Racial Polarisation in Malaysia.

So what exactly does the title imply? This title itself left me pondering on the contents that I should be writing. Allow me to first ask a few questions.

If given three possible answers, which are as the following; Malay, Chinese, Indian; place the race where you think deem fit in the given situations.

Who are the businessmen?
Who are the farmers?
Who are the rubber tappers?
Who drives luxurious cars?
Who drives Kancils?
Who drives lorries?
Who cheats and cons in businesses?
Who are the Mat Rempits and snatch thieves?
Who are the serial killers/rapists?

Some may have a vague idea of what I am implying now. These few questions are actually very thought-provoking though often times shied away in public, yet left as a topic on the dinner table, gossipy and saucy enough to actually replace the ketchup on my regular Maggie Goreng.

Allow me to quote from what I found in www.wikipedia.org when I key in “racial polarisation”.

Sociologist Dr Syed Farid Alatas pointed out "We do not live according to the three principles for harmonious relations – recognising the multi-cultural origins of civilization, inter-religious encounters and showing respect and understanding the point of the other," "We have little appreciation for each other’s religion and culture." "Our education system does not inculcate these attitudes in us but instead tends to polarise us. We have little appreciation for each other’s religion and culture. In China, there is a strong interaction between Islam and Chinese culture." He also said "Dialogue is a matter of national integration but the Malaysian education system does not inculcate the three pre-requisites for inter-religious cooperation and relations". [7]
When asked why this was so, Rais stated that in national schools, there is "too much religion, too much Islam. They became frightened. That is the big impediment to the races studying together under one roof." He then recommended "Have religious classes by all means. But keep away Islam from other aspects of life in the school. No doa (Muslim prayers) at the assembly, no doa in the classroom except during religious classes." (see Issues in Malaysian Education)
Note that the fault doesn’t lie solely with the Government system, but also the mentality of the people here. Probably because of the oppressive nature of the Government that hushes every breath that might create a racial tension that could probably drive a ruckus on the street. We have been living in a society that is almost on the verge of collapsing due to the constraints of racial polarisation. Even children nowadays tend to pick up the habit of practising apartheid from their parents.

Allow me to present a situation often times happen in our country. The beginning of a new year in a culturally mixed school calls for a new life, new environment, new knowledge, new teachers and what not, new friends. If your children/siblings/relatives happen to come home one day claiming that they have made some new friends and the following names are the names of their new friends;

“Ali, Abu, Zaid, Siti and Wati.”
or
“Chong, Chee, Lim and Meng”
or
“Bala, Puspa, Rinesh and Pravina”

Then, yes, you should be worried because this answer itself is the very first proof that the pillars that hold out racial unity together is falling apart right on the very base of it. I personally have many friends of mixed cultures and religions, something of which I have no problem with. In fact, whenever we dine together, we always take our friends and their religious obligations into consideration and we will always find a common ground (or food) to chow on.

This title also brought me reminiscing on the vivid memories of my distant past. Program Latihan Khidmat Negara, or rather fondly known as PLKN by many is a living proof of the collapse of our racial unity. PLKN was claimed by the Government as a way to integrate racial unity. This number of the intake for all races in this programme is a simulation of the actual ratio of the races amongst the Rakyat, or so it was claimed. First off, let me bat to you a simple statistic that I found out about the camp I was assigned to three years ago. The camp was situated in Bandar Seri Jempol, a rural little area in the dormant state known as Negri Sembilan. The number of participants in the camp I was in is a staggering total of 600 people. Our camp allocated certain days in the week for the Buddhist, Christians, Islams and Hindus to practice their religion and complete their prayers. Needless to say, several of my friends and I were to board the 8 o’clock bus every Thursday that brings us to a little Buddhist temple in Bahau to complete our weekly prayer. The number of buses needed to bring all Buddhists, inclusive of boys and girls and the extra empty seats available in both buses; were two.
Meanwhile, the Christians needed only a small van to cater all Christian boys and girls to the nearest church.
The Hindus needed two buses too, for both boys and girls alike.
And finally, for the Islams, let’s just put it this way. Whenever it’s Friday afternoon, the camp magically turned into a dead little encampment that barely holds any soul.
So, if I were to tell you that the bus can only hold 40 people at max, boys and girls in my camp are to be in separated buses, and there are about 10 empty seats in each bus every week, you do the math and tell me if the ratio was even right.

Claims that the PLKN is the pathway to racial unity can be easily shot down with this simple statistic. The situations are even clearer when you can noticeably see how the people in my camp spend their time on weekends when classes are off. On days like these, when I have nothing to do, I’ll usually hang out with my friends of all races. My Chinese friends will hang out in the basketball court, while my Malay friends will be at the canteen and my Indian friends will all be hanging out in their dormitories. First, I’ll visit my friend Ah Keong and tell him of the pretty girl he fancies is sitting alone at the slope of the hill of our camp, then I’ll go to Kannan and challenge him to a bunk weight-lifting contest in the dorm, then lastly I’ll tell Kamarul that we’ll be having an awful menu for dinner tonight unless our camp commandant buys us burger as a treat again. As much as I’m enjoying my time on that day, it irks me so much to know that I have to walk literally miles away whenever I am moving from Ah Keong to Kannan and to Kamarul. What racial unity when the youngsters themselves are already racially segregating the small community around them? Racial unity my foot. Why can’t these people hang out at the same spot, chat with different races and understand each other better? Are we really living in a first-world country with third-world mentality that practises apartheid?

Oh, and don’t get me started on the Character Building classes. My class was asked

“Adakah Malaysia satu negara yang adil dan saksama?” (“Is Malaysia a fair and just country?”)

And of course, to which many people kept quiet. Some small nods of head were noticeable but no loud actions or whatsoever. And that was when I boldly said

“Tidak!” (“No!”)

That definitely caught the attention of everyone in my class. When asked to explain myself, my reply is simple and to the point.

“Kalau Malaysia adalah satu negara yang adil, mengapa ada terma Bumiputra dan Non-Bumiputra?” (“If Malaysia is indeed a fair and just country, why does the term Bumiputra and Non-Bumiputra exist?”)

And that of course, left my cikgu CB pretty much dumbfounded that such an opinion can come from a young 17 year old. I was only left with a tap on the wrist for my bold, if not condescending statement.

The futures are really going to be set on stone, if not predictable; that Malaysia is going to tear apart from the racial tension if nothing solid is done soon. Checkboxes that needs you to indicate your races and religion should be exempted from any forms of application that doesn’t need you to reveal it. Terms such as Bumiputra and Non-Bumiputra should be eliminated. There is no such existence of Malaysian Malay, Malaysian Chinese or Malaysian Indian but only Malaysian. Let us not stoke the fire of the May 13th anger that happened in 1969 again.