The very state of being a Malaysian becomes increasingly real and important as my time progresses here in NTU. I've been asked by many, "What is Malaysia like?", "How is Malaysia different?" again and again.
It seems almost as if the job of a Malaysian ambassador had suddenly been thrust at me. Only, perhaps, without the consequences of a higher government official requiring me to toe the line according to our "no foreign power intervention" stance.
I think I'm lucky in the way that I am really not affiliated with any government body of Malaysia. I have had Malaysians abroad admit that they are not allowed to say anything bad about Malaysia, on internet or otherwise, or their scholarship will be revoked.
These comments were elicited during a suggestion I made. What do you think if I started getting students here, many who are future leaders, to sign a petition supporting free and fair elections in Malaysia? The gathering was "not the end, it is but one more step in the long walks for clean and fair elections in Malaysia.
But by asking that question, I realised a greater problem. Do I have the right to ask for support on Malaysia's behalf? And perhaps this may be my post-colonial half speaking: Should we ask foreign powers to help?
Are we, Malaysians abroad and at home, capable of solving our own problems, taking governance into our civil societal hands, and making sure the rights of our minorities are preserved?
How much should I tell about my country, when asked?
I tell people how there is a grassroots movement seeking to take over the governance of Malaysia. And when asked a follow-up question: why, I start explaining about the racialist policies of the BN government. Yet, I've also realised how easy it is to blame BN for the lack of stability, democracy, and transparency in Malaysia.
I was having a heated discussion with a Singaporean. He thinks like my aunts and uncles at family dinners around the dining table, only perhaps without the racist remarks. That the bumiputera policies are unfair. That the Chinese and Indians are oppressed, and the Malays (and a negligible number of indigenous populations) have special rights. That meritocracy and fairness should prevail.
"Do you ever think Bumiputera policies will every go away in our lifetime?" the Singaporean asked.
I answered, No, and added that they should not go away.
And I think the problem with special rights isn't the fact that they are special, but because those without special rights are treated unfairly. Most people don't have a problem with someone being given more of something, but many will be dissatisfied if they are being given less.
Special rights should mean bumiputeras are privileged, not non-bumiputeras being underprivileged, denied education, fairness of consideration, and working rights.
Besides, I continued. The grassroots movement of Malaysia isn't about bumiputera policies. It's about the pitting of Malays against non-Malays in the skewered demented manipulation of the Malaysian government. They arrest opposition politicians to incite racial tensions over the allowance of Azan prayers, when the mosque officials themselves claim there was no such intimidation from the said politician. They arrest a blogger who writes about the alleged cover-ups of the government.
"What is Malaysia like?"
A place I want to return to.
It seems almost as if the job of a Malaysian ambassador had suddenly been thrust at me. Only, perhaps, without the consequences of a higher government official requiring me to toe the line according to our "no foreign power intervention" stance.
I think I'm lucky in the way that I am really not affiliated with any government body of Malaysia. I have had Malaysians abroad admit that they are not allowed to say anything bad about Malaysia, on internet or otherwise, or their scholarship will be revoked.
These comments were elicited during a suggestion I made. What do you think if I started getting students here, many who are future leaders, to sign a petition supporting free and fair elections in Malaysia? The gathering was "not the end, it is but one more step in the long walks for clean and fair elections in Malaysia.
But by asking that question, I realised a greater problem. Do I have the right to ask for support on Malaysia's behalf? And perhaps this may be my post-colonial half speaking: Should we ask foreign powers to help?
Are we, Malaysians abroad and at home, capable of solving our own problems, taking governance into our civil societal hands, and making sure the rights of our minorities are preserved?
How much should I tell about my country, when asked?
I tell people how there is a grassroots movement seeking to take over the governance of Malaysia. And when asked a follow-up question: why, I start explaining about the racialist policies of the BN government. Yet, I've also realised how easy it is to blame BN for the lack of stability, democracy, and transparency in Malaysia.
I was having a heated discussion with a Singaporean. He thinks like my aunts and uncles at family dinners around the dining table, only perhaps without the racist remarks. That the bumiputera policies are unfair. That the Chinese and Indians are oppressed, and the Malays (and a negligible number of indigenous populations) have special rights. That meritocracy and fairness should prevail.
"Do you ever think Bumiputera policies will every go away in our lifetime?" the Singaporean asked.
I answered, No, and added that they should not go away.
And I think the problem with special rights isn't the fact that they are special, but because those without special rights are treated unfairly. Most people don't have a problem with someone being given more of something, but many will be dissatisfied if they are being given less.
Special rights should mean bumiputeras are privileged, not non-bumiputeras being underprivileged, denied education, fairness of consideration, and working rights.
Besides, I continued. The grassroots movement of Malaysia isn't about bumiputera policies. It's about the pitting of Malays against non-Malays in the skewered demented manipulation of the Malaysian government. They arrest opposition politicians to incite racial tensions over the allowance of Azan prayers, when the mosque officials themselves claim there was no such intimidation from the said politician. They arrest a blogger who writes about the alleged cover-ups of the government.
"What is Malaysia like?"
A place I want to return to.
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