Tuesday, May 7, 2013

The locals were alienated and the foreigners were welcomed


Bismillahirrahmanirrahim

Imagine.
You were born in a multiracial country.
Your parents were also born in this country while your grandparents were immigrant from other country.
You grew up, sent to local schools, have friends from the same and different races and eat same cuisines that other people do.
After you got a degree or two, you found a job and work to support yourself and family besides contributing to the country.
 You love your country. You love and respect your friends despite their races.
And generally, you are different from people of the other races are only in language, appearance, and maybe religion.
Yet, you are treated as the second-class citizen because of your parents’ or grandparents’ origin.
Not enough with that, you are accused that you will betray your country and other races anytime just because you are from certain race, no matter how much you love and contribute to your country.

Is this fair?

No.

Well, I am not credible enough to talk about issues due to my limited knowledge, but this issue is so disturbing that I want to share my point of view.

The current issue of post-election on “Chinese Tsunami”. Our prime minister attacked the Chinese and played this racial issue to scare the Malays that Chinese will conquer and rule the Malays and Malaysia.

What a childish and immature way to summarize the situation.

It is true in Malaysia that the Chinese is number one in economic and business activity among other races. Whether they achieve it in an ethical way or not, it is varied from people to people and from groups to groups, which is a different issue that I do not wish to discuss in this post.

But, I believe that they managed to be successful in many fields not because the Chinese want to take over the country but because they worked hard to survive.
Thanks to us who treat them as the second-class citizen aka non-bumiputera.
It is true that the Chinese and Indians are far from being treated similarly as the African Americans once were in United Stated, but they were not given the same rights that the Bumiputera folks were offered. As the results, they decided to struggle and work hard while the Bumiputeras are content being honored as the ancestor of Tanah Melayu and stay in the comfort zone.  If this unfairness is practiced 30-40 years ago, maybe it is still acceptable. However we are entering Malaysia’s 56th anniversary of independence and 13th years from the new millennium where I think almost all the Chinese and Indians alive today are local-born but we still practice this inequity. This is why they unite to change the system and to fight their rights that have been denied all these time.

Meanwhile, some of us (the Malays) are paranoid that the Chinese will take over the government and afraid that our privilege as the Bumiputera citizen will be seized. What an immature way of thinking. This shows that we are so content in our comfort zone and to travel beyond this zone is unthinkable and scary. Besides that, after all these years that we have been offered many bumiputera aids and allocation for education and business opportunities, most of the time and most of us do not grab the chances, do not struggle, so carefree and always take shortcut and easy way of doing things. Moreover, when our neighbors excel in something, out of spite and jealousy, we talk behind their back, spread rumors and lies or worse use evil tactics or dark magic to send them to their dooms.  

Easy way to put it,
We are the ones who do not work hard and we blame the Chinese for being successful?
We are the ones who do not unite and we blame the Chinese for being united?

Of course not all Bumis and non-Bumis are as describes above.
I do not like to generalize. Right is right, wrong is wrong.
That is why we need to learn to think and to be sensitive of others.
Talk to others, understand their background and circumstances, consider their views, and do not easily judge others by their race.
Do not be selfish, indifference, only care about yourself, your interest and the narrow world surrounding you.
We all are human. How our body, mind and soul work and react are the same.

And some say they want to protect Muslims? There are many Chinese and Indian Muslims out there. Are they not our brothers and sisters?
Islam never taught us to glorify one group while discriminate another, ridicule others, and be overly-suspicious but encourage us to get to know and understand others.

11. O you who have believed, let not a people ridicule [another] people; perhaps they may be better than them; nor let women ridicule [other] women; perhaps they may be better than them. And do not insult one another and do not call each other by [offensive] nicknames. Wretched is the name of disobedience after [one's] faith. And whoever does not repent - then it is those who are the wrongdoers.

12. O you who have believed, avoid much [negative] assumption. Indeed, some assumption is sin. And do not spy or backbite each other. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his brother when dead? You would detest it. And fear Allah ; indeed, Allah is Accepting of repentance and Merciful.

13. O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted. [al-Hujraat, 49:11-13]

Islam also teaches us to help the poor and needy.
Rather than focusing on race and religion but on whether they need help or not, then the right people will get support based on their needs and every person will get his/her right.
Isn’t that justice?
Isn’t that the Malaysia that we want to build?

If people of other religions misunderstood Islam, that means that we Muslims still have a lot of work to do to make sure they understand and gladly to be Islam’s ally if not embrace it.

Last but not least, I beg all of you who spend time to read this view of mine.

Please.
Please think rationally, realistically, empathically, critically.
Please THINK.

Wallahua’lam. And Allah knows best.

No comments:

Post a Comment