'Some things are hard to legislate, but with some rules and enforcement, at least we can eliminate 50 percent of race-based actions.'

Malott painted only half the picture of racism

Pemerhati: All forms of racism by all ethnic groups need to be highlighted (as Umar Mukhtar has done) and condemned. Only then can Malaysia change and improve for the better.

Blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin, who was the victim of Chinese private sector racism, sees the big picture and highlights the serious defects in the present BN government (e.g. the massive corruption and the apartheid-like supremacist policies) and the urgent need for change to a different leadership which would lead to the establishment of a two-party system of government.

Once a change in government (say to Pakatan Rakyat) takes place, there would be an immediate savings of tens of billion ringgit due to the elimination of blatant corruption by BN and a reduction or elimination of capital flight which in 2008 amounted to a few billion ringgit per week.

The new leadership should then look at the other crucial problems and find ways of creating an excellent school system with which all ethnic groups would be happy as in Singapore.

Guest: Umar, I think you are missing the point. What John Malott suggested was that the government lacked the political will to mitigate racial tension by quoting specific examples.

On the other hand, your letter implies a 'tit-for-tat' approach and launch a broadside against one particular community. If I may add, perhaps your letter was a shallow attempt to justify without any real 'conviction'.

Not Convinced: I think one way out of racism is to pass a Race Relations Act or an Equal Opportunity Act. It will make discrimination based on race, gender and sexuality illegal. A number of individuals and groups have mooted this initiative, the latest being Chinese education group Dong Zong .

But I guess Malaysia, for obvious reason, is not ready for it. So the blame game, from both sides, will continue.

Susah Kes: What Umar says has bearing on real-life situations in Malaysia. The sad truth is man's heart will always accommodate some form of discrimination - whether it's race, gender, disability. Some things are hard to legislate.

Having said that, the creation of equal opportunities in areas mentioned elsewhere is not above the government of the day. For example, the government can make it mandatory that jobs do not stipulate racial preference.

I agree, it's not easy to put rules and determine a man's value system, but with some rules and enforcement, we can probably eliminate 50 percent of race-based actions. Nevertheless, we must not disregard the main issue, and that is Umno/BN's use of race as a means to stay in power and get rich - not because they care for the Malay race per se.

Consider this - the income gap in this country is widest among the Malays. That itself tells you of the failure of Umno. If there are those who practice subtle racism, then Umno ought to have taken the bull by the horn, instead of perpetuating it.

LSP: I'm a product of a national school (a former mission school) and I'm always proud of my alma mater. But now I sent my children to a Chinese school and so do many of my former schoolmates. Why?

I think the reasons have been given by many readers here. As for jobs, I have no hesitation in hiring a Malay for a senior executive position as long as he/she is competent, with the right attitude and able to communicate well in English.

But alas, how many Malays can do the latter. The so-called Malay nationalists are the ones who will eventually cause the downfall of their own race.

Phoenix Star 88: This is an eye-opening article indeed. Racism and overzealous religiosity in national schools is one issue but discrimination against non-Chinese in the private sector is another altogether.

You just have to look at the classified section in the newspaper to see how many jobs have a 'Mandarin speakers only' requirement. Is such a requirement really necessary since all Malaysians speak Malay and most urban Malaysians speak English? Not all Chinese employers are as fair-minded as commentator LSP. Walk into any major mall and you'll see Chinese hegemony among the staff. Only the department stores are fair in employment.

Many Malays and Indians are afraid to set up businesses out of fear of experiencing the same fate as RPK's motorbike dealership. This country operates on racial profiling. Malay - civil service/GLCs. Indian - lawyer/doctor. Chinese - you can be anything except be PM or head of a government department. No wonder our country is not competitive.

Furthermore, it is in my opinion that insitutionalised racism and societal racism are both equally damaging to society. Both types of racism must be eradicated as soon as possible with effective legislation to improve the quality of life of all Malaysians.

Nobody wins when the issue of race is used to deny a Malaysian the opportunity to fully utilise his or her talents.

Ida Bakar: This is a very good analysis and very timely. Regarding the issue of non-Malays refusing to learn and use the national language: If only Umar detractors knew how the English-speaking population of the UK dislike those who refuse to speak the 'national' language and prattle on in their native tongue in the presence of English-only speakers. This is taken as rude, pandering to exclusivity and so on. However, in Malaysia - and amongst Chinese Malaysians abroad, sadly - it is okay to do so.

Blogsmith: Encik Umar, tahukah dalam sekolah kebangsaan, ada cikgu Melayu yang diskriminasi terhadap orang bukan Melayu. Lagi, oleh kerana dasar Dasar Ekonomi Baru, ada ramai cikgu cikgu yang tidak cekap mengajar Bahasa Inggeris, Mathematics dan Sains.

Kami yang ada pengaruhan yang begitu nipis boleh mengubah keadaan itu kah? Itu alasan kami tidak hantar anak anak kami ke sekolah kebangsaan. Walaupun mungkin ada ‘overt discrimination' (harap tidak luas) tapi itu bukan dari orang bukan Melayu sahaja.

Tanpa DEB dan lain lain, pun ada diskriminasi orang Melayu terhadap orang bukan Melayu. Itu malang kejadian seluruh dunia. Itu boleh jadi sebab kenapa harus ada diskriminasi rasmi terhadap orang bukan Melayu kah? Supaya hampir tak ada peluang orang bukan Melayu menjadi kakitangan kerajaan dan lain lain.

Nuckin: Our education system and ‘sekolah kebangsaan' system have gone to the dogs. Malaysian education policies are not founded and backed by statistics. Education policies change at the minister's whim. Changes are not announced or debated in cabinet but at Umno assemblies.

With the Education Ministry making flip-flop decisions year in year out that are like playing Russian roulette with our children's future, do not blame parents for finding other better places to educate their children.

When you know that your drinking water is contaminated and stale, would you keep forcing it on your children and family?

Blogsmith: Encik Umar Mukhtar, saya bangsa Malaysia walaupun kerajaan kami anggap saya orang Cina. Apakah logik ini, tak fasir cakap Bahasa Malaysia atau Bahasa Melayu bermakna tak setia atau racist? Hantar anak ke sekolah vernacular dan bukan sekolah kebangsaan bermakna tak setia atau racist?

Sejak tahun 70 puluhan yang lepas, kami pun sedar bahawa negara Cina akan menjadi negara penting dan dengan penduduk penduduk yang begitu ramai akan menjadi pasaran yang begitu besar. Itu sebab kami hantar anak anak kami ke sekolah vernacular, oleh dengan pengenalan bahasa Mandarin mereka akan ada peluang kerja yang lebih luas. Itu bukan racist.

Lagi, lama dahulu, saya hantar anak saya ke sekolah nasional. Apa berlaku? Di sana, cikgu dia sebelum mula kelas akan berdoa secara Islam. Orang beragama Islam memang takut anaknya dipengaruhi oleh agama lain dan akan bantah kalau cikgu Kristian bermula kelas dengan berdoa secara Kristian. Sama juga kami yang beragama lain. Itu racist, kah?

Rick Teo: I don't know the age of the writer (Umar) but I was educated in the national school during our Bapa Malaysia's era, Tunku Abdul Rahman, our first PM. I have witnessed the degradation of our education system through five PMs.

I enjoyed my time in the national schools then. But what I saw in the slow Islamisation of the national schools made me decide to send my children to vernacular schools - not because I didn't want my children to mix with Malay or Indian boys or learn Bahasa Malaysia, but because I was shocked at the disrespect I saw happening in national schools towards other race and religion.

Vernacular schools were so unpopular among the Chinese during my time that most voluntarily closed for lack of students. Most Chinese and Indians were all in favour of national schools. The medium of instruction was English and Bahasa was one of the main languages.

Many of us Chinese grew without learning a word of Mandarin. We proudly wanted to master English because it was the language of commerce and science. To have a bright future, we knew we had to master English, and not Chinese or Bahasa Malaysia.

Why the exodus of Chinese to vernacular schools? It was not the learning of Bahasa or the desire to be racially-segregated as espoused by the writer, but because of the gradual introduction of religious practice which was absent before. In addition, all the teachers were replaced with only one race and many of them were religious bigots.

Up to 60,000 of Malays are now registered in vernacular schools in Malaysia. If the Chinese are racists, would they have opened their doors to such a huge influx of Malay students to these schools? This alone refutes what the writer said that the Chinese opt to study in Chinese schools in order to be racially segregated. I rest my case.

KSN: If we had national schools like Singapore where the mother-tongue is taught without fail, then there would be no problem. That would be a good start towards checking racism. Who is going to guarantee that requirement and need?

The Chinese have no faith in the Umno government. Going one step beyond, what about other areas like employment in the civil service, business opportunities, scholarships, places in the universities, meritocracy, poverty eradication, skills training, etc?

Every aspect of our life is racially-biased against non-Malays. That is racism, briefly, in Malaysia. So getting rid of vernacular schools is not going to help at all. Other guarantees must be in place, monitored and enforced without discrimination by race.

See what happened under NEP? It does not look good. Even if Umno, assuming it had the backbone and foresight and tried to overcome racism, the ultras would not permit it.

David Dass: Racism in all of its forms and by whoever should be condemned and outlawed when it results in job discrimination for instance. We all have anecdotes about experiences of racial prejudice.

I have always advocated a one-school system and an end to any school or college or university being for one race only. And the civil service and security forces should be more racially diversified. And so should the GLCs and all companies in the private sector whether owned by Malay, Chinese, Indian or whoever else.

We should not justify our racism on the basis that it was a result of the other's racism. Nor should we ignore the causes for racial segregation and for racial polarisation. The issue of Malay-language proficiency and speaking fluency should be addressed at the school level. Students who go through the school system should be able to converse fluently in Malay.

No one is 'proud' not to be able to speak Malay or any other language. This land is our land. Let us make it work.

Don't Play God: What Umar Mukhtar failed to point out, or failed to realise, is that racism and discrimination by the Malays against the non-Malays is official policy and institutionalised.

Just look at the federal, state, and GLCs' scholarships handed out for the last 40 years. Just look at the directors and deputy directors of government departments, the ministers, the mayors of Kuala Lumpur. Just look at the billion ringgit projects. The examples are too glaring.

Yes, there is also racism against the Malays by the Chinese, but this is on a societal level, just like there is racism in every level of society in all communities all over the world. But it is only here in Malaysia in the whole wide world where racism is official and institutionalised. Over to you, Umar.

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