I have received an email which grieves my entire being but does it bother Pak Lah, our Prime Minister and the Cabinet? If they do not understand the cry deep from the heart and soul of “J”, who sent the email, then the 50th Merdeka anniversary celebrations this year are completely meaningless, waste of time and money.
Read this heart-rending email:
Dear Mr. Lim,
I have utmost respect and admiration for your tenacity in remaining in Malaysia to champion the cause of justice and equality and fight for a Bangsa Malaysia. My heart broke when I read about your article regarding the honest cyber cafe operator especially when he wondered if he “had chosen the wrong country” to start and operate his business.
I see my situation summed up in that phrase. You have said before that the best and brightest are leaving this country. Well, I am making every preparation to leave. I have consistently scored straight As in every public exam and placed among the top 3 of my form. In university, I studied medicine and am among the top scorers. I have just graduated and scored near perfect results in a medical licensing examination that will enable me to work abroad and further my studies.
I was born a Malaysian yet I cannot see myself as a Malaysian. As a chinese, I feel that I am being discriminated against. I feel that the government is trying its hardest to sideline me just because of my race. I look around and see this discrimination manifested in various forms. From the issue regarding religious conversion to the allocation of places in local universities, the stench of discrimination is sickening.
It was horrifying to note in my batch of medical students, there were a substantial number of malay students who actually did not apply for medicine but were sent to study it. It is disgusting to think that many STPM straight A scorers are deprived of a chance to study medicine while the government gives the places to people who are not even sure that they want to study medicine.
I have seen how racial politics sully the environment in the university and how unqualified people are in high posts at the expense of far more intelligent and qualified individuals just
because they are malay. I have heard the terrible statements made by delegates at the recent UMNO General Assembly about revoking my citizenship rights should I question their special rights. I have seen the videos on YouTube where UMNO MPs have the audacity to ask us to “keluar” of the country if we don’t like what they are doing to it. And I see the pathetic attempt by the PM to “discipline” these racists. I hate the fact that Gerakan and MCA have done NOTHING to fight for my rights instead of
just kow-towing to UMNO for their own gains.Patriotism isn’t about singing the national anthem or raising the flag. It isn’t about accepting at face value everything the government says. It isn’t about attending merdeka celebrations. It is about feeling accepted as part of your nation. It is about knowing that your nation accepts you as a son or daughter. It is about realizing that being a part of a nation entails certain responsibilities. That is my definition of patriotism. And right now, as a Malaysian, I am feeling anything BUT patriotic. 50 years of independence? So what? What has it done for me? Whoopee.
I have a chance to change my life. I will change my destiny. I could not choose the country where I was born but I can very well choose the country that I will swear my allegiance to. I want a country that will recognize me as a citizen and grant me rights equal to that of all other citizens. I want a country that has the wisdom to recognize my potential and talents and reward me accordingly. I want a country where the government fears its people and conducts itself in a manner worthy of respect and honor.
This is not my nation. I am leaving. Mr. Lim, I salute you and all those like you who can find the strength and energy to fight for an ungrateful bunch of people. How many actually held mass protests, hunger strikes or rose up to defend you and your family when you or your son was imprisoned for fighting for us? How many did more than just shake their heads and move on with their petty little lives? None that I know of. Yet you continue to defend their rights. You are an amazing man, Mr. Lim and I truly admire you for that. Unfortunately, I have a bright future ahead and I will not waste it in this country. It is not my nation.
Thank you for fighting the good fight.
#1 by Wang on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 1:46 am
I admire those of you who are willing to stay to fight. Uncle Lim has fought his whole life and what has been achieved? J is young and bright. By leaving, not only will he serve his self-interest and the interest of his family, he will also put his productive capacity to its greatest use and serve ALL mankind. The world will be a much better place for him to use his skills in the most efficient and effective way. The loss of J leaving and not “fighting” with those being hurt by the unjust in Malaysia is far less than the gain to J, his family (including his future generations), and to other that will gain from J using his skills in the most effective ways. Staying in Malaysia is a great loss to the world as a whole.
#2 by undergrad2 on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 6:07 am
“If what you say about Msia is so horrible, how come you are still here instead of heading back to the country where your grandparents came from??”
Because we choose to exercise our constitutional right to remain! This is the country of our birth. And like you we are citizens and as citizens we go to the polls every five years to choose the type of government we want for ourselves. And if the government that gets elected to power is not the government we voted for then so be it. That is democracy at work.
We put our representatives into Parliament to represent us and though they may be in the minority, they still represent us and they give us our voice.
#3 by undergrad2 on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 6:18 am
“I admire those of you who are willing to stay to fight. Uncle Lim has fought his whole life and what has been achieved? J is young and bright. By leaving, not only will he serve his self-interest and the interest of his family, he will also…”
It is not like it so easy as it is made out to be. Just save some money pack your bags, buy a plane ticket and make your way to the airport and leave!
The majority of us has not seen the inside of an airport, let alone travel in a Fokker or a B737 anywhere. You don’t just enter a foreign country without a visa – and what visa will that be?? A tourist visa which entitles you to stay for 6 months max or a two-week stay without a visa? Are you planning to overstay your visa and work illegally? For how long? Then where do you go next? To the detention center for illegal aliens and wait to be deported back to where you come from? It is not like it is a choice we would want for ourselves and our family!
#4 by Billy on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 7:56 am
This is for “J” and I hope what I have to say will coax you to stay on to fight a cause that belongs to you.
Back in the late 70s, after my first boy was born, I was finding it very difficult to make ends meet. Back then the discriminatory polices of the BN were already in full swing. One night two friends of ours paid us a courtesy call and asked whether we would be interested in migrating with them to New Zealand. The thought was very tempting as it would mean a good future for my kids, at least in terms of education, but after much consultations, we decided against the idea. To do so, I told myself, is to call it quits and deserting my folks here was my last option. So we decided to stay on and fight.
The first thing, that in order our kids to have a better future, was to re-strategise ourselves. I stopped being bitter about the NEP as it has counter-productive to even think about it. The goal is our kids must have good education here and the only way to do it is to have ample $$$$. So first thing first. I went back to do my studies as I only have my Senior Cambridge to lean on. After completing one course, I enrolled for another and another, 3 all together. After having graduated, I applied for part-time lectureship with some colleges and in the meantime, I played music during the weekends to earn my keeps. All together I was doing three jobs, including my full time job. The total income of my wife and I at the beginning did not even exceed RM3k but by now, the income was substantial enough to send my two boys to two local private colleges, and today, they are gainfully employed while 85,000 graduates still remain unemployed. All the hard work paid off.
So what I am trying to say is this, forget about the BN and its discriminatory policies. We just simply have to ignore them and carry on with our lives, and after all this is our home. Why should we run away from it? Just because we have some bad neighbours? In life, we are agents of change. So I suggest that you stay and be that agent of change. By deserting your country, don’t you think you are even making it even more easier for the BN to stay longer in power to carry on with their abuses because the people of principles like yourself would be getting lesser and lesser to vote them out.
I remember what Prime Minister Nehru once said, “Wouldn’t life be dull and colourless if not for the obstacles we have to overcome”.
#5 by undergrad2 on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 8:52 am
“To do so, I told myself, is to call it quits and deserting my folks here was my last option. So we decided to stay on and fight.”
There is a time to fight and there is a time to quit fighting – and move on with your life. Only you can decide. Billy is a patriot and there are not many like him. The rest of us are just trapped.
#6 by Jeffrey on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 9:06 am
In respect to Wang’s preceding posting, migration by young bright well educated non malays may, in part be attributable to the “pull†factor of maximizing the chances, in this Age of Globalisation and porous borders, of putting their productive capacity to greater use, but having acknowledged this, it must not be forgotten that the main motivation is probably the “push†factor of extricating from the quagmire of marginalisation suffered in home country, that year after year shows no prospect of being ameliorated much less corrected when the system is stacked against it, and where parachuting into another more developed country – where the playing field is believed leveler, infrastructure and facilities, and most important mentality of the larger society more developed – seems the more convenient way out!
This, I submit, is a selfish and self-interested decision. It is something that we do with a touch of apology than glee (which I believe is the case of J), much less encourage others to emulate in relation to what ought to be done.
But having said this, no one can or ought pass adverse judgment on such a decision premised on the natural human tendency of preservation of and benefit to self, future and children. Let us not be hypocrite and pretend the majority all of us are martyrs for wider cause than immediate self!
But, no matter, it is a sad and heart-rending situation for those who have to stay behind, whether due to lack of means to do otherwise or other reasons.
They may stay behind for reasons other than just self-interest. Some may stay due to comparative advantage, they have stayed in white countries, may be during studies, and find that even if white laws are against racial discrimination, the glass ceiling of it still exists, with the subtle difference that there you are discriminated as a lesser race of being non white whilst here you are by being a perceived more competent race with economic prowess and other undesirable cultural attributes, and between the two, the latter allows a leeway to still make a success in work or business with collaboration between the competing occupants of the same house.
But many may stay behind for reasons beyond self interest, extending to DUTY: duty to be around with family members and duty to be with aged parents in the evening of their lives who have dedicated their whole lives in toil and sweat for singular purpose of giving you the best in education and everything else and who for your best interest will even encourage you to migrate even if it goes against their own emotional inclination and solace of having the children around when days pass faster and each day is a gift from God.
And there are others like YB Kit who stay because, staying isn’t that bad – its how one makes his way around here – but staying to fight for one’s just right is a birth entitlement, where leaving, without the fight, is out of character, and where no matter how bad the affairs of men in the country deteriorate by reason of misgovernment and abuse of power of the goons in power and could stay in power by manipulation and deceit, does not change the bond with the country of birth or the beauty of and love for one’s home that one knows no other!
Now for those who stay to fight, it is particularly hard rending when they ask who they are fighting for, and whether it is worth while to fight for a so called marginalized group whose members, especially the brightest and most mobile, take the path of least resistance of exit, leaving less and less behind to contend against the forces of oppression.
Malaysia today is the last surviving Apartheid, the one in South Africa, dismantled not too long ago. Would that have been possible in South Africa, if Nelson Mandela had emigrated when he was young to escape incarceration or the masses of black youth who rally behind him?
#7 by Bigjoe on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 9:57 am
It is most interesting that the public debate of whether to leave or stay and fight for our rights have actually moved to where those who leave are no longer criticised by non-bumiputras (Bumiputras have no decency to say anything in this matter).
It means that we are actually moving on. The choice is clear for non-bumis – leave if you can, work to help those you love to leave next, then its stay and fight.
We all know that the NEP will end but that will not end discrimination itself. It will takes just as long to correct institutional discrimination as the NEP policy will have been implemented after it ends. When the NEP ends, then the real fighting and pain between the races will surface. What will be debated is the Malay morality itself and what kind of people they are. At the end of the verdict, the Malay race will not be looked down upon as they have feared in the past but they have lost their right of respect among the best at least for a long long time even after the NEP is removed. How they correct the NEP policy after it end will determine whether they will be respected. But its likely that the immorality of what have been doned to what will be millions of non-bumis overseas will always marred their history forever..
#8 by terencesgk on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 10:06 am
J, you’re SPOT ON!!!!
#9 by aquila on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 10:13 am
Well, I would argue that Malaysia has done many things for J. He did have a medical education, did he not? Without a place in university, I doubt he would have been able to graduate as a top student and have the options that he has now. Life is unfair, but he has been luckier than other non-Malay peers who did not have the opportunities that he has had. I hope he comes back someday to change the situation for millions of other Malaysians who have not been as lucky as he has been.
#10 by Oldman on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 10:27 am
‘..forget about the BN and its discriminatory policies. We just simply have to ignore them and carry on with our lives..” Billy
I am not sure what you are advocating there. I hope it is not what I already said above..that Chinese ‘When bullied, we just shake our heads at the injustice, and then just carry on with our lives like nothing has happened’ and then continue to vote BN.
“..We all know that the NEP will end..” Bigjoe
For the sake of the Chinese, I hope you are right. But that sounds to me more like an MCA talk…always telling the Chinese to be patient, that NEP will end one day, and that has been decades ago. In my opinion, unless the Chinesse vote out the MCA people and get real representation for the Chinese, the NEP will continue and even gets worse as we get nearer to the time the oil runs out. As I see it, from the reports of corruptions in the newspapers all around us, it seems that anybody who is able to, is just busy plundering the nation while the going is still good.
#11 by terencesgk on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 10:32 am
J is spot on. I think the whole thing that’s going on is rotten beyond imagination. I’m not questioning the content of the mederka contract (it’s a contract that allow our forefathers to gain the independence) but I surely think that Malaysia is really making an idiot of itself for discriminating against certain section of the population (yes, those born on Malaysian soil), just because the ancestors of these group of people arrived on the Malaysian soil at a later time than theirs. Hahaha. I am puzzled why should I called myself a “foreigner”, and being treated as one, in my own country while they give better treatment to a tourist. The only time they treated me as a Malaysian is when they approach me to say “Vote for BN”.
I see some commenter here saying that we’ve a wonderful country, saying that we can’t get equal treatment elsewhere too etc. etc. Racism in M’sia is one of the worse in the world, in my opinion. It’s legalized and institutionalized. It’s worst than apartheid in South Africa coz it’s done in a very systematical yet devastating way.
I would see myself leaving the country in the next few years too. I’m still searching for a suitable country which at the moment is the US. It’s tough to migrate there now for a M’sian, I guess, for what our so-called representatives do during Rice visit to KL (and other factors such as M’sia is an Islamic country). I hope those who have migrated would care to share on how to go about doing it. My only regret is that I attended a M’sian university, which is of very little value in the eyes of foreign institutions which would make it very difficult to obtain a job elsewhere. Maybe we can start a forum on how to migrate for those who is interested.
#12 by dragon88 on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 11:01 am
Good luck…You will never regret it. My family moved under 17 years ago and had made the right choice. I was even from Singapore and had a profession. We are never discriminated upon even though we are only PRs. My children excel in their schools and wer given scholarships in a private school and also at universities.
The Chinese in Malaysia has to wake up and fight if they want to live there forever. They are badly organised and cannot work as a team. Most of them are selfish and only look after themself. They only look for immediate benefits rather than long termed. That is why they supported BN in Ijok and others…The Bumis are taking everything. It si already too late…They must stand up and be counted..
#13 by Jan on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 11:31 am
Do you ever feel that you are slowly being edged out as a citizen of this country? After years of discrimination to the non malays some Malay leaders are now telling them to get of the country if they don’t like it here. They even wave the keris at them to tell them they mean business. Now they are suggesting to not only wave the keris but use it as well.
All these acts tell the non malays one thing, you are not welcome here anymore. and they have no regrets whatsoever if more Mr Js leave the country as a million had done so previously.
Did it not occur to you that the non malays are too good for their own good? After the implementation of the NEP which was supposed to let the malays catch up failed because the discriminated chinese and indians became even better in whatever they are doing. Malay leaders began to recognise their people can never ever catch up so began to passively encourage the non malays to leave and at the same time implement more discriminative policies. TDM at one time even admitted that he was amazed how tenacious the chinese were in spite of all the obstacles thrown at them and asked the malays to learn from them.
If more brilliant and well heeled chinese and indians leave the country the future for the remaining non malays will be even more bleak. You can expect the country to slide backwards as in the case of Zimbabwe where many productive white citizena were forced out of the country. The import of low quality Indons by the hundreds of thousands will make the situation much worse and accelerate the country downwards. Truly a banana monarchy in the making!
#14 by dawsheng on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 12:24 pm
smeagroo asked “how does one fight for their rights when the playing field isnt equal?
That’s why one fought in the first place to have the equal playing field. Ask the Malay this question they won’t be able to anwer you, they have the advantages but look at what they achieved. What does that tell you?
We shouldn’t be fighting for this rights in the first place, being equal is enshrined in the constitution. What went wrong? If chinese keep leaving Malaysia for such reason this is a losing game. DAP is a multi-racial party but MCA is the one who suppose to look after the chinese, probably the have a better answer.
Dr J is like J the cybercafe operator, just don’t write to Uncle Kit feeling how sorry you are, tell us also why you didn’t write to MCA or Gerakan or perhaps you did and they just pretend to be sympathetic. Tell us all that! Writing to Uncle Kit won’t solves their problems unless they realize MCA or Gerakan has abandoned them and do the right thing by joining DAP to fight for a Malaysian Malaysia, not chinese malaysia or whatever.
#15 by cherasusie on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 12:48 pm
ladies & gentlemen,
for those who feel happy to see non-malays to leave the country for ethnic reason….let me tell you, you are all traitors!
Our government was legally and popularly elected but unfortunately a certain group of scheming racist zealots took charge and started ruling the country along racial line to fufill their narrow aspirations.
disguised under the umbrella of harmony and peace, they formulated laws that favor certain group or groups of malaysian, bulldozing them through without due regard to the feelings of fellow citizens, of their actions.
in the eyes of civilised world, they contravene the united nation charter on human rights and practice racial discrimination. they are corruptible and incapable of reasoning.
every malaysian owes it to malaysia, without malaysia, we have no place to go!
no malaysian have the right to say they are more malaysian than others……. if they do, they need to urge the government to make a very clear annoucement to the world that the non-malay malaysian are second class citizen in malaysia, then i have nothing to say but start to learn to lead the life of a 2nd class citizen.
luckily they are still god feraing people within the administration who had resisted this disastrous thought.
so unless and until there is such an annoucement, for those who think the country belongs to you……..i say fcuk off and shut up!
#16 by Disgruntled on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 1:05 pm
I think when you tell the Chinese to fight, they start shaking in their shoes.
Problem is either they don’t realise they have the weapons in the form of ballot boxes in every election, or they just ‘boh chup, boh chup” (don’t care).
#17 by waj on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 1:41 pm
Folks,
It’s not only the discrimination that caused people to migrate.
It’s the crime as well.
Do you think your kids gonna inherit a safer place to stay in ?
#18 by Loh on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 1:45 pm
Those who would not vote for BN are not voting when they choose to leave Bolehland. So we have one to two million who left this land would not be counted at election time. Anyway BN might still win with them around, if they end up to be passive voters. But if they choose to dedicate themselves to serving the place we have a right to remain, bolehland might change for the better.
It is certainly the choice of an individual based on his needs whether one should migrate or not. But, when one has the brain and is able to lead a not too uncomfortable life in Malaysia, maybe he should consider to help change the country so that the not so capable persons and their children might benefit. The one-to-two millions who left obviously have deprived the country of the opportunity to move up the GDP ladder. That might be a lesson the powers-that-be should learn. But then we have among the so-called leaders who considered race the most emotional issue, and they were prepared to allow the nation suffer the loss of prosperity so long as their ‘race’ are better off compared to other races. But the champions of the Malay race are aware that except for the religion, there were great diversity in the blood running in their veins that would allow anthropologists to classify them to belong to a race. But, they could feign love and allegiance for the race until there was a conflict of interest, as shown by a brotherly inflicted black eyes. So, not all Malay votes are necessarily presold to UMNO. Persons who are able to pack and leave may want to consider making personal sacrifices to stay and fight for a change in the political landscape so that Malaysians can really enjoy the land to its fullest potential.
#19 by Disgruntled on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 2:01 pm
“Our government was legally and popularly elected….in the eyes of civilised world, they contravene the united nation charter on human rights… ” cherasusie
The fact that the govt is legally elected is the key point in all these arguments about racial discrimination. The United Nations and foreign govt cannot ask for sanctions against this practice in Malaysia because we non bumis participated in voting for this govt. For all I know, if you go to Human Rights Watch site, they are more concerned about detainees and migrant workers than blatant institutionalised racial discrimination in Malaysia.
The Chinese has to wake up and do our parts at the ballot boxes to help Uncle Kit and his people be more effective.
#20 by RealWorld on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 2:10 pm
“i would recognise what you people you have came across is another Pariah westerner, may be you met them in club or pokies or other hanky panky place.” – japankiller
Dont kid yourself. All you need to do is look at history how the white men treat the blacks. In America, the native indians had their lands robbed and taken by white men. I dont see likes of you screaming injustice. In Australia, can you not see what happened to the aborigines? Go to LA and you see what kind of working environment the latinos are subjected too. Oh yes … do check whether they are paid minimum wage.
George Bush is killing hundred of thousands of innocent Iraqis, do i see likes of you screaming that what the US is doing in Iraq is not right?
Why the double standards, dude??
#21 by Billy on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 2:10 pm
To Oldman: Thank you for quoting me, “..forget about the BN and its discriminatory policies. We just simply have to ignore them and carry on with our lives..â€Â
My point of contention is this. My statement did not imply that “When bullied, we just shake our heads at the injustice, and then just carry on with our lives like nothing has happened’ and then continue to vote BN.” The discriminatory policies are here and they are here to stay for a long, long time. But instead of moaning and trying to get out of the country, we need to first see how we need to fit in this discriminative scenario. We must strengthen our fortitude by first ensuring our family’s welfare is well looked after. With that peace of mind, we move onto the next step, and that is to become the agent of change. Join a political party or NGO or participate in protests against the unlawful acts of the government. Today, I am active blogging for opposition support and at the same time, I am at peace with myself knowing with pride that my kids are doing OK achieving successes on their own merits and giving others a run for their money. FYI, I am not an MCA supporter but was once a member of the DAP party actively canvassing for Farn Seong Than (Sg Besi) in the 70s who eventually won the seat.
#22 by RealWorld on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 2:14 pm
“And like you we are citizens and as citizens we go to the polls every five years to choose the type of government we want for ourselves.” – undergrad2
You are given the right to vote and participate in the democratic process. So, if one is still unhappy etc, the choice is always available to pack up and leave.
This is a free world , dude.
#23 by Kingkong on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 2:27 pm
“ for those who feel happy to see non-malays to leave the country for ethnic reason….let me tell you, you are all traitors!†–cherasusie Says
Come on! Who has given you the right or the power to tell other people are traitors?
These people are leaving the country by choice, by their own decision, whatever reason they may base on. That is a basic human right. He does what he thinks fit for his own life. Is this guilt? Can’t he have a right to pursue his dream? No one has forced someone to migrate. Everyone deserves a right to seek a better living in this WORLD.
Even Pak Lah’s brother is happily opening a Nasi Kandang Restaurant in Perth. That is his choice.
We have to respect an individual decision!
#24 by dragon88 on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 2:42 pm
I suggest to all readers of this blog to please boycott this Nasi Kandang Restaurant in Perth that belongs Pak Lah’s brother. Their food is political poison… even they are the best. This is teh best we could do to a corrupt PM amd his family…
#25 by dragon88 on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 2:43 pm
I meant those who live or visit Perth
#26 by RealWorld on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 2:47 pm
“I suggest to all readers of this blog to please boycott this Nasi Kandang Restaurant in Perth that belongs Pak Lah’s brother.” dragon88
Are you out of your mind!!??
Why dont you boycott being a Msian as well?
#27 by teetwoh on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 3:11 pm
A “Malaysian Malaysia”, as in a Malaysia where the malay holds absolutely no privillges of any sort, and everyone is truly equal in Malaysia, has been a dream for a long time now, and will remain a dream as long as no one is willing to face up to the music. No pain no gain. Unless someone is willing to sacrifice the sacred cows of the allegedly constitutionally protected cow of malay privilleges, Malaysia would continue to face the same old music. It was a problem 40 years ago, and remains a problem today. Is anyone really, truly interested in change? I dont think so. That is why I left the country and would remain outside.
#28 by dawsheng on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 3:30 pm
“Is anyone really, truly interested in change? I dont think so. That is why I left the country and would remain outside.” teetwoh
Granted if you are speaking for yourself. I wouldn’t be here if my opinion is the same as yours.
#29 by mandela on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 3:50 pm
undergrad2 said // In Malaysia, discrimination is institutionalized and legalized.//
Yes, no other countries in this world practices discrimination against its fellow citizens as severe as Malaysia!
Yes, this is 21st century!
Selangor is a “developed state” too!
The country is celebrating 50th aniversary.
#30 by Jeffrey on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 4:04 pm
Your heart grieves at a heart-rending email from J and you ask, “Does it bother Pak Lah, our Prime Minister and the Cabinet?â€Â
I ask why should Pak Lah, our Prime Minister and the Cabinet grieve? Had J stayed would he not vote against them?
The pertinent question is whether you would grieve when those whom you fight for and on behalf, give up the fight themselves.
The question they, the ones for whose birth rights you fight for, must ask is whether if Malaysia were the last bastion of Apartheid after its dismantling in South Africa, would the dismantling of Apartheid in South Africa be possible at all if Nelson Mandela has ceased the fight (and earlier on migrated?), and those for whose rights he fought, the disenfranchised black youths especially the best, brightest, and educated amongst them, have also emigrated to Australia, New Zealand, USA or Canada telling the likes of Mandela, they appreciate the sacrifice but that’s not practical, and don’t waste his time?
#31 by japankiller on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 4:15 pm
And Bush bombing Iraq is not because he is discriminate to Iraqis or he has some prejudis to Muslim community. Jsut look back at the history then you should know more.
#32 by japankiller on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 4:17 pm
Those chinese who wish to stay on in Malaysia, make sure either you are really rich like Lim Goh Thong or else you are extremely poor than the Malay.
They need Lim Goh Thong, cause he is the blue chip business tychoon, they need the poor chinese cause that will make them feel better.
#33 by RealWorld on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 4:49 pm
“And Bush bombing Iraq is not because he is discriminate to Iraqis or he has some prejudis to Muslim community.” – japankiller
japankiller,
I take it either you have never venture out of your neighbourhood or you have an extremely thick goggles.
Just for my curiosity sake, why is Bush bombing iraq then?? I really really would like to hear your explaination.
And since you want to refer to history, I am all for it.
Shall we look at America and how the blacks were treated then and even till today? You been to NYC? Go see who are the hardcore poor in the ghettos or Queens.
#34 by RealWorld on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 4:52 pm
“Those chinese who wish to stay on in Malaysia, make sure either you are really rich like Lim Goh Thong or else you are extremely poor than the Malay.” – japankiller
If the above is pre-dominantly the thoughts / maturity of a typical Opposition supporter/ party member , then I have this to say ……………………….. NO WONDER YOU SODS GOT THUMPED!
#35 by teetwoh on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 5:09 pm
“Is anyone really, truly interested in change? I dont think so. That is why I left the country and would remain outside.†teetwoh
Granted if you are speaking for yourself. I wouldn’t be here if my opinion is the same as yours.
What’s the cause for your optimism, Dawsheng?
#36 by dawsheng on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 5:26 pm
Do I have a coice? I do. One thing I don’t is to be given birth in Malaysia. Looking at the bright side of things get me going, that’s my cause for optimism.
#37 by dragon88 on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 5:39 pm
RealWorld likes to pick on others. But he didn’t even understand what others were writing. Please contribute with your own thoughts instead of picking like a woodpacker…
#38 by Jeffrey on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 5:53 pm
Dragon88, You are assuming that a woodpecker wants to contribute. By nature, it does not. It does not look at the whole tree of the argument or an opinion, whether it could stand as an oak or creep like a clinging vine…A wood pecker selectively looks for interstices between or holes in the bark from which it could peck at insects, carpenter ants and woodboring beetle larvae.
#39 by cherasusie on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 6:04 pm
mr.real world,
you said
1. how the white men treat the blacks. In America, the native indians had their lands robbed and taken by white men.
2. In Australia, can you not see what happened to the aborigines?
a. so does it justifies you do the same to your fellow malaysian?
your answer probably yes…and i tell you fcuk off, check your own keturunan first…when they finished off with non malays the will be after your backside, they probably ask you to wear diapers around your body, dude! and keep beard whether you want it or not…fool!
b. are they still doing it? do they still allow it?
i don’t care your answer but let me tell you, wherever you go, you will find racists… but, atleast these country’s laws are very clear i.e NO DISCRIMINATION !
this is the prerequisite of a developed world, .NO DISCRIMINATION…malaysia, you are not too far from 2020.
about land taken by the whites, history lah kawan… malaysia was colonised 500 years so what to do? japanese killed and raped millions of asians, you don’t revenge but you still look east? Dr. M, Mr. Real World, huh?
narrow minded malaysian like you are turning the clock backward so as to suit your egoistic orgasm… talking about black slavery and apatheid….hello kawan, orang sudah moved forward lah, no more…lah!
it is undeniable that people of the same wave length with you are controlling the nation…..resulting in malaysia….. slowly but surely drifting further and further away from countries which we should be atleast on par if not better, like singapore, korea, hongkong, and taiwan.
if you got 10A’s and can’t get into an Australian university, this is not racism but protectionism
but if you got 10A’s and can’t get into a Malaysian university, this is down right racism! discrimination! racial prejudice., of the highest order….plain waste of talent, unpatriotic and great malaysian shame!
there are so many examples but i am not here to hurt but hope to knock some senses to some irrational people who seem incapable of simple reasoning.
cheers!
say sorry to people you have done injustice…unite and move forward.
#40 by dorjee on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 6:44 pm
I had gave up and moved on….
I’m living in Ireland and mat sallehs here, treat me as a human and not the color of my skin or my chinese looking appearance or even what’s my religion! and I really wish the apartheid government back home treat me as good! Damn!
#41 by undergrad2 on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 6:50 pm
“You are given the right to vote and participate in the democratic process. So, if one is still unhappy etc, the choice is always available to pack up and leave” RealWorld
Thank you for reminding us. Surprise! Surprise! I’m already out of there.
But I will continue to fight to bring ‘change’ to where ‘change’ is needed, to seek justice where none exists, to seek ‘equality’ where equality is all but non-existent.
#42 by undergrad2 on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 7:42 pm
“I would see myself leaving the country in the next few years too. I’m still searching for a suitable country which at the moment is the US. It’s tough to migrate there now for a M’sian, I guess, for what our so-called representatives do during Rice visit to KL (and other factors such as M’sia is an Islamic country). I hope those who have migrated would care to share on how to go about doing it. My only regret is that I attended a M’sian university, which is of very little value in the eyes of foreign institutions which would make it very difficult to obtain a job elsewhere. Maybe we can start a forum on how to migrate for those who is interested.” Terencesgk
Great idea!
I’ll roll the ball right now.
First, you gotta get used to the fact that you’re just trading one turf for another. There is racism here too although it is illegal. Racism is not institutionalized in the “Land of the Free and Home of the Brave” but it sure does exist at the workplace and is practiced with great subtlety, fine-tuned to an art form – and the effect could be just as devastating.
Secondly, this is American post 9/11. Expect to have it rough and tough.
Thirdly, if you’re planning to come over here with a student visa, expect a closer scrutiny as to your real intention. Upon arrival you will not be getting a Social Security Number that would allow you to open bank accounts or work during your summer breaks. You’ll be getting some other number. For those who are unfamiliar with the importance of having Social Security Number (SSN) it is like our IC.
Without it you cannot have a phone, have gas and electricity connected to your residence – and not just take on a job legally during summer.
The institutions you study with are required by law to report your progress, where you are and when you are requesting for a transfer to another institution.
Fourthly, if you’re planning to come over here with a tourist visa with no intention to leave at some foreseeable future and assuming your plane touches down at the Newark Liberty International, be resigned to the fact that you’ll face a life of exploitation by members of your own community – who will pay you cash for menial jobs that you do, and at below the legal minimum wage. Be prepared to wait at tables, or be a busboy (nothing to do with buying a ticket for your ride to work) for long hours for a very long time. The resilience that you acquire in Malaysia studying and working there will not be enough to see you through. For the lucky ones, thank your lucky stars if you get to spend the next decade of your life flipping burgers.
What happens when you’re sick?? You just have to thank God for whatever is left of your health. You cannot afford the medication and certainly not the doctor who needs to write out the prescription – and without the doctor’s prescription the drugs you need to nurse yourself back to health will still be available if you could afford to throw away a week’s wages!
I am sorry to have to paint such a dismal picture of life in New York as an illegal immigrant – because that’s what you are when you come over here.
There are of course other ways of coming to the United States as a legal immigrant if you can afford the time (ten years if you’re lucky) and the money (if you have a million stashed somewhere will be a good sum to begin with). If you are a rocket scientist and feel that you are blessed with the ability to contribute to NASA’s efforts to put man on Mars, you already have the ease of migration that you may not even be aware of – because the United States will grant any of your best three wishes.
So there you go! That would be a good start.
#43 by RealWorld on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 7:45 pm
Dear Jeffrey,
Talking about woodpecker and all….. I remember i asked you a question sometime back about a blogger’s action of not reporting to the police. You said if you were in his shoes, you “WOULD CONSIDER” lodging the report. But you were disappointed for that blogger for not making the report himself.
Now, why the double standards?? It is easier to be in the background and dish out empty rhetorics in your pyjamas , is it?
Hmmm … looking more like a turtle, dude. A turtle’s head is always in it’s shell at the slightest notion of danger.
My cantonese friends have a saying ” sok tow uu kwai”
#44 by RealWorld on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 7:50 pm
“But I will continue to fight to bring ‘change’ to where ‘change’ is needed, to seek justice where none exists, to seek ‘equality’ where equality is all but non-existent.” – undergrad2
Ooooo very patriotic la.
Dude, if you wanna do that. Come back and be counted. Stand upfront like Kit, Guan Eng, Karpal and fight for the people and justice etc etc etc. Dont do it in relative comfort of a few thousand km away
#45 by RealWorld on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 7:54 pm
cherasusie,
Show me where is it written in our constitution that it is ok to discriminate??
From the way, you wrote we are like a 3rd world country like Bhutan or Somalia. Tell me, are you living in the gutter now? Have no job. Starving? Have no education and deprived of basic amenities???
#46 by cherasusie on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 8:00 pm
sorry…you are not real,
you are incapabable of reasoning…. i am not wasting my time on a tanjung rambutan escapee
soory bro, no more….cheers!
#47 by undergrad2 on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 8:03 pm
“Dude, if you wanna do that. Come back and be counted. Stand upfront like Kit, Guan Eng, Karpal and fight for the people and justice etc etc etc. Dont do it in relative comfort of a few thousand km away” RealWorld
There are times when I agree with your views – and there are times when I do not. This is more of the latter.
You’re asking me to come back but I thought you wanted me to leave?? You cannot have it both ways, dude. Or you’ll end up facing a sodomy trial!
#48 by Jeffrey on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 8:15 pm
Dear RealWord
I was frustrated first but now amused that you are still harping after – what I think 4 months? – about the discussion on what a person should do, whether to lodge a police report when bullied by police. I believe I have explained extensively the position then. You have a long memory but short understanding and I cannot possibly improve your understanding by further elucidation here nor will I try. Cheers.
#49 by Jeffrey on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 8:35 pm
To Mr RealWorld anyone who wants to be counted should step up the plate and run as a candidate for election (if necessary come back from overseas) or else shut up and stop complaining and whinning in this blog about the country’s policies. For do to so is to engage in arm chair political discourse of no effective relevance. Indirectly the message is : don’t waste one’s time and others by commenting on this blog. Why don’t you ask Kit why he puts up this blog and invite comments when it would be more useful from your point of view to invite them to meet up and see if they could be enlisted as DAP’s potential candidates? Please pardon me if I tend to be over-imaginative, but your basic stance is to discourage discourse or comments in blogs with the underlying thread of argument that commenting is useless unless there is tangible action to do something. As I earlier pointed out blog has blog’s purpose and running as a candidate has got its own use and purpose but one can’t say that if you are not prepared to do the latter than stop be an arm chair critic in the former. May I ask what is your agenda in manipulating arguments in this way? I mean what is your real hidden agenda in trying to undermine blogs in that subtle way? I don’t think it is to make people wiser and understand things better. Nothing you have said in this post present and past has furthered such a purpose. So what is your real agenda? You can plump it out : there’s nothing to be ashamed.
#50 by undergrad2 on Sunday, 29 April 2007 - 8:43 pm
“I hope those who have migrated would care to share on how to go about doing it. My only regret is that I attended a M’sian university, which is of very little value in the eyes of foreign institutions which would make it very difficult to obtain a job elsewhere. Maybe we can start a forum on how to migrate for those who is interested.†Terencesgk
Great idea! Let’s roll.
First, when you leave Malaysia you’d do well not to carry with any political baggage along with you. Excess baggage will cost you.
Be aware that you could be trading one turf for another – meaning there is racism here too in the United States, both in the marketplace as well as the workplace. Unlike in Malaysia where racial discrimination is out in the open and is institutionalized, over here it is more subtle and therefore harder to prove. Remember Americans are proud to refer their country as “Land of the Free and Home of the Brave†and consistent with that tradition they feel free to discriminate, be a racist, a bigot etc but you are accountable and there are consequences you’ll have to face.
Secondly, if you intend to disguise yourself as someone who likes to attend classes, read and write essays about U.S. history, entry to the United States today is not that easy today. They will look at who you leave behind, if you have closed all your bank accounts or if you are bringing you more than just your personal effects. Or if you have the habit of choosing the U.S. as a country you’d like to spend your vacation in the last five years.
Thirdly, if you intend to arrive underneath the wings of a Boeing 747, I think you should first write out your last will and testament and testify in the presence of your prostitute of a lawyer whose work and whose morals do not oblige him to giving proper advice to his clients – certainly not when there are big bucks to be made.
Fourthly, if you intend to arrive in the United States in shipping containers be sure to pay enough to your agent to see that there are enough holes for you to breath in your long journey here – otherwise you will arrive here DOA. DOA in this case does not mean “Someone will do your ass†but it is close.
If you think you can outwit ICE (short for gun-totting thugs on U.S. government payroll), then you have come to the right place to learn the importance of habeas corpus as a relief for a detainee in a special center for illegal aliens at Elizabeth, Newark. Here you will be housed and fed at U.S. government expense. They even give you a free ride home on the best equipped Boeing 747 escorted by their latest fighter jets – nothing like the ageing and overpriced Sukhoi which Malaysia bought from Russia.
Now do you still want to come??