We want to be Malaysians...be known as Malaysians. We are bangsa Malaysia..., and we really do not see what our ethnicity or that of our forefathers should be insisted in government forms, etc..
Amusingly, the Malaysian government comes and tell us that it is needed for 'statistics'. But, alas many believe that it is for the purpose of discrimination. Luckily we are not yet forced to wear coloured stars and triangles like was done in World War II by the Third Reich. We all know that jews were made to wear that yellow star...but many are unaware that others were also discriminated against, and this included the Gypsies, emigrants, etc..
The Third Reich utilized a myriad of colored triangles to classify the various groups of peoples they interned in concentration camps. The colors of the triangles were as follows: red for political dissidents, green for criminals, purple for Jehovah's Witnesses, blue for emigrants, brown for Gypsies, black for lesbians and other "anti-socials," and pink for homosexual men.
Najib's 1Malaysia makes no sense when we still cannot feel like true Malaysia - the people of independent Malaysia. Everytime, we see that space after the word 'bangsa' (which means nationality to me), we cannot put 'Malaysia' but will have to put Cina, India, Melayu, dll..
Etnik or Race would have been a better word - but really, why do we really need this anymore. If we look around, many of us are products of mix marriages. So, what do we say - 1/4 Arab, 1/4 Thai, 1/4 Melayu, 1/4 India????
Indian - is that my ethnicity? Chinese - is that my race? I do not think so....and maybe we should really start mentioning our race/ethnicity - Hakka, Hokkien, Cantonese, Teo Chew, Malayalee, Tamil, Telugu, Punjabi, Bugis, Batak, Kadazan, Iban, Kenyah, Melanau, Temuan, Semelai... NOT the country our forefathers came from.
52 over years since independence - it is time we are all treated as 1Malaysian. And, if you want the ethnic breakdown for 'statistics' or 'research', then do a survey. Just remove that requirement from all government and other forms...
Several factors and needs have to be considered before a proposal to remove the race column from government official forms can be implemented, Dewan Rakyat was told today.
Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Liew Vui Keong said this was because information like race and religion as contained in the MyKad chip was needed for statistics.
"Generally, we can identify the race from the name but this is not the case for some races in Sabah and Sarawak as the different is not clear and can be confusing," he said.
Liew was replying to Lim Lip Eng (DAP-Segambut) who asked whether the government was serious in removing the race and religion column from government official forms.
He said the information was also needed by poverty eradication programmes aimed at restructuring the society.
"Developed countries like Australia, the United Kingdom and United States need information on race in certain forms for equal opportunities monitoring.
"It is also important in the enforcement of laws involving religion."
He said the 1Malaysia concept was based on unity in diversity and as such the cultures had to be respected, conserved and celebrated to nurture unity.
"Information on race and religion can be used for this and is not a problem to unity. The problem arises from a racial attitude and approach," he added.
- Bernama - Malaysiakini, 14/12/2009, Gov't not ready to remove race from forms
And, now like Nari Germany during WWII, there are those that go around claiming to be a 'superior race' - Malay supremacy...'ketuanan Melayu'. - that time they talked about supremacy of the aryan race..
Who were the original people of Malaysia? Who came after? People forget that all of us come from one source at the end of the day. For Muslims, Christians and Jews, we are all children of Adam and Eve...creation of God.
Migration - remember that it is an historical fact that human beings have always migrated from one place to another...and this world belongs to all human persons...
Countries....states...boundaries - Again a student of history will state that it all depends on when we look at it.
Ancient Malaysia - Negrito aborigines are considered to be one of the first groups of people to inhabit the Malaysian peninsula. When the Proto-Malays, made up of seafarers and farmers, came to the peninsula they sent the Negritos into the jungles and hills. The Proto-Malays came from China and were technologically advanced, especially in comparison to the Negritos. After the Proto-Malays came the Deutero-Malays, which were made up of many different people - Arabs, Chinese, Indians, Proto-Malays, and Siamese. The Deutero-Malays were proficient in their use of iron and when they united with Indonesians, they combined to make up the people known today as the Malay.
Hindu Kingdom - 100 BC - 1400 AD - During this period, Malaysia's culture changed dramatically with the arrival of Indians. Indians initially went to the Malaysian peninsula in search of a mystical place known as the "Land of Gold." Although the places in Malaysia may not have been what they were looking for, they didn't leave, but continued to arrive in search of gold, spices and aromatic wood. In addition to trade (with goods), the Indians introduced Hinduism and Buddhism to the peninsula, thus bringing temples and other cultural traditions from India. As a result, local kings in Malaysia combined what they considered to be the best aspects of India's government with their own structure, thus resulting in "Indianised kingdoms." Today, the Indian influences can best be seen in a traditional Malay wedding ceremony, which is similar to those in India.
Islam and the Golden Age of Malacca - 1400 AD - 1511 AD - Chinese, Indian and Arab records show that Srivijaya to be the best trading area in the region. After seeing its great success, other areas quickly copied it thus causing a decline in Srivijava's influence. Since the Hindu kingdoms of Malaysia weren't very strong and didn't have a central power, this caused a big problem for the region. Pirates were another problem that needed to be taken care of in order for there to be a safe, secure port. This problem was taken care of with the emergence of Malacca, which was in an ideal location, thus attributing to its great success. It was founded in 1400 and within 50 years it was a major port, actually the most influential in Southeast Asia and with alliances being built with other tribes and ports, Malacca was able to "police" the waters and provide an escort for vessels that needed it. With this success, Malacca quickly became the power in control of all of Malaysia's west coast.
Colonial Malaysia - 1511 AD - 1957 AD - Malacca's power and success was quickly extinguished with the arrival of the Portuguese in 1511. Since the Arabians weren't allowing vessels piloted by non-Muslims into their harbors, the Europeans realized they needed a trading port of their own. Thus bringing about capture of Malacca and it's harbor. After conquering Malacca, the Portuguese built an immense fort which in turn was captured by the Dutch in 1641. In 1785, the British, who needed a port for their ships to dock while in route to China, persuaded the Sultan of Kedah to let them build a fort on Penang. After the French conquered the Netherlands in 1795, the Dutch allowed England to oversee the port of Malacca rather than turn it over the the French. This was the first in a series of "swaps" to and from each country regarding this area. Eventually, although it was finally given to Britain in a trade, the Dutch were the main controllers of the region. With the establishment of a port in Singapore, the British colonies (Malacca, Penang, and Singapore) came to be known as the Straits Settlements.
England's monopoly on tin mining was tremendously helped with the Pangkor Agreement in 1874. This Agreement was the result of internal fighting among the Malay kingdoms over control of the Perak throne. The commotion that ensued prompted Britain to basically force the Malay rulers into signing the peace treaty. A result of this treaty was that England had greater control, which greatly helped them in maintaining their monopoly in tin mining. Britain's control continued until the Japanese invasion in 1942, although they tried to regain control after the end of World War II in 1945. This attempt was foiled by Malaya's independence movement under the guidance of Tunku Abdul Rahman. The British flag was lowered for good in 1957 in Merdeka Square (Kuala Lumpur).... - Malaysia's History and Background
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