Hi, I'm new to this forum. I am a Singaporean chinese.
Well, I have some stuff regarding the racial discrimination in
Malaysia. My mum was born and raised in Malaysia before she came to
Singapore to study. I have many malaysian friends who came to
Singapore to study too. I myself have been to Malaysia several
times. So I am no stranger to this issue.
Well, the Alliance party says the purpose of NEP is supposed to
raise the living standards of the Malaysian Malays. Prior to
independence, the British never really cared about economic
welfare, they were concerned about earning money. Thus, when they
left Malaysia they left behind the serious problem of economic
disparity among the races, which could be a cause for social
instability.
The cultural difference between the malays, chinese and indians put
the malays at a natural disadvantage. Chinese/Indian migrants come
from a more economic-concious society from the coastal regions of
India and China, while most Malays prefer a less competitive and
relaxed lifestyle. Their views on education, economic status differ
from the Chinese and Indians. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong
with this, because its their way of life and culture, and we should
respect each other.
Thus, although racist and unfair, the NEP is kind of justified as a
drastic measure to bring the Malaysian malays to the same level of
economic ownership as the other races. However, the NEP, like
Welfarism has proved to be double-edged sword, it
can bring about short term economic improvement, it eventually
sapped the motivational spirit of the Malays to bring about
sustained growth. It is like certain drugs are
used to cure an illness but one becomes too dependent on it after
recovery. In my opinion, the Malaysian malays have to change this
mindset and bring about more equality in their country, their
overreliance on Malay rights policies will ultimately drag their
country down. Who will benefit then?
