Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Who Are The "Pendatang" And What Does That Really Mean?

Pendatang not welcomed according to PKR
Posted by Sarawakian on February 02, 2009 at 22:33:10 on Sarawak Talk:

Comments by Sarawak Headhunter in [red].

How many of you detected the ‘hidden messages’ and the contradictions in the message by the Malays compared to the non-Malays? And I must add that as much as I do not like to use the terms ‘Malays’ and ‘non-Malays’, I have no choice because this is how the mainstream media and the politicians always talk. So I have to use the ‘normal’ vocabulary or else many may not understand what I am saying.

[This is how the Malay Malayans talk (and think).]

How would the citizens of America be called? Would the ‘original’ inhabitants of the land be called ‘Indians’, or ‘Red Indians’, and the immigrant British, Italians, Germans, Jews (from Russia, Germany, Italy, France, the Middle East, etc.), Arabs, Chinese, Japanese, Malaysians, Indonesians, Filipinos, and what have you, be called ‘non-Indians’ or ‘non-Red Indians’?

I am just using the ‘agreed’ standards adopted by Malaysia. The Malay, the ‘Lord of the Land’, is called Bumiputera, or son-of-the-soil, and all those who came slightly later are called non-Bumiputera.

[What about the Sarawak (and Sabah) Bumiputras - the "non-Malay" Ibans, Melanaus and Orang Ulu? Must be so confusing for those poor Malay Malayans, who cannot even distinguish between what is Islam and what is the Arabic language. If they want to stop Malaysian Christians from using the name "Allah", then they are going to have problems with Kelabits having names like Idris and Ishak. Will the saviour of MAS Idris Jala be banned from using his "Islamic" name as well since he is not a Muslim?

The Muslim Arabs have no problems with Christian Arabs using the name "Allah", so why is it that the Malays have such a problem with Christian Malaysians? After all, if they acknowledge that there is only One God, surely He should have only One Name, and the more human beings call Him by that One Name the better?]

Okay, I know this opens up an entirely new debate. What about Tian Chua, some may ask, whose family came to this country 500 years ago, and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, whose father was born in India? Mahathir is Bumiputera and Tian Chua is non-Bumiputera. If ‘he who came first to Malaya’ is the yardstick, then Tian Chua would be Bumiputera and Mahathir would be non-Bumiputera, many will argue.

Unfortunately, it does not work that way at all. Even if Mahathir himself were born in India and even though Tian Chua is 20th generation Melaka Malaysian, Mahathir would still be Bumiputera and Tian Chua would be non-Bumiputera. And that is why I, who was born in England, am also Bumiputera, while many of you whose grandfathers and/or grandmothers were born in this country are non-Bumiputera.

Now, before you scream ‘not fair’, remember, life is never fair. So quit grumbling like a good non-Bumiputera. You are the ‘pendatang’ whether you like it or not.

[As far as Sarawak Headhunter is concerned, we are all "pendatang", having been exiled to earth for a time. Over the centuries, patterns of migration, peaceful or otherwise, have changed the world's racial landscape and will continue to do so, notwithstanding any resistance to such change. Resistance to such change in its extreme form will always degenerate into racism.

This is regressive, not progressive and is an extension of a fascist and feudal mentality, which is essentially non-racist in nature but more concerned with political and economic power and re control. Racism is merely one of its more manipulatable and convenient manifestations, when all else fails to prop up unjust regimes, including appeals to misguided patriotism.

In Malaysia it has even become institutionalized in the form of racially-based political parties which supposedly cooperate with each other under the feudal and fascist BN. The reality of course is that this has enabled the leadership of these parties to maintain their (increasingly loosening) grip on power at the expense of the masses, who have been misled and manipulated into believing the individual racial agendas which they espouse.

Is it really about power or race? Even the Indians in Malaysia have come to the long-overdue realization that the MIC has not been acting in their interests. This is what will fail HINDRAF as well, if it only continues to harp on a narrow racial and purportedly religious platform.

There are many rich Indians, Malays and Chinese. What are they really doing for their own race? Do they really care about their own race, or more about wealth, influence and power? The reality is that only a progressive agenda not based on race will help improve the lot of the poor Indians, Malays and Chinese, not forgetting of course the Sarawak and Sabah natives. and all other Malaysians as well. This is what Malaysia really needs.]


Okay, let us look at what Pewaris said: any protest during the procession was inadvisable as it might offend the sensitivities of others. He meant, of course, the sensitivities of the Malays when he said ‘others’. ‘Others’ here means those who are not Indian. He knows the Chinese will not be sensitive about the matter so he did not think that ‘others’ meant Chinese as well.

[It is merely convenient for them to equate Malay sensitivities with "Muslim" sensitivities, since all Malays, at least in Malaysia, are purportedly Muslims - even if they don't behave like Muslims. This ignores the fact that not all Muslims in Malaysia are Malays. The fact also is that this is not Islamic, Islam being a totally non-race discriminatory religion.]

Saying that Malaysia’s race relations has improved is not enough, especially when it is Barisan Nasional politicians who are talking. This is mere rhetoric and even those making the statements know this is true. We need to do more than just talk. We need to act as well.

[A start can only be made by disbanding and banning all racially-based parties. There can be not much improvement in Malaysia's race relations until this happens. We must get over race-centric attitudes if we want to see greater progress in all fields for all Malaysians, needless to say, irrespective of race.

Our concentration on race has impeded this progress by making it easier for irresponsible politicians, especially from the BN, to manipulate and exploit us. It would be a shame if the opposition politicians fall into the same trap in trying to redress the injustices done to each of their races, when in reality ALL races are victims of the BN's fascist and feudal agenda, some perhaps more so than others.]


How can we explain why an estimated 90% of those who die in custody are Indians when Indians are not 90% of those behind bars? I have been behind bars many times myself and I can tell you that those who share the prisons or detention centres with me are not 90% Indians. In fact, 90% of the ISA detainees are Malays while the majority of those under EO are Chinese (with quite a number of Indians as well of course). In the lockups, more than half are Malays. In some lockups, depending on where it is, it is an almost all-Malay population.

This means the high number of Indians killed behind bars does not reflect the proper ‘racial quota’. Is it any wonder that the Indians are upset? And if the Indians demonstrate their unhappiness, who are those ‘others’ who are going to become ‘sensitive’ about it? Certainly not the Indians, and the Chinese could not care a damn.

Sarawak Headhunter hopes that such a "racial quota" does not exist and will never exist, and believes that those who join the police force, Polis Raja Di Malaysia, are not given any or any proper psychological tests or evaluations, or if they are, then they are chosen purposely for their blind obedience to superiors and the powers that be (the fascist and feudal UMNO and the BN) and predilection for violence especially against all those who oppose them. They are then also trained in such a manner.

We have all seen how they behave against peaceful demonstrators. They are the ones who create the chaotic and violent situation instead of keeping the peace. And they do this without any regard for race, rather against ANY opposing voice, merely because they follow blindly the orders of their superiors who in turn are acting upon the instructions of their political masters.

These "knights in blue" are there to protect their political masters, not the people who the latter are supposed to "democratically" represent. How can they claim to represent the people when they are only interested in maintaining their own power, even at the expense of the people?

The fact that many Indians die in custody is probably due to this propensity coupled with an inherent racist attitude both of which as Muslims the Malays should not have.]

The Malays and Barisan Nasional politicians must guard what they say. What comes out of their mouths reflect what’s in their minds. And what’s in their minds is that Malay ‘sensitivities’ come first and the sensitivities of all others are not important. How can we shout about how much improved Malaysia’s race relations are when what you say does not give this impression?

[Not to mention that this is completely un-Islamic.]

Parti Keadilan Nasional (PKN) once threw a dinner party back in 1999 (before it became PKR) and the food had beef in everything, even in the vegetables. I asked the organiser why he did not provide for a vegetarian alternative for the Hindus and vegetarians. Even the vegetables were ‘not halal’ to Hindus and vegetarians.

The reply the organiser gave me was that Malaysia is a Muslim country so they have prepared a ‘halal’ menu according to the Muslim tradition. The non-Muslims will have to learn to live with this, the organiser added. They can always not touch the food, the organiser said.

Why would anyone want to come to a dinner party and not eat the food? Would they rather not come? The late MGG Pillai pointed this out to me and said that keADILan should be more sensitive to the feelings of those who are Hindus or vegetarians. At least one vegetarian table should have been prepared, he said.

I apologised to Mr Pillai and promised to take him to dinner later to make up for it. “Oh, it’s not about me,” he replied. “I am just pointing it out to you.” And he went and whacked the chicken and fish. Mr Pillai was not grumbling because he could not eat what had been prepared. He was more concerned about the party’s image and what people might say about a ‘multi-racial’ party that caters only to the Muslim diet and tells those guests who can’t eat the food to “jangan makanlah kalau tak boleh makan.”

[It is a shame that such an attitude once existed within PKR, or rather KeAdilan, and one hopes that it no longer exists, especially if they wish to be regarded as a multi-racial party. Even the Dayaks are more sensitive to Muslim needs and go out of their way to ensure that halal food (and drinks) are prepared for their Muslim guests. Perhaps PKR should wonder why they have not been given a better reception by Sarawakians in general.]

Malays are always concerned about their ‘sensitivities’. But when others also get ‘sensitive’, the Malays get upset and get the impression that the non-Malays are becoming too much and too demanding. This is a Malay country. Why are the non-Malays complaining so much? If they don’t like it then why not they go back to India or China or wherever they came from?

[Maybe Sarawakians, especially native Sarawakians, can also tell the Malay Malayans to go back to where they came from? It doesn't matter if the Ibans migrated to Sarawak from Kalimantan or Indonesian Borneo a few centuries ago. Borneo is still an island by itself and Sarawak is still a state by itself. Independence for Sarawak is still an option, if the Malayans and their Sarawakian lapdogs like Taib Mahmud continue to treat Sarawakians unfairly - in the case of Taib Mahmud he is more like a rottweiler rather than a lapdog, but he still pays some obeisance to his Malayan political "masters" who in return let him do whatever he likes to Sarawakians.]

But that’s just the point. They came from Malaysia, just like everyone else. They can’t go back to China or India. They did not come from China or India. They came from a town somewhere in Malaysia, the place where they were born. And they are as Malaysian as everyone else. How to make the Malays understand this?

There is no way we can reinstall the program in their heads. We can’t even reformat the hard disk. The old program is so corrupted and the hard disk practically destroyed. We need to buy a totally new hard disk. This is what Malaysia and its race relations have been reduced to.

Indonesia is not safe for the Chinese, many Malays will tell you. They kill Chinese in Indonesia. And that is why many Chinese have left Indonesia and have migrated to another country. The Chinese are more fortunate in Malaysia. In no other country are the Chinese as lucky as the Chinese in Malaysia. This is the belief of most Malays.

Well, in November 2008, Indonesia passed the Non-discrimination Act (UU No. 62/58) that makes it a crime to discriminate against any ethnic group. Indonesia’s aim is to unite all the races. Sure, there may have been problems in Indonesia in the past. Malaysia too has been having problems on and off since even before Merdeka. But Indonesia is trying to change all that. Malaysia is not only perpetuating racial problems but we even have institutionalised racial discrimination.

Indonesia is no longer the ‘cowboy’ country that it once was. It has taken a giant leap into the new Millennium. They even give the opposition parties equal airtime on the government-owned television networks. Malaysia, unfortunately, is now far behind Indonesia. I know many Malaysian Chinese who have shifted their business interests to Indonesia. If we are not careful all our money is going to exodus to our neighbour and one day, soon, we are going to be poorer than that largest Muslim country in the world.

Then what will come next? Indonesian maids will stop coming here to work? Instead, Malays will go to Indonesia to work as maids? Don’t laugh! It not only is not funny, it can even happen, though maybe not in the immediate future.

In the 1960s, the Pakistanis used to go to England to work as labourers. 50 years on and many Pakistanis are now the towkays while the ‘whites’ work for them. Stand on Oxford Street and see for yourself. Look at all the Rolls Royces passing by. The ‘white skins’ are driving the cars while the ‘brown skins’ sit in the back seats. Okay, some Pakistanis still work as the kuli. Not all are towkays. But the streets are no longer being swept by the ‘brown skins’. The ‘white skins’ do that dirty job. And the ‘white skins’ rent apartments owned by the ‘brown skins’.

[In the final analysis, it is not and cannot be about race at all - there are good and bad in every race - but it must be about hard work, progressive attitudes, fairness, justice and equity, if we wish to bring about real progress which is enjoyed by all Malaysians, and not the elitist, fascist and feudal abominations and corruptions that have been fostered by the evil BN regime and which have deprived us as a nation of much that is good for our souls and our moral and ethical characters.]

9 comments:

de minimis said...

A very thought-provoking piece, bro.

Anthony Dylan said...

Great one

Anonymous said...

Spot on,hombre ! You hit the nail into the coffin !

Anonymous said...

Malaya Malays have this peculiar mental illness. They only thought that Malaysia consist only Peninsular Malaya. They are lords over all others (the ketuanan melayu). They are racists to the core as well. Maybe we should start to revive the headhunting practise. Let this Malayans know we are not to be taken lightly.

Anonymous said...

A number of books and literatures written by Iban writers claimed that we Iban came from the Kapuas and Indonesia.
Some of these 'glorious' writings have been gazetted.
Is this not shooting ourselves in the foot?

Anonymous said...

...and so...we Sabahans & Sarawakians have no need, no reason at all to be politically aligned to Pakatan Rakyat nor Barisan Nasional! Once when we Borneo Malaysians are united....we represent ourselves in the Parliament through an "East Malaysian political front so as to ensure that the Malaysian federal government is established and run under a 50:50 equation between East and West Malaysia!"

And we will call that political front as the Sabah/Sarawak Peoples' All-Races Revolutionary Association.....which will humble both BN and Pakatan Rakyat!

King Cup,
Gunung Kinabalu

Anonymous said...

...and when we are finally seated in Parliament...we make it a law that the death punishment awaits those who indulge in CORRUPTION!

Anak-Anak Borneo,
Gunung Kinabalu

Anonymous said...

Umno definately not ready for Orang Asli as PM, even though Orang Asli are the real Bumiputera native son of soil or at least as Menteri Besar for Pahang.

GONDUBOY said...

Totally agree with you. We Sarawakians and Sabahans should not allow ourselves to be mistreated and bullied by the Malay Malayans. They have been behaving like they are the "Tuan" of Malaysia. Let's us Bornean put them in their proper place. This is our country too.

Let's remind them of the 18 and 20 Points agreement, the real "Social Contract" given to us when we together formed the Federation of Malaysia. Please stick to the terms and conditions of the said agreement lest it be nullified and voided!

P/s can anybody please post a copy of the 18 points. The 20 points can be referred to in Wikipedia.

Salam, DrAT