Malaysia's 13th general election concluded a couple of months ago amid much controversy on the validity of the election results and evidence of fraud. Well, the opposition were really frustrated at certain things about the general election, especially the fact that more Malaysians voted for them compared to the ruling coalition.
Politics is a very long winded, tangled topic. I generally hate politics, and only gained some interest in it because of the big 'hu-hah' during the recent general election. However, there's still something that disturbs me right to the core. Racism.
I've talked about it before in this blog but it saddens me that things have taken a turn for the worse recently. Politicians jumped on the racial wild card whenever the opportunity came. The ruling coalition took sides with a pro-Malay party while the opposition also had their racial dirty-play although not that clear. It all still boils down to one thing-many Malaysians are still very racist to heart.
When a study conducted revealed how racially intolerant Malaysians are, I was feeling rather ambivalent. I was surprised by the way the study was condemned by some Malaysians considering the fact that it's happening every day in our lives. But at the same time, their comments were not surprising because the people who commented are the racially-tolerant minority in the country.
Different people have different perceptions on racial tolerance. And in Malaysia, racial tolerance is always viewed superficially. We are all so united and tolerant as long as there are no racial riots in the country. But the truth is, unity is more than that.
Racism still happens in my own house and I'm definitely losing my patience over it slowly. My parents still give out racially inclined statements at home. The fact is that it happens in many homes in this country and it's more of an open secret.
The situation in Malaysia is like this-people think that the Malays are lazy, the Chinese are fraudsters and the Indians are gangsters. It has been the perception passed down from ages. People find an easy way to blame vice on people based on their race.
Another factor that has indirectly caused racism in this country is the Malay special rights. It was established during independence to improve the lives of the Malays who were condemned to their farms during the British rule. Honestly, I would say the Malay rights were very relevant during that time because the Chinese and Indians were basically, immigrants.
However, our forefathers did not foresee the future well enough. A Malay guy wrote to the newspaper,recently, stating that we need to move on referring to the fact that the Malay rights have made the Malays very complacent and even implanted the fact that they should be in a way protected, and I can't agree less. Considering the fact that it has been 56 years since independence, the high rate of unemployment and low-skilled employment among Malay youths clearly shows the failure of the Malay rights.
In addition to that, the Malay rights haven't gone down well with modern Malaysians. The non-Malays are seeing the unfair side of Malaysia where we are deprived of what we deserve. University quota is something that I can never agree too.
I can still recall the scene during the SPM result day for the batch of students before mine. There in one corner was a Malay guy rejoicing over getting credits for all his subjects in his exam. One of my teacher's was quick to point out the ease at which a Malay could rejoice compared to the non-Malays.
I don't think it would be right to just blame the Malay people. They have been made complacent because of their privileges. The government has not boldly come out to make a proactive change in the rights and all of us are suffering.
Sadly, the government thinks they are carrying out measures to bring back the unity but it's surely not working. Nothing is changing except for the smiles on the faces of politicians in so called unity-fostering events.
Racism is also fostered in schools, rather indirectly. Even from a very young age, children are in a way taught to be with their "own kind". Many people would disagree with me that vernacular schools are in a way paving the path for racial-intolerance.
Vernacular schools are not promoting racism. What they're doing is that they are indirectly establishing comfort zones for students among their own race. People from vernacular schools still do make friends of other races in secondary school but not many have best friends outside their own race. And that is a fact that vernacular school advocates have to learn to accept.
I personally feel that English-medium schools would be a great step to foster unity among Malaysians. Why?? English belongs to no one and that would negate the fact where people join a certain school just because they are of a certain race. But then again, there are those selfish politicians who continue to fight on to prevent the re-establishment of English medium schools just so they can gain the popularity of the masses.
At the end of the day, you come to wonder whether there is a solution to this predicament. Honestly, I don't think so. There is too much of politics in the efforts to foster unity in this country. And, the ones who suffer the most are the racially tolerant few who see beyond the colour and status but are forced to dwell among the prejudiced.....
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