Anyone up for some Racism?
I'm currently developing a script dealing with the issue of racism in Malaysia, which will later be translated into a short film that I will direct. As part of my research for this project, I have decided to request from as many people as possible for interesting insights, experiences or stories related to racial prejudice in our country.
What I am asking from you is that you email me your experiences and stories regarding any form of racism, whether it has happened to you, someone you know, or you just happened to be there when it happened. It could also be passing comments that you have overheard. Email me quickly so I can compile the information, and don't be shy to email me later on if more memories come rushing back to you.
If you are braver, please share your stories and experiences as comments of this posting. I hope this will open up an avenue for discussion. However, if you are less brave and would prefer to share your stories over the phone or face-to-face, email me at jamestcc@streamyx.com & arxetures@mac.com (in case one of them doesn't work) and we can arrange something.
For those of you not from Malaysia, please feel free to share your stories with us too. It may help us to see and understand other situations, contexts and cultures.
I shall not share with you the idea for the script yet until I develop it further and it is confirmed by the NGO, KOMAS, that recruited me to make this short movie. I shall keep you informed about the progress of this project.
Dig deep into your past, even to the days of junior school and senior school. You can also share other problems in Malaysia regarding politics or culture that you are aware of or affected by. Your response will be greatly appreciated. And a teh tarik or kopi O will not be out of the question as a gesture of gratitude.
If you want, you can forward this link to every single person you know. The more people involved in the project, the better!
posted by James Tan Chin Choy @ 9:18 pm
26 comments
26 Comments:
if you don't mind me asking, what do you hope to achieve at the end of the day? what is the objective of your short film?
The objective of this short film is to be a starting point for conversations to happen. Race issues are always seen as 'sensitive' by our government and we are encouraged not to talk about it (among other things).
KOMAS, which is producing these short films will have screenings and workshops where people discuss the shorts and the issues brought forth by them.
What I personally hope to achieve is to just paint an honest picture of racism in Malaysia.
hmm...ok here goes. I just only remembered this one because it happened recently to my Indian colleague.
He regularly tapau his lunch at this Malay food stall in SS15 Subang. They sold the food buffet style where u just pick watever you want and put in your styrofoam box of rice. There's always a crowd because apparently the food there is good.
He never noticed he was always charged higher than the Malay customers.
One day while he was queuing up to pay he noticed that the Malay customer in front of him picked exactly the same dishes as him. The Malay customer paid for his food and left. When it was my colleague's turn he was surprised that he was to pay a higher price! He asked the vendor why is he charged higher when the dude in front of him paid less for the same thing. The vendor
just replied rudely, "kamu orang India memang macam ini punya." My colleague was so angry at his reaction!
He just replied by asking what has race got to do with this, but the Malay vendor just reiterated the same thing about how all Indians like to complain. I can't remember what happened after that but there was no big fight or anything.
hmm...yup. I'll let you know if I can remember any other stories. hope this will help :)
For me, my life has been of racial tolerance... my group of friends have always been Malays Chinese and Indians... we do crack racial jokes, but that was just teasing one another....
Will let u know if i can think of anything else.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
It's interesting to see the labels given to different races in
different countries. In England, "Asian" refers to those of Indian descent (incl
punjabi, sri lankan, pakistani). The chinese are refered to as "orientals".
There, it's a case of White vs Black, and White vs Asian.
Australia also has White vs Asian, but in Australia, the term "Asian"
refers to those of Chinese origins (and includes Japanese, korean,
etc).
The indian peoples are often refered to as "black". There is not a
significant proportion of African people in Australia, especially
compared
to the UK, and perhaps from this stems a sort of "close enough"
mindset.
There are very few faces of chinese origin on Australian
television, and
those that do appear are often on the independant or more obscure time slots. In the recent phenomena of reality TV (thinking of Big Brother, Popstars, and Australian Idol), no chinese were represented as contestants,
except in one case, which was a somewhat staged parody of the infamous William Hung. Is this just coincidence? That no-one of chinese origin was talented enough? or is it more about controlling what's seen on the
screen? Conspiracy Theory.
Australia's history is marred by racism. The "White Australia"
policy was an immigration control that frowned upon anyone of non-european origin settling in Australia. This was only officially dismantled in 1973,
but one has to wonder what the unofficial time frame was.
http://www.immi.gov.au/facts/08abolition.htm
Being the most numerous segment of non-whites to enter Australia
(perhaps this has a lot to do with geography - Australia being 'part' of Asia), of course the chinese drew the attention of certain unsatisfied locals. The
political party "one nation" had a racist agenda. Then there was
the stink caused by a council member complaining about "asian drivers". And the furore over a parliament members statement (in regards to an abortion pill)
that Australians were aborting themselves to the point that
Australia would soon become a muslim nation. Funnily enough, the Van Nguyen case (guy sentenced to death in Singapore for drug smuggling), never seemed to take on any racial aspect.
But i think that the chinese are gradually becoming accepted.
Slowly but surely. Australia's obviously influenced by Europe, particularly Italy. This is obvious in the cafe culture, and the dishes served in "modern
Australian" restaurants (some sort of pasta, risotto or pizza is
always there). But more and more, the asian/chinese influences are seeping in. Australian tastes are becoming spicier and more exotic.
What with the current climate of terrorism and the link drawn to
muslims, those of middle eastern background have become more the racist target of choice. Recently in a sydney beach suburb (Cronulla), there were large riots, pitching White Australians against Middle Easterners.
A while ago, Dad was stopped by the police. There was a random
breath test/ vehicle roadworthy site setup (and lots of ppl were getting stopped). But after asking for dad's licence, the officer questioned dad's residency
status, and went to get an immigration officer!
I may be of chinese origin, but I've been raised in the western
world. I look chinese, but i don't think chinese. Often, i don't even think of myself as chinese. Just Australian. When i was a kid growing up in England, i was the only oriental guy at school. I used to join the white kids in teasing the indian kids. I don't come across incidents of racism against me much. But racism
doesn't just go from White to Black, or White to Yellow. It can go the other way too. As close minded as locals can be, the immigrants can be too. A refusal to assimilate to Australian cultures, or even to learn the
language is prevalent in many ethnic groups here (chinese, european etc). I dislike going to Springvale (a predominantly Vietnamese suburb) because of
the attitude there. Perhaps i just feel out of place. I find it
interesting, with my mixed parentage friends, which side they
identify more with.
I sometimes wonder if racism is only an issue because someone makes
it an issue. When i was watching the first series of the Apprentice,
there was an African American woman who kept on about racism, and how she was being discriminated against. At the same time, there was an African
American man also in the show. He didn't make race an issue, and it never seemed to be a factor.
At work, i am part of a team that service our Thailand subsidiary.
One of my colleagues (white), often adopts a somewhat imperialistic tone, a "you're so dumb" approach. He gets impatient and frustrated easily.
However i don't think this is a racist issue, so much as a communication/cultural
boundary. I say this because dealing with me, there is no trace of this same "better than you" attitude. I speak his language. I think more like him.
An example of race discrimination in malaysia i recall was when we
wanted to enter that 3 on 3 bball competition in 2001. It was open to
"non-chinese" only. Good thing I'm an Australian.
I refer to the comment posted by anonymous on his/her experience as an aussie with 'asian' ethnicity.
My personal experience at work involves a white man who speaks patronisingly to malaysian chinese girls, and more 'normally' to a chinese girl who went to an international school with an american accent. I don't think one is any smarter than another. Is this not racism?
Racism is not just the colour of your skin. We can think of it as a group of people. if we look at the underlying problem of it, we're talking about prejudice, as simple as that; of treating a group of people better or worse than another. If your white colleague adopts an 'imperialistic'attitude then he would be racist wouldn't he? I don't think communication or cultural differences should be an excuse. Even if we were to leave the racist term out of this, is it ok to have an imperialistic attitude simply because someone can't speak your language properly? To put things in perspective, is it ok for an asian to be patronising to a white man because he can't speak chinese properly? Just because you have an asian skin and he treats you fine doesn't justify his actions. Perhaps to him you're 'one of his own, with a western education therefore smart'. To be patronising to someone of a difference cultural background is in the spirit of racism, irregardless of skin colour.
My impression of Malaysia is that the races are very segregated in their cultures, dress and social mixing. This is acceptable to everyone at some level and people want to keep the lines drawn because it gets touchy to mix too much especially when there are halal issues. Different cultures are celebrated here and it is expected that you will operate according to your religion and culture. In some ways this is very freeing for everyone.
In the US, conformity is valued. People are encouraged to speak only English, to give up their cultural dress and to enter the mainstream of society and be accepted. Skin color still plays a major role in how people socialize, but in dress and speech, we all tend to conform.
In the US, race is not tied so closely with religion as it is here. I think that is the biggest factor in racism in Malaysia. And with the religion comes a world view and a whole set of different values among the different races. To generalize what I see in Malaysia - Chinese value hard work, success, education and family commitments. Malay value rituals of faith, strong family and community, and to some degree education and work. I don't know much about the Indian culture. Indigenous peoples value community, working together more than individual suceess, family and cultural heritage.
I have been interested to note that the Malays are often berated (by Malays in the government) for not being successful. But the standard of success is always that of the Chinese -education and work and money and possessions. These are the values that most Chinese people hold as important. To tell Malays that they must value these things and strive to achieve them is skewed, in my opinion. The Malay is successful in his own eyes and according to his own value system when his family is at peace with each other and they are following the rules of their faith. They are happiest, not when they have attained some financial success, but when their children marry and have children, when they participate in the cultural and religious practices that bind them together in their faith. The government wants them to compete with the Chinese, to be business savvy, and to propel the country forward in modernization. The Malay appreciate development and advancement, but as a whole, they are not interested in the commitment of time and energy toward it. They will put their time and energy into the things that they value most highly. And they ARE successful at those things.
I see racism all the time in the stereotypes given to the different groups.
For example - Malay are lazy, take advantage of the system. Chinese are money hungry and have no morals. Indians are low class. Orang Asli are backwards and stupid. White people are rich and have no problems. (maybe that's why everyone wants to have whiter skin!!)
Once, early on in my time in Malaysia, I heard a Chinese friend say that even though he might be charged more for a meal at the UKM cafeteria because he is chinese, he would not make a scene about it. he said the Chinese have to put up with a certain amount of unfairness to keep the peace. And the peace is more important than individual rights. I could feel every ouce of my American self wanting to take him by the collar and say "You have to fight for your own rights. You can't sit back and be taken advantage of.
This is WRONG!!!"
But I just listened have been processing that idea ever since and seeing my own country and American values in a new light. I have a lot to learn and I don't think it's right to impress my own values of "personal rights." In fact, since living here, I have seen some of the error of my own values and those of Americans in general. We will fight so hard for individual rights that we lose all sense of community and interdependence. This WILL come back to haunt us.
We experience racism in Malaysia in a different way. Being white, we are automatically in a different class and get certain privileges. We don't get questioned at guard gates, we get better service at restaurants and hotels. The police don't bother us at checkpoints. But I'm sure we also get taken advantage of when we get our car repaired or in other ways because it is assumed we don't know any better and we have lots of money to waste anyway.
Another example of racism that I see is the way that Indonesians are treated in Malaysia. It makes me sad to see how even Christians treat their Indonesian maids as though they are less than human. Not being cruel necessarily, but there is something unspoken going on there that indicates that the maid is not a person of value, rather more like a possession.
Hi, not sure if it's a little off-topic, but hope it helps :)
Last summer, I attended a homestay programme with about 50 other students –mostly upper-middle class city kids. We travelled from KL to this tiny Malay village in Kedah. There were only a handful of us who were non-Malay and naturally some of us felt a little concerned that we would be foster family-less. I guess I just logically assumed that it would be easier to make small talk if a family hosted a Malay student due to similar cultures. e.g. It’s easier to say, “So, what did you do last Raya?”. Rather than, “So, did you throw oranges in the river last Chap Goh Meh?”
Anyway my point is, despite my initial fears a Malay family did take me in voluntarily. Two other friends of mine were taken in as an obligatory measure by the dude that organised the programme and one of the village bigwigs.
My host family were really cute. My host mom went to a Chinese grocer and asked him about what sort of Chinese dishes to cook. Their youngest daughter went to a Chinese school and it was really weird watching her do her Chinese calligraphy homework. I found out later that one of the reasons the family took me in was so that I could help the little 8 year old practice her Mandarin. Unfortunately, I am totally crap at Chinese. After dinner, the whole family would sit down and watch this Monkey God comedy show on the Chinese channel on Astro. Only the youngest daughter would laugh since only she understood the Mandarin jokes. The rest of us (yes, me too) had to read the Malay subtitles.
I came at an unfortunate time as another daughter of theirs had just experienced a miscarriage (on the same day as our arrival, I believe). It was weird, because if I was in their shoes I would feel no obligation whatsoever to take a stranger into my home if something like that were to happen.
To cut a long story short, I had an amazing three-day experience. It’s cliché, but it’s true that the whole community spirit and trust thing is very strong among kampong people. I was very surprised that I was treated so well. Although the families received compensation for hosting us, the amount was more like a token of appreciation than compensation of expenses.
Amy, the part where you felt like strangling the Chinese guy and getting him to fight for his rights... I feel like that a lot. I agree there is value in living for the community as a whole, but bearing prejudice is not a compromise I feel we should accept quietly. In fact, I feel that it is this silent acceptance of an unfair fate that has led to more racial tensions in our country. Instead of demanding that the leaders be fair to all its citizens irregardless of race, we take it out on each other when we drive, when we work, when we are amongst our own race. We can still love and accept without having to live with unfair laws, regulations and prices. And I think Malaysians must start demanding for what is rightfully ours... equality.
Every Chinese/Indian Malaysian will know what it means to be a 2nd class citizen in their own country. Heck, even the Orang Asli feel that way! Unless they are Muslim of course, then they are treated differently. The stories in regards to the real Bumiputras will make you sick. It's horrible how they are not even given proper rights even though they are grouped together with the Malays as Bumiputras. Many NGOs will attest to the unfair treatment of the Orang Asli.
In our country, it seems religion is the determining factor as to where you stand as a citizen. There are many Muslims, not necessarily born here, or just merely here for a few generations, who are given Bumiputra status. As for the rest of us, our contributions will be remembered as great in the history books, but will never be good enough for our children to be considered as equals.
I've always said this... You can't help it if people are racist. Some people just are prejudice in some way or another. But when the government itself and its policies are racist, that's really shitty!
Stef, I'm glad you had a great experience at the homestay. I'm sure all of us have had good experiences and bad. Let's keep sharing and keep this discussion as honest as possible.
Racism in Malaysia is really religious inequality and not really about race. It just happens that the Malays are all Moslem. and the Malays are also being unfairly treated. For example, the Malay women have absolutely no rights in Malaysia. They lose a substatial amount of their property and rights the moment they get married. Malays are also not given freedom of religion. If you are born a Malay, you must be a moslem. And once you are a moslem, you have NO freedom to choose otherwise. In essence, you are born a Moslem and you have NO rights whatsoever to choose your religion -- even though Malaysia prides itself as a country with freedom of religion. 65% of the country do not have freedom of religion! That to me is unfair to the Malays. To top it off, because the government gives scholarships and other perks to Malays all the time, today, we have so many Malay graduates who graduate from university and try to get jobs in multinationals. The moment many HR or business leaders know that these graduates are malays, many decide not to hire them as there is an assumption that Malays only got into university because of the government perks. This may be true but there are some really good Malays that deserve a break (esp at entry level). Also, because of the governments inequal treatment of the different races when it comes to university entries or business opportunities, there is a drive amongst the Indians and the Chinese to work even harder and become entreprenuerial and succeed. This causes the Indian and Chinese to become even more successful that the Malays, which creates more tension amongst everyone. The chinese and indians think that Malays don't really work hard since everything is given to them on a silver plates whilst the Malays feel upset that the Chinese and Indians are more successful. If things were all equal, I am sure that there would be an equal amount of success across all the races. I saw this when I was studying in the US. The govt sponsored Malay students were hardworking and working part-time, whilst the same was of the Indians and Chinese. And there was true unity as there was NO special priviledges in the US for any race from Malaysia. I think its time for more freedom for Malays -- freedom of religion and freedom to succeed and not be burdened by the supposed help from the government! Let's pray for a true Malaysia!
Thank you Anon for that comment. I truly agree that the racial tensions are perpetuated by the government and their lack of foresight. I've actually just posted something that resonates with this. Tainted History, Dangerous Minds.
Let me tell you a bit of myself.. Born in Kampar, Perak..A very Chinese and Cantonese speaking town. I studyat a chinese school since primary till secondary. There was not a single dark skin student in those schools..if they are..at least not in my class.. Circle of friends: Pure chinese. However i do have some Malays and Indians teacher. What is Malay to me? They are Muslims, don't eat pork, wearing tudung.pray 5 times a day (actually i never know how they pray, what do they wear during praying time) They like to eat hot and oily food. So when i finish my SPM.and my result is good enough for me to move on to FORM 6.. Too bad, they is only one school in Kampar offer the course..or you can choose to go to Ipoh.. Of course, location wise..we prefer Kampar and my only choice is this school call SMSK..we called it Sampah Masuk Sampah Keluar SMSK is a Malay school..90percent of them are Malays, 5 percent are INdians.. As you know, most of the form 6 are CHINESE, as most of the Malays got into the matriculation schools.
Each class has about 30 over students..and we have 5 and that's mean is about 180 Chinese in SMSK It was my first time enconter so much Malays around me. i do have some fears on the first day..and i have to get used to the cantin which don't provide any chinse food like hot soup noodles..only nasi lemak and curry puff which i can accept..the rest of the food looks dirty and alien to me.. i have to speak Malay which i barely speak it. Well, you know i don't really need to use that language in Kampar. THere was a system been existed for some time, where form 6 students are required to gain enough merits on cucircullum activities to able to get a good course in University..so we have to be part of the clubs and organizatin for the sake of it.. Honestly, we have enough experienced on it when we were in form 4 and 5..but still not enough for the government.. So, most of the main role are taken by the form 6 students because of the age and the experienced..it happen to be the form 6 students are mostly CHINESE..so we hve to lead the members which are mostly Malays, the range from form 1 till form 5. We barely know them and we have chosen to be the main commitee..however, they do have a quota system. for instance, for the librarian org..they have two vice presidents and same to other positions..one has to be a Malay..and the other one is voted among the chinese. indeed was a learning experience for some of my friends how to handle the org with a Malay. Also, the form 6 students get to study in a the best class room..good condition, quiet..and we owned the whole floor..it was good because all the form 6 are at the same storey..we have our own space..a little bit privacy..
One day, we were ordered to move to another room which was far worse than many other classrooms as it wasn't fair to us as the Upper Form 6 was a crucial year for us. We need at least a decent place to study, but what we had was a crowded and noisy place. Somehow we were threathed before they had this idea to move as they (the authorities) claimed we weren't discipline enough like we were late to school and making too much noise during assembly.
THis is some opinions I had with my friend. We can't denied this incident happen has a littel bit related to racial issue. Actually, it was a challenge for both parties to share the same place. As you read the brief background among Chinese, we have our own expectations, but at the same 'they' also expectating something from us. Somehow we also became more defensive because we don't understand them.
Again also is the system that makes us apart from each other. After that, my friend shared her experience when she was in University. She became more reserved in the sense of knowing how to handle Malays. She was aware of her actions more in order not to create any misunderstanding. She just want a peaceful end result so that the work can be done without any delays. (work means school projects)
Dear James,
Your upcoming project has drawn much of my attention and interest. Racial discrimination has been debated so much but as much as we try most of us still fail to see the issue in a different perspective and eventually the topic becomes dry, it becomes so cliched and eventually it leads to boredom and gradually fades away from our attention.
I would like to share with you my personal view on racial discrimination. I would like to highlight that there is no correlations between professions and races. For many years, Malaysians had been adhered to the mentality that most governmental bodies are created for Malays. This mentality or assumption had stopped many non-malays from even trying to apply for a job in any govermental bodies.
It is time to stop the THIS_JOB_IS_CREATED_FOR_THIS RACE mentality. Police force is not created for Malays, rubber plantations are certainly not the only place for Indians to work and not all Chinese were born to be excellent businessmen.
James, if I was given the opportunity to produce a short film I would feature three children in my film. The malay boy would be seen selling fresh milk and tapping rubber in the estate, the Chinese boy would be captured working at the paddy field and playing congkak with his pals while the Indian boy would be seen working at a tin mine.
Nothing much needs to be explained then because viewers will initially be a bit shocked but will very soon arrive to the conclusion that there is no professions or jobs or even lifestyles which are created for a specific race.We had become so confortable with the lifestyle our ancestors had left for us that we took for granted that we could revolutionise the way we live and also venture into businesses we have never done before. WE determine how we live and WE choose what we do not our RACES. We had been living with such mentality for almsot 50 years now and it is time to eliminate this mentality from our society.
This is my two cent opinion which i think i really wanna share with you. All the best in your upcoming project and may i tell you that you gain my full support and earn my utmost respect in initiating the production of such short film.
Regards,
Yuen Lai
I was wondering how this upcoming project drew your attention. Did someone forward you the email? One correction, I did not initiate this project. KOMAS, an NGO, initiated it. I'm just one of the directors involved. What I did was bring this discussion public in my blog.
This is a brief response to Yuen Lai's suggestion for a short film topic that completely ignores the historical context that renders those situations (Malay rubber tapper, Chinese paddy farmer, etc) incongruous. Such images are not incongruous because Malaysians (and others) persist in thinking that certain jobs should only be taken up by certain races (and I agree with you that it shouldn't be so!).
Different racial groups have "traditionally" held certain jobs because of past state policies. For example, if I'm not mistaken, most agricultural land, esp paddy fields, are considered "Malay Reserve Land," and were set apart under British colonialism for the Malays. That is why you don't see Chinese farmers working in their own paddy fields in the Malaysian countryside!
Chinese and Indians were brought over to Malaya in large numbers in the 19th C to work in tin mines and rubber plantations because many Malays found it much more pleasant and profitable to work on their own land instead of enduring the harsh labor conditions the immigrant workers had to settle for (who wouldn't choose to do so??).
In other words, yes, racial prejudice and racial violence can sometimes be addressed by more racial mixing, careful public education, etc. But it seems to be there's a difference once we start talking about *racism* i.e. institutional policies that make differentiations according to racial phenotype. That can't be solved by saying "oh, we just all need to think differently now."
Until and unless policies thatdiscriminate on the grounds of race, gender, religion, disabilities, etc. are taken apart, I suspect there will always be resentment or suspicion between members of the different racial groups.
Sze Wei
Thanks Sze Wei for that little bit of historical context. It's always easier to control the masses when you divide them, hence the term 'divide and conquer'. So that was how the British ruled us then. And it's how our government continues to control us now... by dividing us.
You're right... the policies need to change. Discriminatory policies, laws, rights, systems, governments have no place in a civilized society.
We are Malaysian.
Being Malaysian means several things: you must like food, you bribe policemen, and although you may not seem to be it on the outside, you are secretly racist.
We can’t help but be racist in Malaysia. We were brought up that way since we were babies. No one says it directly and its smothered in our textbooks covered by the claim of being racially intergrated and of living in peace with each other.
No one talks about the hidden resentment we have towards each other, of special privileges granted to “warga jati” Malaysia. And how, even though this privilege is supposed to extend to other races, we only see one race getting it all.
Unfair isn’t it? But we can’t help it. No one is allowed to protest, much less even talk about it. The law says that it can’t be questioned and the fear of the adult bogeymen who comes in the night to take away our rights has been too deeply instilled within all of us.
So we quietly harbour our resentment in our hearts, waiting, watching, boiling, wondering if it would ever explode.
I'm not sure if this was even a racist incident but at the time that it happened, it really seemed to me that I was being discriminated against because of my race. Or maybe I was too quick to jump to conclusions.
Anyway, one of my 'life lists' include working at a record store. So one summer during college I was searching for a part time job and discovered that Tower Records in Bukit Bintang was hiring shop attendants. I was ecstatic! It was my first job hunting experience so I as a bit anxious and fearful at the same time. Nevertheless I went there and 20 other people were waiting in line for their interview too. I thought to myself "okay, no problem.. just be yourself". After hours of waiting, I befriended one of the people there. Cant really remember what his name was, but lets just call him Choi. Choi had just graduated from Australia with a marketing diploma/degree or whatever. He was one of the more older kids there so I was a bit startled as to why he wanted be a mere 'shop attendant' when he was qualified for so much more. I mean, there I was, a little girl still in college finding myself a part time job, and he's already capable of getting an executive position or something.
Anyway, we had both gone to the interview 'area' together. The lady that interviewed us was this middle aged woman with shoulder length hair. As they talked and Choi told her about his past (lived in Australia for a while… what he studied, why he wanted to work at Tower Records), he must've made an impression cuz she ended up hiring him right then and there even though she herself said that he was capable of finding a better job. But to my knowledge.. Choi seemed not to want a 'permanent job'. Just one that could give him pocket money in the meantime. Choi left after his interview.
So my turn came up to face this woman who would eventually reject me as a potential employee. She asked me the familiar questions of where I've worked before, why I wanted to work there, to which I replied that most of the ppl who worked at record stores don't know JACK about the music where as I wanted to be a person who could provide valuable and helpful service to the customer.. basically be knowledgeable in the music industry. So this lady looks through my resume and tells me "sorry, but I think you're overqualified. Thank you for coming tho." And my jaw just dropped. My mind started to race. How could this woman tell me that I'm overqualified when she had JUST hired someone who already had a degree and had experience in working in Australia!? I calmly argued the fact that I disagreed with her in my qualifications (never bringing up Choi's situation tho– which I'm not sure why I didn't) and when I knew she was adamant in not hiring me she suggested I go visit this guy who was looking to hire someone to help him out, and she even gave me his name and contact number.
I was heartbroken and angry but at the same time a bit calm (and grateful I suppose?) at the fact that she had found some sort of 'employee value' in me enough to offer me a job by another employer in another company.
Honestly at that time, I thought that because I was a Malay, educated and spoke with a strong American accent, she didn't want me to join the Tower Records team. I don't know why I was an unsuitable candidate or considered 'overqualified' when Choi was clearly way more overqualified than me. So I deduced that because he was Chinese, he got the job.
Now that I think about it, it could've been more than that. It could've meant that she was looking for males to take up the position. And Choi seemed to be the best candidate, at least out of the rest of the other guys who were there.
I don't know what the real reason was that I didn't get the job, but it definitely had nothing to do with me being 'overqualified'. It's a shame too because I would've provided excellent customer service, something that we definitely lack in Malaysia. That was my first time experiencing some form of 'racism' in Malaysia as well. But I suppose it was a blessing in disguise cause the next job that I got paid a heck of a lot more than the Tower Records gig AND 99.9% of the workers were Chinese! So I was quite happy with that.
hey james,
>
> here's a little bit of my thoughts in point form;
>
> - when i stayed in US, the rascism is mostly used in jokes e.g.
> about blacks, country hill billies, polish, irish etc but overall i
> think they're pretty open with each other and have no huge issues
> among the society themselves, maybe in the South it's more
> prominent. however, that speaks of the current president who's from
> the South and as you can there's mad issues about some anti-Islam
> influences looming about.
>
> - another scenario in US, is that I was once called a 'chink' once,
> just because I look Asian, they categorise you into that. It was a
> group of middle class whites lining up for a ride at Disney World.
> They don't even know where Malaysia is, they think it's a
> restaurant or something. Their quite ignorant to their
> surrounddings, in their own country and what more in countris
> around the world.
>
> - when my brother went to nz, he said they can be quite racist
> there because they seem to have a chip off their shoulder seeing
> that whites are the minority and there are more Maurians, Tongas
> and Asians there. Same goes with australia.
>
hey james,
>
> here's a little bit of my thoughts in point form;
>
> - when i stayed in US, the rascism is mostly used in jokes e.g.
> about blacks, country hill billies, polish, irish etc but overall i
> think they're pretty open with each other and have no huge issues
> among the society themselves, maybe in the South it's more
> prominent. however, that speaks of the current president who's from
> the South and as you can there's mad issues about some anti-Islam
> influences looming about.
>
> - another scenario in US, is that I was once called a 'chink' once,
> just because I look Asian, they categorise you into that. It was a
> group of middle class whites lining up for a ride at Disney World.
> They don't even know where Malaysia is, they think it's a
> restaurant or something. Their quite ignorant to their
> surrounddings, in their own country and what more in countris
> around the world.
>
> - when my brother went to nz, he said they can be quite racist
> there because they seem to have a chip off their shoulder seeing
> that whites are the minority and there are more Maurians, Tongas
> and Asians there. Same goes with australia.
>
> - as for over here i think even though we can live in a multi-
> racial society the mindset of highlighting a certain characteristic
> to a race still exists, e.g. (no offence) if you come a across a
> road hog or a kiasu driver then i still hear stuff like 'oh usual
> lah, cina' or someone who doesn't keep to their promise - 'usual
> lah, kata keling, janji keling lah' or when it comes to lazy
> employees - 'normal lah, melayu'. i was fed all that since i was
> young, my late grandma always blurted out these comments in a daily
> basis so it became a norm. ironically tho, i think 60% of it is
> true maybe because of the upbringing and background, that the
> character of a certain is so. overall i don't think there's is an
> actual friction amongst the races here though.
>
>
> ok hope i wasn't too late.. that's all i can purge out at the mo'..
>
> :) yani
freedom*equality*peace
When you have people like this in Malaysia, what do you expect? So much hatred and so much disrespect for others, because of race!
http://azlanadnan.blogspot.com/2006/05/typical-keling-behaviour.html
Interesting exercise, this memory excavation. apologies if the artifacts appear a little raggedy ...
...headmistress in SRK Damansara Jaya stopped my standard five class in mid lesson asking all the budak-budak Melayu to stand up. She was looking for some faces to feature in some school poster. She eventually chose a darkish boy and a pretty tudung-ed girl, but not before she crapped on a couple of 10 year old Malay classmates of mine for looking "too chinese" and not "melayu asli".
...Same headmistress, different memory. During one Ramadan, she asked non-Malays during school assembly to "be considerate" and avoid touching or having direct contact with Malays (and vice-versa). this was so that Malays would not come in contact with haram or impure substances during the holy month.
...holding hands with my first boyfriend in petaling street on our way to catch a bus home. Had to walk past a bunch of street hawkers hyenas shrieking "roti canai campur wan tan mee" etcetera.
... on a family roadtrip with dad & mum (both born with the Chinese penchant for unsolicited racial labelling of random strangers, but otherwise nice people who wouldn't hurt a fly) who drove 5 km off the main road to look for a Malay durian seller because "they don't know how to cheat you." when i offered that perhaps it was more a case of how some people just didn't WANT to cheat people, i was told that i would be less naive when i got older.
(i am older now, but i'm glad i'm still a little naive).
...bursting into tears after being called a chink by a passing stranger in the steet while grocery-shopping in london. the thing is, i've had really heated arguments where words like "cunt", "bitch", and "asshole" were used but in that one moment i discovered it was more hurtful to be reduced a single word - "chink" - than to be called all the profanities in the world.
...annual chinese new year conversations with the usual mixed bag of aunties and uncles who were shocked that i was planning a weekend break to Jakarta -"be careful of them, they are rough people, don't know how to be civilized."
...a colleague of mine observed how filipino maids in Malaysia were arguably treated better than indonesian help by the Chinese. His theory - veracity unknown - was that being Christian and speaking English made them easier to relate to, somehow more refined and thus, more deserving of human/humane treatment.
...i've had 4 dogs. all of them can never stop barking at dark people - indians, indonesian workers, even the same sunburnt postman that delivers the mail day in day out. won't share some of the ridiculous theories some of my friends have but have never figured out this one..
...news story from Singapore about a an active community elder/ Sunday school leader who was convicted of several maid abuse charges - including scalding and biting off her maid's nipple(?!!). i think that maid abuse is linked to racism - for the simple fact that these cases would not happen if employers thought of foreign maids as equal human beings.
...my mom's sister used to baby sit me as a kid. she was from the "you better behave. if you're naughty, a bengali will catch you and throw you in jail, and force you to eat "Kali-fan" (curry rice)" school of child discipline.
...have you ever noticed how almost everyone hopes their children marry someone of the same race ("try not to break your granddad's heart, ok?) but at the same time almost universally look up to 'celups' or 'pan-asian' faces as the ideal in beauty?
...on a trip to tawau in sabah, i was forced to speak BM to communicate with any Chinese person(from waiters to taxi drivers). One old chinese man was incredulous and started asking me if i was Chinese and if so, why couldn't i speak "my people's language". Not eager to start a debate with the guy cooking my dinner, i lied and told him i was half thai, half malay. the funny thing is his hostility eased and he warmed up considerably and started yakking away in halting BM. The flip side to racial prejudice is racial pride, and it is sometimes better to be a friendly "other" than a cultural defector.
...one census i forced the questionaire guy to put me down as "dan lain lain". in my mind, this was an act of patriotism - my small but symbolic contribution to the promotion of Bangsa Malaysia. But when i told my friends - mostly urban la bodega-frequenting bananas like myself by the way - they got surprisingly pissed off. "Why are you always so ashamed of being Chinese?", "it's just like you but whatever you do, you can't stop being Chinese - that's who you are whether you like it or not." it never struck me that by choosing to be "Malaysian" i had somehow opted out of Chinese-ness but alot of people get quite touchy about these things. when i did my MyKad i did think about the race thing for a split second but decided to do the (ahem) right thing and accept my genetically-designated label.
i think race relations are not quite as simple as us vs. them. having more dialogue helps but is more of a neccessary action rather than sufficient one. i can't speak for other races but i think alot of Chinese people also have a pretty prejudiced view of what their own race should be like(prejudice here being defined broadly as assigning a list of qualities, values and character traits to any large group of people not based on the colour of their exterior and not the content of their individual characters).
the problem is not race, but prejudice in general. why paint ourselves over with a universal brush when you can celebrate the wonder of diversity in all its forms.. inter-race dialogue is probably a step in the right direction, but my vote is for inter-INDIVIDUAL dialogue. it is less for bringing the different colours together and more for seeing different degrees of yellow, brown, white, red and all the millions of hues in between.
Hi
[url=http://livechat5.tripod.com] adult chat[/url]
Good job.....thanks.....Must be a reason to find friends in your area! Try my page....
Bye
Post a Comment
<< Home