Stockholm Syndrome in Malaysia’s Race Relations

By MIKOspace

“It is Better to be Dominated than to be Victimised.”

The recent spat between Malaysian opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP) Tony Pua and Singapore’s Ambassador-at-Large Bilahari Kausikan provides an interesting insight into Malaysian race relations in the mind of some in the “minority” Chinese ethnic group. Kausikan had argued as “delusional” what he saw as efforts by some Malaysian Chinese youths to change the Malaysian political system which has been built around the principle of Malay dominance.  DAP Tony Pua counter-argued that they were not against Malay “dominance” but against Malay “supremacy”.  Tony also accepts that “Malays will dominate Malaysian politics and economy since they comprise the majority”.

Tony is clearly being disingenuous in his feeble attempt to distinguish between Malay “dominance” and Malay “supremacy” in any meaningful manner. He did not elaborate.  Malaysian history bears the undisputed witness to the fact of Malay “dominance” which motivated and led eventually to the imposition of Malay “supremacy” in Malaysian politics, economy and social life.  Today, Malay “dominance” and Malay “supremacy” are in fact the same side on a man-made Malaysian political coin.  It is wishful and politically immature thinking to believe that one can change either “dominance” or “supremacy” without affecting each other.     

By accepting Malay “dominance” simply because “they comprise the majority”, Tony is obviously oblivious of the fact that in 1963 when Malaysia became independent, no one ethnic group, whether Malay, Chinese or Indian, constituted more than 50% of the Malaysian population.  That’s why Malay “dominance” has to embrace the non-Malay indigenous tribes to form the larger concept of “Bumiputra” – or “sons of the soil” – in order for the Malay political elites to claim political legitimacy by virtue of numerical majority. 

Historically, classifying Malays as “sons of the soil” together with the indigenous tribes also create other problems, since most Malays actually arrived in Malaya only from the 14^th Century from Sumatra and Indonesia.  And if one prefer to go even further back in time, the very early Malays actually came with the very early Chinese from the same villages in Southern China, mostly from Yunnan. Truth is the Malaysian Malays are undisputably not the “sons” of the Malaysian soil.

The natural urge in many Malaysian Chinese to deny any “natural” Malay “dominance” or “supremacy” is therefore understandable. The political struggles in the early Malaysian years are between the competing and mutually exclusive visions of a “Malaysian” Malaysia based on multi-racialism and social equality vs a “Malay” Malaysia based on Malay dominance and supremacy. 

In 1965, Singapore was kicked out of Malaysia for her strong advocacy of a multi-racial and equal Malaysia.  History has proven the superiority of a multi-racial politico-socio-economic approach as practiced in prosperous Singapore instead of the racialist discriminatory model of Malaysia who continues to struggle in the doldrums of a devaluating currency and languishing economy.

For too long, Malaysian Chinese and Indians have been politically enslaved, economically oppressed and socially discriminated. Many non-Malay politicians are also reluctant to escape from the status quo political bondage and few nowadays advocate for a more equal treatment of their non-Malay constituents.  The reality of the political landscape of Malaysia has over the years evolved a class-based society very much in favour of the rich and powerful elites in all the political parties, who have much in common with each other the many privileges and benefits that should have “trickled down” to the poorer and lesser endowed segments in the population.        

For many non-Malay Malaysian politicians, however well-intentioned like Tony, they usually appear quite blinded to the reality of their own political enslavement after more than 50 years of subjugation to the combination of class and racially based political and economic forces.  Such is the Stockholm Syndrome nature in Malaysian race relations. For while they may complain and agitate against the extreme symptoms of her corrupt and racialist political system, the minority ethnic groups (as well as the vast number of poor Malays) seem strangely incapable of comprehending the precise nature of their situation so as to formulate feasible solutions to escape or reform the political-economic and social status quo.      

Related:

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Again, Malays are Lazy, said Dr Mahathir

PANORAMA: A History of Singapore's Battle for Merger

"Flesh and Bone Reunite as One Body" -  Dr Thum Ping Tjin

Singapore's 1962 Battle For Merger ReVisited

PS. Above post by Michael Heng

Authentic Made In Singapore Hospital

The glorious days of Singapore hospitals with an impeccable track record of quality hospital care, great medical professionals from the top to the bottom, to the nurses and the assistants and drivers, all Singaporeans, are dimming. This outbreak of hepatitis C in the SGH is unacceptable, cannot be tolerated, cannot happen, but happened. People admitted to hospitals to be cured and healed, but found dead or infected with hepatitis C they did not bring along.  How to explain this cruel change of fate and medical conditions, and they paid for it with good money, expecting the best, to walk in alive and leaving alive and better?

I think it would be a good marketing theme to market an authentic Singaporean Hospital, all the staff, from the specialists, doctors, nurses, technicians, administrators, supporting services, drivers and assistants, all genuine true blue Singaporeans. That will set a new kind of standard and expectation that paying patients can expect to be care for by the best Singaporeans can do for them.

The Singaporean Brand, the pride of Singapore, needs a revamp, a rebranding, to be true and authentic, not diluted or compromised, to be the deliverer of first class quality services, must be resurrected.

Would there be a hospital to adopt this Brand and policy, to give the patients the best quality of professionalism and services, the Singaporean way, the Singapore Brand, to differentiate from those that put on the Singapore Brand but manned by people from all corners of the world? There is a great difference between a coating and a homogenous product, Singapore on the outside but foreigners, 3^rd World on the inside, or Singapore through and through. You can scratch it, drop it, hammer at it, it is Singaporean thick and through. And Singaporean means quality, dedication, commitment and devotion, to be the very best.

Ignore the fools who think Singaporeans are daft, untalented, no skill sets and needed to be replaced by foreigners.

Let there be a Made In Singapore authentic Singaporean Hospital, to show the rest the difference in being part of the Singapore Brand. And this authentic Made In Singapore Brand is applicable to other services, products and industries as well. The call for this differentiation is necessary and urgent to save the Singapore Brand.

Jokowi to put out fires in two weeks

‘JAKARTA: Indonesian President Joko Widodo said authorities target to put out forest fires burning in parts of the country in two weeks, with the help of other countries.’ Channel News Asia

Indonesia has found the solution to the fire burning across Sumatra and Kalimantan. The answers will come from 6 countries in the form of big and bigger aircraft that can carry more water to douse the flame. With these aircraft, Jokowi is confident that Indonesia would be able to end the fire in two weeks.

Actually there is no need for such aircraft and fire fighting equipment. The raining season is coming, and the fire will go off by itself just like a bout of flu. But Indonesia is so impressed by the big planes and their capabilities that they are planning to acquire some of them to fight the next fire in the next haze season. And if the planes proved effective, they would probably buy more to continue to fight the fire annually till eternity.

Would it not be cheaper to think of ways and plans to prevent the fire starters from starting the fire? If the fire fighters can be stopped, there is no need for more expensive planes and logistics to fight fires. The present inventory of planes and fire fighting equipment would be more than adequate if there is no fire or only a few fires that could and should be killed in the early stages. Prevention is better than cure.

By the start of the raining season, there will be no more fire. The Indonesian govt only needs to ensure that no one starts the fire in the next season. There could be bush fires started naturally by the heat of the day. I am sure the planners would be able to come up with ways to prevent these fires from starting. The fleet of fire fighting equipment could be deployed to throw water in vulnerable areas even when there is no fire to prevent fire from starting. Oops, apologies for suggesting this weird way of pouring water when there is no fire.

Would it be better, be more cost effective to set up a fire prevention force than a fire fighting force? For a start they can set up a review committee or a BOI. If they did not know how to set up these committees, ask Singapore, we are the experts in setting up BOIs and review committees. We have such committees after every fiasco that occurred in our little island. We just have one for the hepatitis C outbreak. We have had committees for the Little India Riot, the Mt Kinabalu earthquake too. We can even lend them the experienced officers who have sat in such committees as advisors.

What do you think? Chicken and egg problem?

All roads lead to China

While the Americans continue to flex their muscle all over the world, and now in the South China, to show who is the biggest gangster, China continues to dedicate all its effort and resources to build a new world. The Chinese planners and strategists have done a great job in rebuilding ancient agricultural China into a modern China with hundreds of cities bigger and more sophisticated than anything you can see in any part of the world. The latest city, Liangjiang (two rivers) in Sichuang is twice the size of Singapore, 1,200 sq km of modern city complexes that rivaled anything you see in Singapore. Forget about our Jurong Industrial Park. The student has excelled the master. Any Singaporeans still thinking that they can go to China to teach them about building modern cities must be still in dream land.

When the once richest man in America, Vanderbilt, built the railroads across North America, it was a feat of enormous proportion, of continental scale. And he deserved to be the richest man then. What Vanderbilt had done then is miniscule compared to what China is planning to do, and some parts are already completed, with the rest in the blue prints. China is building railroads to connect the whole world. Yes, connecting the whole world on land, by railroads. The lines will go out from China to Singapore, the southern tip of the Asia continent, South West to India and the Middle East and forward to Africa, West to Europe, with Germany in the first phase and ending in London, off the European continent. The next major road will go North East through Siberia, Alaska to Canada and North America, onwards South to Latin America.

This ambitious plan was never thought possible for a long time. To conceptualise this plan itself is unthinkable. But with today’s technology, political stability and the resourcefulness and industry of the Chinese people, and the financing muscle, the whole world can be linked by railroads.  Well almost, as the Pacific Islands, the Southeast Asian island states and continental Australia would be a bridge too far.

The programme currently being screened on Channel News Asia, ‘The New Silk Road’, gives a very good view of this grand and mammoth initiative of modern China. The Chinaman has remastered their railroad building skills and enterprise to build a railroad complex that would connect the five continents of the world together. All roads will lead to China and to the rest of the world.

While the Americans continue to waste their money and resources, including their best men and women, in the pursuit of war, instigating war, provoking war and conducting war, and telling the world that America is the most peace loving country, China is dedicated to rebuild a new world in commerce, trade and cultural integration of the communities of the world. China is building a new world of peace, to uplift the standard and quality of life of the peoples of the world.

A new world is emerging with China as the main architect, minus the bullets and the guns, in the New Silk Road Plan, an intercontinental project beyond the imaginations of the Americans and Europeans. And all roads or railroads, will lead to China.

NEA takes great pains to explain why not to give hourly PSI

The mounting pressure on NEA to provide hourly or live PSI so that people can use them to make life choices decision have led to the Agency coming up with a long grandmother story on why they are not going to accede to the people’s request. The explanations are all in the media yesterday. I just dunno want to laugh or want to cry or want to use the four letter word.

Ok, the NEA has valid reasons not to want to tell the people the current truth. They said the information is complex and people could not understand what they meant like water vapour and dust particles. They forgot to say that the pollutants in the haze could also have poisonous gases in it if there are foul intentions. Nevermind, the accepted practices by those agencies and institutions and academics and professionals are to rely on averages of 24 hours, 3 hours or whatever but not on hourly or live indices. So?

Should I suggest that the NEA provide whatever appropriate data to the agencies and organizations that needed those data professionally and provide the people, the masses, the data that they want? The data, 24 hr or 3 hr, make sense to those professionals but no sense to the masses and the public. The 24 hr data or even 3 hr data are totally useless to people on ground zero but important to the analysts and academics and institutions that need to study and record them and to write fanciful reports for the records. What would someone that wants to play football or bring the children to the park want those data for?

The public are not dumb asses and did not know the limitations of live data and the complexity of the air and the haze. All they want is a guide, to go out or not to go out. Is it therefore too much to ask the NEA to give the people the live data to act as a guide? What is the fear? Is there any life threatening issue if the NEA is to broadcast live data of the haze? Is it so difficult to produce the data? Hey, no need to collate or do complex computations, just the raw data. And if needed the NEA can add in all the backside covering clauses to say they are not responsible for anyone acting on those data and got into trouble.

Why provide data that the people did not want and not to provide data that the people want? Khaw Boon Wan should talk some sense into these PGO nuts.  Oops, we got a new minister in charge. Would he be able to see the farce and tell the NEA to give the data the people want? Or is it the similar to employment data, we only tell you what we think is good for you to know, give data on locals and not to show how many are Singaporeans and how many are PRs? Does the providing of live or hourly PSI data have the same secrecy considerations?

What do you think?