general elections as the people are never too astute not to realize that where the country is heading towards. It is this challenge that I am keen to see – that Malaysia professes to become a developed nation by 2020 – to reaffirm the non-discriminatory basis of the Federal Constitution.
Article 8 (1) and 12 (1) of the Federal Constitution clearly states the principle of equality of all Malaysians with no discrimination. In any event as we confront the challenges of the globalised world in the twenty first century, we cannot afford to cling on to laws and policies which are more reminiscent of a third world nation.
Malaysia is a prosperous, modern secular/Islamic-friendly nation in which three main ethnic groups co-exist peacefully, while maintaining their unique cultural identities. Thus we must uphold human rights principles which are strictly anti-racist. As the enlightened world condemns racism as relics of pre-war facism, we find that such an ideology is still practiced in various guises. In our society, we know, as well as the foreigners do, that ‘protectionism’ founded upon a form of ‘affirmative action’ has led to condemnation of Malaysia as an inherently racist society.
Racial discrimination have been part of the Malaysian political, social and economic realties where it remains a key factor in determining the benefits from policies of government development, education and social order. Gone are the days where the Malays are considered as not urbanized. They too realized that free lunches cannot go on forever and the NEP did not actually benefit all of them. The non-Malays too realized that their votes did indeed created an impact and they too want a fair slice of the cake. While it is widely recognized that racial polarization exists in many institutions, there have also been deliberate attempts by those in power to create divisions among the people even among the non-Malay leaders. The government must get rid of all the racism factors in their policies and racist politicians in order to have a better tomorrow.
As a result, I propose that it is high time that we have a consensus and focus on solutions-based actions that will accentuate the non-racial factors for Malaysia to prosper with regards to political institutions, economic development, social development and education. It is only then that we can build real unity, based on adherence to human rights, equality and interests of a true multi-racial Malaysians.
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May 5th, 2008 at 5:00 am
[...] dinobeano wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptNeedless do I have to comment on the impact of the 12th general elections as the people are never too astute not to realize that where the country is heading towards. It is this challenge that I am keen to see – that Malaysia professes … [...]
Big Head Devil
May 5th, 2008 at 11:12 am
Dear Si Pin,
Don’t dance around the issue, what do you mean…what are your personal views on how to shape Malaysia within the framework of our constitution….what should each race sacrifice and what is sacred….
chong
May 5th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
At present, it is very difficult to achieve that genuine harmonious multi-racial society. Malays, Chinese and Indians are perhaps the most racist people in malaysia which is why vernacular schools exist. Chinese parents are reluctant to allow their children to marry Indian or Malays. Chinese always refer other races as ghost. The Malays are generally contented with what they have or want an easy life. Indians are there to take chances wherever gives. It is completely different metality altogether due to religious teachings, history, upbringing etc. So to be a true multi racial society is indeed a difficult task save for having teh tarik together at the mamak stall.
Jason ANG
May 5th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
I think in malaysia such a thing will hardly happen
Si Pin
May 6th, 2008 at 3:38 am
Dear Big Head Devil,
As you may be able to figure out, this post is found in the ‘Feature Writer’ Category, eventhough I may subscribe to some of the ideas found therein, I may not be fully agreeable to all of the ideas expounded.
You may want to redirect your queries to Mr Andy Yong via this comment page. Or if you want to have direct contact with him, please write me a line at i@limsipin.com, giving me your email address and I will ask Mr Andy Yong to reply you personally.
If you still feel that his explanation is unacceptable, you may also like to drop me an article on your points of view, I’m more than glad to post it up.
The general rules for posting applies, please read my general article in the Category on ‘Feature Writers’. Thank you for your comments.
AlexM
August 12th, 2008 at 8:39 am
I found your site on technorati and read a few of your other posts. Keep up the good work. I just added your RSS feed to my Google News Reader. Looking forward to reading more from you down the road!
kimrennin
September 25th, 2008 at 10:36 am
There are 3 types of social layer in Malaysia – the haves, the have-nots and the sometimes have but mostly not! The ethnic diversity in Malaysia is really quite large but the main race groups are the Malays, Chinese and Indian – with the same order in the number of population. Amongst the 3 main races, all fall into either one of the 3 layer social strata.
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kimrennin
http://www.drivenwide.com
the fire
June 10th, 2010 at 2:48 pm
i love Malaysia..our country is very wonderful n peacefull…
so why we as the citizens of malaysia want to fight with each other.!!i dont understand bout it..
we indeed to rspect each other..huhu.
thank si pin because create this wonderful article that maybe can open the eyes of people in this beloved country, MALAYSIA….we must aware bout this thing!!
PG
July 9th, 2010 at 10:03 pm
If the constitution clearly states the principles of equality , then the government does not respect the constitution and is itself outside the law . Racial discrimination anywhere today is condemmed , so there should be global publicity that the Malaysian government practices racism , and does not respect the constitution . Publicity of this type on Internet , and eventually the world press , will have its effect , no matter what the government thinks or does , world public opinion is a very powerful force , and is totally underestimated by Asian politicians .