September 17, 2012
As Malaysians, defining ourselves by race only further divides us
By Dato Dr. Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria*
IN 1995, I was asked to contribute an article to a local daily that was running a series entitled “I am Malaysian”.
What prompted me to agree was a queer question posed to me a few weeks earlier by a gentleman from Terengganu: “You ni kacukan ke?” Loosely translated: “Are you of mixed parentage?”
I should have been offended. But he appeared sincere, no malice intended. Just honest curiosity.
Growing up in Malacca in the Portugese Settlement, it never occurred to me that we were somehow different; set apart because of our race.
As the nation celebrated Malaysia Day yesterday, I recalled the question of the Terengganu gentleman while observing the developments around me.
Which brings me to where we are today.Malaysia Day is as good as any day to ponder the meaning of what it means to be Malaysian.
Fifty-five years after independence and 49 years into being Malaysia, we should be reveling in the fact that we are a multi-cultural, multi-racial, multi-religious country.
Yet, we are continually reminded that we are nation defined, and perhaps, divided by race.Conversations tend to focus more on the divisive rather than celebrating the collective. Does it matter how we define ourselves?
My friend, Dr Nungsari Radhi, recently wrote that “by defining ourselves by race, we are appealing to our primordial and unenlightened selves.We are choosing a very low common denominator that is neither inspirational nor inspiring. It rears its ugly side whenever the country faces hard decisions. It is choking the country.” I couldn’t agree with him more.
In my family, each of us would struggle to define ourselves by race. We are thoroughly of mixed racial origin.It is even more complicated for our children.
I am married to a Malaysian of Indian origin. My sister Rachel is married to Patrick, of Malacca Straits-born Chinese descent. His mother-tongue is the Malay dialect that the Malacca Nyonya and Baba speak. My brother, Moses, is married to Stephanie, who is a Hokkien from Malacca; Assunta is married to Merlyn who is of Chinese-Indian heritage. Clifford is married to a Filipino; and Sara is married to Sikim, a Kadazan.
So, how would one classify our children? And I know we are not alone. There are many like us. Of course, for want of a specific definition, folks like us are officially classified as lain-lain or “others”. Neither accurate, nor complimentary, surely.
It is for this reason that I was pleased when the Government proposed to remove race from official forms.I would like to see this proposal gain traction. I would go so far as to say that any attempt to define us by race is only a bureaucratic convenience. And there is a real downside to such conveniences. It is self-serving.
We continue to perpetuate stereotypes and prevent the organic evolution of a Malaysian race.
I look forward to the day when we identify ourselves as Malaysian first. I don’t think this would in any way diminish the uniqueness of each ethnic group. Neither would this cause the demise of any particular culture. Instead, it lays the foundation for us to move forward more cohesively and inclusively as a nation. And what a powerful statement on national unity!
Happy Malaysia Day!
Editor’s note: *Dato’ Dr. Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria is the Secretary-General of the International Trade and Industry Ministry but expressing this as her personal opinion.
“We continue to perpetuate stereotypes and prevent the organic evolution of a Malaysian race”.– Dato’ Dr. Rebecca
We do that for politics. Malaysian race? That will be a long term thing requiring the skills of a true leader. Politicians have messed things up for their own interest. So we as parents must take responsibility for bring up our kids to think themselves as Malaysians since our schools are not equipped to do so.
Politicians have failed us. After 55 years, we are more race conscious that we were before. Say no to Perkasa and its recalcitrant Patron, Biro Tata Negara and other xenophobic agencies of government.–Din Merican
Removing race from forms are only one of the gimmick for fishing votes. It will not gain traction with the present leaders, if not it would not be an issue worth mentioning. In fact your question is answered with your mentioning.
Dato, your name already “betray” your origin but to me more on the Malay side. No offence, and with due respect your concerns are mine as well as many Malaysians. It is commendable that you raise it and hopefully but not too optimist myself that the present leaders will buy any of our concerns because what they feared now are their ill-gotten assets being exposed once a new establishment takes over.
The amazing thing about the Indonesians are that their names do not “betray” their origin and thus do not “incriminate them”. Not until the individual reveal himself, we never know what origin he is.
As for Singapore, they have their race mentioned in forms. Yet, the Singaporean don’t feel discriminated. Why, because their leaders are not race inclined. Their leaders, from the beginning set policies based on fairness and achievement, are rated by merit not by race or religion which many Malaysians now find unproductive and damaging. The forms are just for information but how the information are used that is the critical issue. To borrow an author’s word, our leaders used these information “to track and marked” us just like cattle, ready to be slaughtered when the cattle don’t tow the lines.
This is proven after 55 years and you Dato is still questioning about Malaysian identity and yes this government is still dividing us because it served them greatly.
well done Becky !!! Happy Malaysia to you , jay and family.
I think there was a time, long ago, when we considered ourselves ‘Malayans’. I can’t speak for my brethren across the South China (West Philippine?) Sea, but that how many of my friends of all races, creed and colour felt. Sports and games then demanded physical interaction, unlike the depersonalised social electronic media today. But that was way before the cynical hijacking of the national agenda and misapplication of the socio-economic ‘affirmative’ policies.
It behoves us to take a look at ourselves and what we have become. It’s easy to blame others – but the reality is that many of us have been led by our noses or pricked in the ass to follow the crowd. Having said that i know many here, including Dr Rebecca, have insisted on sending their kids to local schools, despite the glaring deficiencies of the education system. The hope of this nation will lie with this particular cohort, who have been exposed to the vagaries and peculiarities of different religions, culture, way of thinking and behaviour. And i’m not talking of the blinkered UiTM or other severely compromised BTN’ed grads.
It is not so much a problem of accepting another’s world-view – it’s the incessant calls for rejection that drives anger and chauvinism. Malaysia’s strength is diversity is superficial due to many years of abrasive Superiority politics. All ethnic groups are guilty of this conduct – some are reactionary, others out of hubris.
Don’t be fooled by the Singapore Government using race in forms “just for information”. We know, no matter how good a Muslim Malay is in Singapore, he will not be accepted to be a fighter pilot in the Singapore Air Force & that is only one example.
As for Rebecca, she should know that a race or ethnic origin (even for mixed descent) is not a matter open to one’s choice but a nationality is open to choice. If you are a Chinese or Malay, you are that whether you like it or not but if you choose to be other than a Malaysian, you are free to do so. Even in the USA the various Administrations have made attempts to introduce or springkle into their cabinet posts certain number of Hispanics & Blacks etc which mean they are racially or ethnically conscious though they do not talk about it openly.
It is not too late for us to inculcate the feeling of “Malaysianess” in our children but we have to be prepared to do these following things:
-Get rid of all schools & institutions except the Malaysian National Schools – the Indonesians started their children with “Sekolah Asas” using Indonesian Language. We can teach English & other languages as separate subjects.
-Get rid of all racially based trade associations & others like them.
-Get rid of all racially & religion based political parties.
-Consider adopting Malaysian names like they do in Indonesia and even in Thailand & the Philippines.
If we are not ready to do the above, no leaders either from the BN or the PR can hope to achieve much in respect of Malaysian unity short of having an immediate & clear danger from a threatening common enemy. Or else, shuddup and accept the Malaysian reality.
why should you be offended if someone ask you if you are mixed? I get asked that all the time . I dont get that? There are over 200 different ethinic background here in Australia and we CELEBRATE the richness of it via food, glorious food , cultural shows and language. whats the matter with M’sians?
Brother Hussin ,
Singapore has always been fiercely unwavering on this point :
It is the survival of their nation .
Not the survival of a particular race .
Sorry, Hussin, the pilot thing. You like me heard/read from someone/somewhere and it is also a long time ago. But I have updated my fact, also heard/read from someone/somewhere that the situation has changed.
There are a few reasons, one mentioned by chee while I have others. It may be that no Muslim is interested or they actually don’t merit to qualify. Why must we assumed that all things are negatives. Why not give the benefit of doubt?
Assumption and hearsay is a very dangerous thing I learned recently from the killing in Middle East. For most did not view the film and chaos erupted based on assumption and hearsay.
Well, you may say that I too assume. Yes, I don’t deny but I pick up the good and discard the bad. The good I practice the bad I learn not to practice.
Dear Hussin,
What is your comment on this issue, quoted from http://www.malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns/no-holds-barred/51646-siege-mentality-and-conditioning-of-the-mind, “Unless we stop indoctrinating or brainwashing Muslim children we are never going to solve the problem. Muslims will always view any act as an attack against Islam that requires a hostile and violent response. When you train dogs to attack they will attack. When you train children, who are more intelligent than dogs, that violence is the only legitimate and appropriate response against the ‘enemies of Islam’, then expect that to happen.
Does it hold any truth? Or plain assumption? As for me I tend to agree to the author’s article because in Malaysia there are countless such proven propagandas. The pilot thing is nothing compared to ours.
chee soo lim, so the implication is S’pore wont survive as a nation if the malays have equal power? Pls explain how you come to assert this conclusion.
“As Malaysians, defining ourselves by race only further divides us”
At the very core of this statement are two issues – not one issue. Racism and racial discrimination. There is nothing we can do with the former but a lot with the latter. Generations of Malaysians have grown up reminded daily of what their race is and what their religion is. But all for the wrong reasons – to keep them apart. Now that elections are here UMNO leaders are once again screaming their heads off with slogans like “Takkan Melayu hilang di dunia” and that Malays will not survive without UMNO.
Malays who are successful professionals living in different parts of the world are offended that Najib even pops the question. How will Malays survive without UMNO? He asks. Well, we are doing just fine, Najib. We have unshackled ourselves from the entitlement culture and doing great.
Khatijah (now self styled Kathy) in Australia has shed her tudung and has let her hair down and traded in her sarong for denim jeans (once a symbol of western moral decadence of the ’60s), and is into horse riding with all the freedom that riding brings. Sir Lancelot would just have to work harder. Didi is somewhere west from where I am currently enjoying her WTF moments that comes with living among mormons. And Semper fi? Well, he is asking if life is not what happens to you in between plans. Right now he is enjoying his keronchong jazz relishing in the thought that he is free to do what he wants without JAWI breathing down his neck.
Here in the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave, race is only relevant when describing an escaping bank robber, a fleeing child molester or a naked man in a raincoat.
In the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave, we are all ‘pendatangs’.
Kathy ,
Thanks for your comment .
I thought the 2 simple sentences are quite clear .
By ‘ nation ‘ , I imply people of all races in that country . Certainly , the Singaporean Malays have contributed significantly to make Singapore what she is today .
It’s not about which race has more political power ; it’s all about who ( of any race ) can run a country well .
THE UMNO Malays wants to be CALLED TUANS forever & forever!
Talk about the Malaysian race..?? The first step should have been taken by Tunku A.Rahman after Merdeka to abolish the Chinese and Indian vernacular schools and follow what the Indon did by using Malaysian name for all its citizens…However TAR failed to realized the importance of these fundamental issues before we can talk so much of being Malaysians…!!
How we wish the non -malays could speak fluent Bahasa Malaysia like their Indon counterpart who speak very fluent BahasaIndonesia without feeling a bit deprived from whatever traditional values of their ancestors.
“Ask first what you can do for your country, before asking what your country can do for you”…
I was once a proud Malaysian. I have contributed in more ways than 1…until 1fine day, I was branded a pendatang and now I shall…
in our 55 years of ‘independence’ the country has evolved from Federation of Malaya to Perseketuan Tanah Melayu to Malaysia and finally to Bolehland.
the national language – malay – bahasa Melayu – bahasa Malaysia and slowly it is changing to bahasa Arab.
What identity does Malaysia have? truly asia?
What identity does the people of Malaysia have?
the ruling elites have failed to give us an identity, in fact they have done nothing to unite us as one folk but done everything to keep us apart. it is natural tendency for people to mix -suppose to be the melting pot of cultures- and these tendencies have been subverted for politics, in this land of the freeloaders and home of the losers.
the above article by Dato’ Rebecca if I’m not mistaken, came out a few years ago in another blog. the electioneering is in full swing.
It was just because history says this land is called tanah melayu, the malays must claim ownership outirght!
So, if they want this land to only belong to them, with tanah rizab melayu, so be it, but the others have worked a way around that. They have bought up any land that is for sale, with their large and huge some of wealth accumalated thru hard work and savings.
A lot of malay rizab has been sold off – because the economic situation at times does not allow the REAL land owners to have enough capital to invest and develop it. The short cut is sell it and cash it in! It is nobody’s fault, they just can’t leave the land idle, might as well get the cash and do something else!
So, that being the case, lots of malay lands are no more theirs!
What happens to the others? Aren’t they citizens as well, why have different standards for your OWN RAKYAT!
AREN’T WE ALL MALAYSIANS WHO CELEBRATE 1 MERDEKA & 1 MALAYSIA DAY RECENTLY!
SO – when are we to be ONE NATION, ONE RACE AND ONE MALAYSIA!
IT will never happen if we keep harping who has more rights, who is the boss, who is the leader, who must rule, who must lead…..only the BEST is my answer.
Otherwise we become a backward nation with backward leaders, useless policies and hopeless IDEAS.
chee soo lim, its about who can run a country well? mmm Umno is not representative of ALL malays thanks. I take offence to your even suggesting that. I can run the country very well. I would be very equitable and make sure that everyone has to prove thru merit whether they are capable or not. ALOT of malays ARE capable, VERY capable. I would make surte thatw hat happens under Umno and under the S’porean regime (which is essentially the same, so pls dont belittle my intelligence here)DOES NOT happen AT ALL.
Hi Mr Bean, I have never ever wore a tudong. It is not Islamic really but I respect those who want to wear it. It is not a Koranic requirement. “Veil” means something quite different but thats another topic for another day.
btw chee soo lim,, that lawyer who we have come to know and admire , Rosli Dahlan who is very smart, honest and a leader in his own way, is S’porean. Why has not someone like him been given a leadership position in S’pore? why is he in M’sia?
The late Prof. Ahmad Ibrahim (my lecturer in UM) was a Singaporean and its Attorney-General, a Queen’s scholar with a first class degree from Oxford. Why did he make the switch and became head of Faculty of Economics and Administration?
Bean, didn’t he get recruited by Talent Corpse? ehem
btw Talent Corpse is now actively recruiting in your neck of the woods.
Just wonder if Michelle Yeoh and Jimmy Choo speaks Bahasa very well? Otherwise what so proud that BN make them as Malaysia’s representatives?
Kathy,
Not all serving in the Sinkapore Government are Chinese. There are a number of Indians and other races holding high positions. The higher the position, the culling of the candidates are more stringent. Of course, there are capable Malays but no capable Indians and Eurasians?
Haris,of course there are capable others. I am replying to chee soo lim who says that only some are more able than others in S’pore to govern. As far as I am concerned S’pore regime is practising the same discrimination as Umno is. No different.
Kathy
Everywhere there is discrimination including Down Under even though it is not so open. In Government positions, they are reserved for their mates and open advertisment is just part of the “procedures”. In departments where there are a few Indians, even the Middle Easterners feles that Indians get other Indians into the service. In the private sector, any vacancies, they will ask if you know the applicants. When they get in, chances of going higher is slim because you do not drink and eat like them.
If it is not discrimiation, then it is different in culture. Just look at shops. Why People talk about Sg Wang and Bukit Bintang and not shopping centre like Sogo or Pertama? The Atmosphere in Sg Wang is just different from them just like in the Office. Just ask a person working in office owned by boss of different race.