Originally posted by kyas:
Due colonialism, 'Malaysian' were divided into 3 main groups
economically. One was the people who worked in the tin mines. Most
of them were Chinese. They were more exposed to urban way of life.
Second were the people who worked with the British in the rubber or
oil palm estate. Too many them are Indians. They are lack of
exposure in term of modernisation. The third was the people who
make a living in the traditional sectors as fishermen and farmers.
Most of them are the Malays and other ethnic people.
This colonialism had been going on for so many decades to the
extent that it has created a stigma among the society saying that
if you are Malay, u should be living in kampong and makes a living
by being a farmer. If you are an Indian you cannot avoid yourself
from being an estate worker. And Chinese must be a businessman. As
a result, Chinese are wealthier than the others. The then leaders
saw this as unhealthy situation, where the country's wealth was
only enjoyed by a certain ethnic group.
Thats BULLSHIT! Sg followed the same economic paradigm as M'sia.
We had the British, we had divide and rule, we had plantations
(first gambier and pepper, then rubber), we had kampongs and
fishermen and we had towns and commerce. But our people are better
off in every respect than you guys up north. WHY? we managed to
modernise and the people managed to improve WITHOUT gov't handouts.
WHY?
you guys were in a much better position to succeed than us in 1965.
Why are u only beginning to catch up now?
U still haven't addressed the point. Many Chinese are not urban
businessmen-millionaires. That is a shallow stereotype on YOUR
part. Many Indians remains poor plantation workers. what is the
gov't doing to help them?
That was why the Malaysian government has been giving a lot of
assistance especially to the Bumiputera. We need to share the
country's wealth equally. We need to break the barrier that
separates the races in their colonial way of thinking and
inheritance. Surely none of you out there can deny that if only one
race controls the economy, there is a tendency that the others will
be discriminated. A huge example, look at the U.S. the only
superpower left after no more U.S.S.R. Look at how they act (I
always wonder what functions the United Nation were created
for).
BULLSHIT! share wealth equally between your PM and his corrupt
cronies more like it... the bumiputra policy has DIVIDED the ethnic
groups. divide and rule exists to this day in M'sia! how on earth
is it equal to GIVE unconditionally to one group and not give
anything at all to another who needs help just as much? your
reasoning is ridiculous!
u make wealth equitable by making the economy open to all, not by
closing it off to one group and opening it to another!
By the way, what is actually the problem about wearing a tudung
to school?
there is essentially no problem. only that Sg prefers its
students to wear school uniforms that do not distinguish them
according to ethnicity or religion.
i've remembered other instances during my childhood when the
teachers have told students not to wear or attach any religious
paraphenelia on their uniforms. permission was given in special
cases of course... sikhs could wear turbans because of their
religion and because i think, it did not alter the basic uniform in
any way.
the tudung is not exactly a MUST in Islam... and the way this issue
has been played out, it is no longer religious. it has been
exploited by parties with vested political interests.
i might add that there are OTHER female malay students in the
school who DO NOT wear the tudung. if the girl's family cares for
her modesty so much, then they should send her to a Madrasah where
ALL girls dress that way. but no! they want the quality education
of a gov't school but they refuse to obey the rules! just shows u
how shallow the entire attempt is.
to me, i would have no comments if it was ever decided that ALL
muslim girls who have reached puberty would wear tudung... but
thats not the case... it remains a personal choice. and in this
case, it was made by the girl's parents, not even a personal choice
of the little girl.
so we can't have this sort of untidiness in the gov't school
system. all students must be treated the same. no better, no worse
and no concessions can be given unless it was absolutely necessary.
if it was ever given, then the same privilege must be given to
everybody. that is our way of preserving the fabric of our
multi-ethnic society. its not a free for all.
