Tak kan Melayu Hilang Di Dunia

takkan melayu hilang di dunia

Posted by eufemisme      Sunday, May 02, 2004 @ 2:15 PM

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Ah yes, the ever popular line by Hang Tuah that ceases to fade even up till this day, proudly glistening at the very hearts of every Malay. But do we ever stop to question the relevance of such a proselytising phrase in today's society? Could Hang Tuah's statement actually be exclusively time-stamped? I remember stumbling upon a chinese children's variety show on the morning of the eve of Hari Raya, and decided to stick to it after realising they were talking about the Eid celebrations here in singapore. No, I do not watch such things because it fascinates me that other races are talking about my traditions and customs, but rather, I prefer watching such shows with a sceptical eye, paying close attention to what they're saying, in fear of misrepresentations of facts. I guess that's the advantage of understanding another language - experience has taught me that it's the perfect weapon to yield when these other races are looking down on us, or simply talking behind our backs in their native language, oblivious to the fact that ceke malai ren ke yi ming pai huayi (this malay person can understand mandarin). Anyway, here's the lowdown of the show... the good: The producers chose the right Malay houshehold to visit, one where the mother was able to provide succinct answers to ever-popular questions regarding the practice of fasting in the holy month of Ramadhan. Chinese girl: What is the significance of fasting for one month? Muslim mother: It's for spiritual, moral, and physical purification. And why is this answer so important? This is simply because many non-Muslims, especially the local Chinese, think that Eid marks a new year for the Muslims (drawing a parallel to their own celebration of Chinese New Year). And why do I express relief for the right choice of Muslim household? Because just the preceding week, I had the misfortune of listening to a Malay-Muslim caller of an English radio station saying that her New Year is coming, obviously referring to Eid. Even if the rest of the non-Muslim society here thinks it's our New Year, why do we have to follow suit and conform to their beliefs, rather than setting the matter straight once and for all? We are all but ambassadors of our religion and our race, each carrying an emblem of faith across our hearts, and we must play our part in placing Islam in the correct light. Here we are exclaiming disbelief at the media's misrepresentations of our religion and its practices, and there we go, arms folded, with one eye closed, simply shaking our heads, but not clearing any misconceptions whatsoever. the bad: As expected, one of the greatest symbols or aspects of Eid celebrations for the Malays here is the ketupat (the Malay version of rice dumplings). And of course, the show portrayed a Malay auntie not only demonstrating, but teaching the three Chinese girls the art of weaving a ketupat. She even made it a point for the girls to make at least two on their own, to ensure that the skill had been successfully passed on. So, what is so bad about this? One might argue, isn't it good that we're allowing other races to have a taste of our culture, so as to promote racial harmony and social cohesion? True, while I do not deny the fact that this is a vital step in the proselytisation of racial unity, an integral aspect of a nation, there are several down-sides of it that the Malay community here still seem to overlook. Just count the number of authentic Malay aspects of tradition, customs, food, and even clothing we have left. It is due to this very trait of generosity and naivety of the Malays in spreading their heritage and customs that we find ourselves, our traditions, being swept away in a world of vague familiarity. Never before have I seen so many authentic Malay food or kuehs deemed under the category of Peranakan food. Even our clothings have become widely known as being Peranakan, by some stroke of luck. Our everyday dishes like epok-epok,nasi lemak, and many others have undergone a radical evolution to incorporate haram ingredients like pork (Astarghfirullah'alazim), all thanks to the innovation of the non-Muslims here. And yet, we still fail to see the big picture, that of the other races eating off our very own rice bowls. Why do we insist on sharing a plate with them, when we are not promised another plate in return? Why do we insist on sharing our bowl with them knowing it's the only prized possession we have left, and that this treasure will simply be pulled away from us, slowly but surely? I'm not saying that it is most definitely a mistake to share recipes, among other ethnic trade secrets, so to speak, with other communities. By all means, it may perhaps be the only though-of remedy for creating a cohesive multi-racial society. But let us not be real-life examples of the saying "yang dikejar tak dapat, yang dikandung berciciran". Let us not give all of ourselves till we are left with nothing we can call our own. Here we are smiling for the cameras as we place one hand on our plate, and the other on the shoulders of our neighbours, and there they go, with one hand on our plate, and the other busy, scrambling, secretly writing their names on the underside of the plate, claiming authority. Takkan Melayu hilang di dunia - I shudder at the prospects of that line today...   rahman  Posted May 12, 2004 - 1:00 PM This is an excellent comment. Thanks! I just want to comment on the danger of our heritage being taken over. Actually, it has already happened! Just look at the tempeh ... it's now being mass produced by non-Malays. This thing is happening around the world. A few years ago, a tribal group from India had their traditonal medicine taken from them by an American pharmaceutical company. Apparently, the company had researched the tribe's tradiotnal medicine and patented some of the medications. A few years ago, I visited Pekanbaru and met a Ketua Adat there. Tak ingat namanya pulak -- Pak Effendi. He said there were Americans and Japanese who stayed at his house and researched our traditional Malay adat. We Malays are too busy imbibing American culture, and we look down on our own heritage. One day, we will cry when this is taken away from us -- and it's already happening. Menangis tak berlagu nanti!

chinapore

ok.. the title itself can get me into trouble. but i do have to bring your attention to a blog that i think is quite funny.

chinapore.blogspot.com

i'm too lazy to link you, so if you want, go cut and paste. but honestly, if chinapork were to read this entry, he'll just confirm that all malays are lazy since i AM lazy to go and link the page.

nonetheless, i could never really be bothered about the whole racist blog attacks thingy because for one, racism is so apparent in singapore. i mean, the country banks on racial harmony day to promote racial tolerance, that in itself is wrong.

you can't eradicate prejudicism. you definitely cannot eradicate racism. it's impossible. because being a racist is something innate. something that has been imbued in us since we were young by the government, parents, our friends, our friend's parents. it's an ongoing process. it's sad really but that's the awful truth.

and let me first state that the chinese community are not the only people who are racist. the indians, the malays.. we are all racist. albeit we are not as vocal as the 3 bloggers but we do have racist sentiments towards other races and hell, in my case, towards our own race!

but before people start jumping on my case and label me a racist, i have to make it known that i'm a malay. argh!!! surprise?! i was educated in some of the best schools in singapore - One of the premier boys' schools in singapore and i had the pleasure of having my junior college education in a top 5 jc and i've secured a place in NUS after i ord next year. double shocker?!? and no.. my parents did not sell drugs to get me to school. my mom is not a housewife who gets beaten by my drunk/gambling-addicted father. and no.. i don't have nine siblings. i only have 2 older brothers. and yes, they've all been through university and graduated. and no.. we don't live in a small 2-room flat somewhere in geylang or wherever it is you people think poor people live. we live comfortably in a double storey house.

such a shocker isn't it that malays like us exist? i bet the racist bloggers or whoever else who is racist can't stand the fact that malays like us exist.

i don't get the whole racist thing. i mean, you honestly thing you are better than the others? by virtue of your race and language and all that other nonsense you so proudly proclaim, you honestly think you are better than the rest of us who belongs to the minority races? you're really very funny!

yes, i agree with you.. there are many malays who do not have higher education, or rather do not have the luxury of having such good education. many of the malays or as we call them nowadays 'mats' only know how to skip school and take drugs and what nots. and yes, we malays have, as chinapork proudly proclaimed in his reassessment of the theory of evolution, efficient reproductive genes, in that we reproduce like rats. and yes malay teenagers nowadays have nothing better to do than to skip school and get themselves pregnant.

nonetheless, i believe you failed to open your eyes and see that there are so many others that are successful. that have gone through school. that have jobs and careers (and by that, i don't mean as the delivery boy to some fast food restaurants)! i don't understand where you think you stand to actually make such stereotypical judgements and such sweeping statements.

and let me be the first to say that i am a racist. ok, maybe it's too harsh a word. but i'm a racist towards my own race. or at least i think that i'm racist for thinking such thoughts. i'm often wrought with guilt whenever i think such thoughts. i mean, there are times when i feel like we malays have not done anything to prove otherwise to all these racist or sceptics out there. yes, we should not have to prove to them in the first place but really, truth be told.. if there were no such thing as racism and stuff like these, i daresay we would not push ourself to do better. we would just rest on our laurels and wait for the government or whoever else it is to come and help us.

it's ridiculous. i believe that we should stand up for ourselves and work towards a better tomorrow for ourselves. we should not depend on the government or other people, for that matter, to make our future better for us! honestly, there are times when i'm so irritated by malay delinquents. i mean, here i am, busting my ass off to get into a good school. i mug like crazy to just prove to other people that we malays can achieve something, can make it to university. can have a career. and there they are ruining it for people like me. i hope i'm not being a racist for saying that. but it's true. and when racist bloggers post their thoughts about our race on the internet, we get all worked up. truthfully.. let me ask you this question.. why!? don't you think it's too late? it's a fact that we have to prove to the others that we are not lazy. we are not drug addicts. we are responsible. so why ruin it?

thus, it is why when i read about affirmative actions or bumiputra or whateva it is that people of the minority groups get i get quite irritated. malays shouldn't depend on affirmative actions. there should be equality in everything. why is it that we only need to pay a certain amount for our school fees when other people have to pay the normal price? are we not capable of doing things for ourselves?

Martin Luther King once said: "judge my people by the contents of our brains and not by the colour of our skin"

being a malay has granted me great opportunities, of course for my secondary school education i did pay the full price because it's not a government school. many a times i wonder if i made it to university because of my grades, because i worked hard for it and because i deserved it or because affirmative action has taken place.

i want people to judge me and my community by the contents of our brains. by the fact that we are intelligent and creative beings. and not because we are malays so we get special priviledges.

someday i guess things will change. but honestly, stop the hating y'all.

Chinese are from Northeast Asia, Malays are from Southeast Asia

Arabs are from Middleast Asia. Indians are from South Asia.

How to get rid of the Indigenous of Southeast Asian "Isean"....

1819...
1.Leave your communist motherland in a boat. The Isean are polite people, low education, fishermen, villagers who owns lots of land in Southeast Asia.

2.The Isean will not see you as "Boat People", they will not see you as illegal immigrant, asylum seekers etc, its just to good to be true, coz its just not in their vocabs but perhaps you can apply them later once we reach 76% population.

3.Get as many people as possible to the Islands to be the Majority, then press on being "Democratic", "Equality", don't worry, the Isean will surely DIE.


1940...
4.Reject Communism or you will really die, get them to believe that Democratic society is the way to go coz majority will always win.

5.Learn from the British as fast as you can coz the British has problem convincing the Muslims Isean that the British are not there to convert them to Christianity, they are gonna be the loser later.

6.Once in power, get rid of Communist influence from Malaya and Indonesia, apply ISA and support the British democratic system. Presently the British thinks they are in control. Well are they WRONG.

7.If ever the Communist gets in Southeast Asia, we will all be slaughtered by our mainland communist leader. They don't understand what we are trying to do here. So lets support the Sultans and the British to rid of the Communist at once.

1950...
8.Call in more People's with experience. Belittle the low educated Isean, harrass them to irritate them. They will be emotionally disturbed, eventually react aggressively but don't forget that we are now the MAJORITY. They can't do much damage to us but only to themselve.

1965...
9.So finally they gave up, how stupid! can the father of independence be. Oh well, when will they ever learn. Now the Isean is at our mercy. We can now manipulate them as we see fit.

10.Firstly we will have to get them to release their land as they own too many lands here. We should emphasize that we are short of land to be progressive. Frighten them into selling their land cheap or the government will confiscate them. Don't worry, they are too stupid to comprehend what you are trying to say and even their own Isean MPs are not helpful to them.

11.Get your land developer to help confuse them further.

12.They will go deeper into the drain, unlike us, we already had our cultural revolution to give us strength and unity in race and language. They are not officially united race. The Javanese are not Malay but sometimes Malay?!?!? Oh well, when will they ever learn. "Malaysia Boleh" but I think the Isean are not serious but "Asal Boleh". We have an advantage over them in many ways then one.

to be continued...

Dear Prime Minister

May you and family be in the best of health and blessings.

If there is a way, can you ask local papers or media channels to stop from reporting or discussing the remarks made by MM Lee about Malaysian Chinese?

I say this coz comments published in Singapore (supporting MM's comments) are made from a skewed angle and do not take into account the historical reasons.
The comments so far are made by Chinese Singaporeans who do not really understand the issues. They also seem to suggest that similar problems do not exist in Singapore when, in fact, Singapore Malays in their own motherland, Singapore, are treated more dismally that Malaysian Chinese in the land of Malay Bumis.

Indeed, if this issue is to continue, then it is only fair to show that Chinese leaders in Singapore are doing greater injustice to Singapore Malays than Malay Malaysian leaders to Malaysian Chinese.

The Malaysian Chinese are not bumis in Malaysia yet they get nearly every thing:
a) Right to have Chinese vernacular education from preschool to university.
b) Right to retain their Chinese names [The Chinese in Indonesia and Thailand get nothing of that sort. Worse, they have to have Thai or Indonesian names]
c) Right to display Chinese names in Chinese characters in huge public adverts in buildings and public places
d) In development projects, they reap early profits as all projects require infrastructures and these materials are controlled by Malaysian Chinese
e) Voting strength by constituencies also show so many Chinese advantage.

It is good for us not to say that Malaysian Chinese are "marginalized".

If they want to talk about marginalization or injustices, it is better that they talk about Singapore Malays who, in their own motherland, are marginalized and subject to so many injustices:
1. Malay language has lost its stature in the State and industry
2. Chinese language has now become a universal precondition in employment
2. Malays are "cordoned off" in National Service. Many key security sites are
out-of-bounds to Malays [Even Malay Ministers and MP's are not allowed to enter such areas]
3. The Civil Defence takes in high proportion of Malays considering the lower
stature of CD and the higher death and injury risk in CD services
4. No Malays are holding key positions in government and statutory boards.
5. Malay MP's are given sinecures. In fact Malays are deemed fit only to be Ministers in Sewerage, Drainage, Refuse, Welfare and Drugs matters
6. Promotions and postings in government and statutory boards also show the
Singapore Chinese' disdain towards Singapore Malays
7. Recent retrenchments also reflected that Singapore Malays "should go first"
8. Proportion of Singapore Malays who remained unemployed is high, notwithstanding good educational and vocational qualifications
9. Vast in-take of Chinese from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan into Singapore but strict control of Malays from Malaysia and Indonesia.

I hope your office would do something to stop this, or rectify the matter by giving the issue its proper balance.

I cc this note to BH Singapore and Malaysia.
I do not cc to Straits Times as they do not publish letters of this kind.
I cc to TODAY coz two strong letters were published in today's TODAY edition.

Regards

Mansor Haji Sukaimi
Former Member of Parliament (1976-1984)

17th Sep 2005 -1 

17th Sep 2005 -3 

17th Sep 2005 -2 

17th Sep 2005 -4 

Lim : Antara lain dikatakan memberi komen kesat terhadap surat seorang wanita mengenai anjing dalam teksi. 

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