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Tag: race

  • Commentary: I Am Not Racist, But..

    Commentary: I Am Not Racist, But..

    ‘I am not racist, but…’

    —–

    ‘I am not racist, but I believe I am superior to an entire race of people because they are all lazy. I am just being a realist.’

    ‘I am not racist, but I love to make fun of people’s ethnicity, especially people who are darker than me. It’s just more funny that way.’

    ‘I am not racist, but there is no way I would employ someone of that race. He/she just would not be suited for this job.’

    ‘I am not racist, but “those people” really cannot be helped. Because they don’t want to be helped.’

    ‘I am not racist, but people should stop being so sensitive when I make racist jokes which are not funny.’

    ‘I am not racist, but thank God White people civilized the world.’

    ‘I am not racist, but the minorities should not express discontentment in this particular peaceful manner. There are other ways – that do not offend me, are out of my sight, do not make me aware of your problems, do not force me to confront painful realities – to do so.’

    ‘I am not racist, but I do not really like to pray beside Indians in the mosques because they smell.’

    ‘I am not racist, but I do some/all of the above. But my father’s neighbour’s cousin’s brother-in-law is from a minority race, and since I know him personally, I cannot be racist.’

    —–

    You are not racist, only because you do not wish to see yourself as a racist.

     

    Source: Walid J. Abdullah

  • (Commentary) SDP Member Damanhuri Abas Talks About Race

    (Commentary) SDP Member Damanhuri Abas Talks About Race

    Now seems the best time to talk about race in light of recent events. First and foremost, I see blessings in our racial diversity. Mother earth intends us to be as diverse as she is. What we are as Chinese, Indian, Malay, Eurasian or others are inherited at birth and acquired in life through our own culture and tradition as well as the influence of wider society. Each community will celebrate its unique identity. Collectively, we are the real richness that makes up the true soul of our country. As a nation we are half a century old and undergo the normal formative stages in our identity shaping process. We should have passed the storming phase and be on our way into the norming phase.

    That storming phase is marked by a very top down highly politicised identity project for our nation. It has served its intended purpose in shaping a common narrative as a starting base. And yes, we do have that part of our history that ‘artificially’ placed us here courtesy of the Brits. We had to start somewhere and so it was politically set to be the British venture into this historically well-known economically strategic island. In that very British narrative, we all came from other lands, so be it that the indigenous people too originated from somewhere else, albeit just across the straits.

    So now as we move into the norming phase, we must strengthen that narrative into a more lucid unifying storyline bringing together the rich cultural tapestry of our diverse communities. One that is more historically sensitive and less politically serving. Progressive and building on lessons of history and not stagnating on past memories. A different set of people are needed to do so. It calls for less of the authoritative rational minds but more of the imaginative and creative hearts. Less engineering and more persuading. The artist in preference to the legalist. A truly ground up people’s project to draw from our own and collective past. A transparent exercise of heart, soul and mind to have an honest look into our history, all the bits of it.

    The dire uninspiring almost constant fear-mongering headlines of the day continues to dictate our society’s agenda. The intellectual landscape dedicated to rediscover who we are as a people is artificially absent. Instead, the focus is very much on reactionary think tanks serving externally driven agendas. Issues that divide are in focus, many others that unites are sadly sidelined. We must be ahead of this reactionary curve, that must be the mark that distinguishes us, a testimony of what education of our people surely should have brought us to, today.

    This is even more vital now, as we address the deeper issue of race and not from a myopic political view that has dictated our nation’s storming phase. We need to abandon the colonial mindset that looks at race as divisive and unhelpful, to be controlled, managed and politically exploited. Instead we must look at race through the lens of real living communities and their cherished heritage; recognized, celebrated and accorded equal importance by all. Surely the rich multi-racial Singapore story must be more than about a single person or a family. We can do it Singapore. After 52 years of nation building, we really do have the wealth of minds and the talents of hearts in abundance, waiting to be harnessed towards this beautiful noble national unifying people’s awakening project. So let us begin this worthy dignified conversation on race.

     

    Source: Damanhuri Abas

  • Sultan Johor Response To Muar’s Muslim-Only Laundrette: ‘Nonsense, This Is Not A Taliban State’

    Sultan Johor Response To Muar’s Muslim-Only Laundrette: ‘Nonsense, This Is Not A Taliban State’

    Johor ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar has ordered the Muslim-only laundrette in Muar to stop its controversial policy or risk being shut down.

    “I cannot accept this nonsense. This is Johor, which belongs to Bangsa Johor and it belongs to all races and faiths. This is a progressive, modern and moderate state.

    “This is not a Taliban state and as the head of Islam in Johor, I find this action to be totally unacceptable as this is extremist in nature,” the visibly upset Johor ruler said, as quoted by The Star.

    He has since ordered the state Islamic religious affairs committee chairperson Abdul Mutalip Abd Rahim, the religious council and the district council to investigate the matter.

    The ruler also confirmed that he had spoken to the state’s mufti, Mohd Tahrir Samsudin, as well as state executive councillor for religion Abd Mutalip Abd Rahim over the matter.

    “I want the owner to apologise to me and the people of Johor. He has made Johoreans very angry and embarrassed because this is not the Johor we want.

    “The owner has gone against the vision of a united, harmonious, moderate and tolerant Johor. If he still insists on carrying on the Muslim-only practice, he can leave Johor.

    “I suggest he set up shop in Afghanistan. His thinking is sick and goes against everything that Johor stands for.”

    Confirming that he and his family members were “deeply appalled” by the action of the laundrette owner, the Johor ruler said it would lead to more narrow-minded actions in the name of Islam if such actions were not stopped.

    On the owner who, in the wake of the controversy, has since put up a new sign to say it was “Muslim-friendly”, the sultan said: “Don’t try to be clever. It’s still the same. The owner needs to have his brains cleaned up.

    “I want to put a stop to such extremism. Extremism has no place in my state. We take pride in being Bangsa Johor and I want to know where the owner of this launderette learn his Islam?

    “Islam teaches the faithful to be tolerant and respect other people and faiths,” he said at Istana Bukit Serene yesterday.

    Pointing out how mosques in Johor were open to non-Muslims as long as they were properly dressed, the sultan said he could not imagine non-Muslims being banned from entering mosques, saying he was concerned over rising religious extremism.

    “I wonder where this launderette owner washes his clothes when he is overseas? Is he saying only the clothes of Muslims are clean and those of non-Muslims are unclean? That’s what he means, I believe.

    “From now on, I am directing the state executive council and all the councils to insist that any business owners who carry out such blatant discriminatory practices should have their licences revoked. Don’t mess around with your narrow-minded religious prejudices.”

    He said he could not keep quiet on the issue, as if this was allowed to go unnoticed, “then next we will have taxis for only Muslims or non-Muslims”.

    He added that he also did not want other races to carry out similar actions.

    Pictures of the Muar laundrette went viral last week, when it was reported that a sign on the premises reminded customers that only Muslims were allowed to use its laundry machines.

    Johor prince Tunku Idris Sultan Ibrahim had expressed shock over the laundrette’s policy while several others, including Perlis mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin and prominent banker Nazir Razak, criticised the move.

    The operator of the laundrette, however, denied being a racist and insisted that he only wants to ensure that cleanliness be maintained at all times

     

    Source: www.malaysiakini.com

  • Chee Soon Juan: By All Means, Let’s Continue To Humiliate Our Minority Citizens

    Chee Soon Juan: By All Means, Let’s Continue To Humiliate Our Minority Citizens

    THE SAGA OVER the Elected Presidency (EP) has again, thanks to the Prime Minister, dredged up the hideous truth that our political system is indefensibly undergirded by racialist and racist thinking.

    The official line of the EP rhapsodised about the need for racial harmony and the safeguarding of multiculturalism. The truth, as everyone else who is not a party apparatchik knows, was about ensuring that only the most PAP-aligned of souls helmed the presidency.

    In a similar vein, the creation of the Group Representation Constituency (GRC) system was never about ensuring adequate ethnic minority representation in Parliament but rather to further stack the system against the opposition.

    An outgrowth of the reserved presidency and the GRC policies require our Malay, Indian and “Other” friends to obtain certification of their race. I find such a practice absolutely abominable. We certify skills, training experience and even livestock. But human beings?

    I cringe whenever my party colleagues of minority ethnic descent undergo this degrading process during elections. They have to submit an application asking for recognition of their bloodline and/or racial identity. In return, they get a document certifying who – or more accurately what – they are.

    (And they have to do this at every election. Perhaps our bureaucrats think that some strange morphological transformation may occur undetected in between elections.)

    This policy is mandated by a majority Chinese-dominated political structure. It is the ultimate humiliation that one ethnic group can impose on another, a practice which I daresay would be unequivocally denounced in civilised societies, societies with a modicum of human decency.

    It is a practice that cheapens the individual and brutalises the soul of this nation. It makes us all lesser humans.

    But what is even more mystifying is why the Halimahs and Tharmans and Yacobs in the party agree to subject themselves to such abasement. Is there no intellectual spine in these people? Surely they understand that genuine equitable political representation goes beyond the tokenism of reserved presidencies and parliamentary seats.

    The reality is that these folks are, first and foremost, politicians and like most politicians, their instinct is to protect their power. The aforementioned schemes allow them to do just that. The wretched practice of certification of minority candidates can be rationalised away or, if not, compartmentalised and placed back in the far recesses of one’s conscience.

    But at what point does one draw the line between political fealty and personal dignity? What price does one have to pay and how much of one’s soul does one have to trade to retain that power? What happens when Mephistopheles comes a-knocking to collect what he is owed?

    If our race-conscious friends at the PAP are genuinely concerned about fissures that cause ethnic division in our society, they need look no further than their own policies. Policies like our education system where top schools are deliberately moved to affluent districts where the overwhelming majority of Malays do not reside. Or policies that widen income inequality in an economy where a disproportionate number of the Malay community are stuck in low-income jobs without minimum wage. Or policies that stipulate a quota of ethnic minority residents who are permitted to live in any one HDB estate (and thereby constricting the market for them should they want to sell their flats).

    Read also A Singapore For All Singaporeans

    It should not be hard to recall that America elected a black man as its president, Londoners picked a Muslim of Pakistani descent as their mayor and the Irish chose a son of Indian immigrants to be their prime minister. Are we Singaporeans somehow less enlightened and colour blind?

    Or is the PAP employing the age-old divide-and-conquer stratagem from its Singapore-is-not-ready-for-a-minority-PM playbook and then mollifying its critics by placing minority politicians here and there?

    Singapore needs a leader whose vision of politics looks beyond the pigmentation of our skin. We need someone who calls to us as a race – the human race, who appeals to the noblest spirit of our being, and who inspires the loftiest ideals that we, as a society, possess.

    May we find that leader – and soon.

     

    Source: http://www.cheesoonjuan.com

  • Reserved Presidential Elections: The Challenges And The Opportunities..

    Reserved Presidential Elections: The Challenges And The Opportunities..

    Mdm Halimah is now the President of Singapore. Elected on a technicality for the only one candidate meeting the set requirements for this year’s RPE. The Government has urged the people to move on and acknowledged the bitterness over elements leading up to the RPE. There are still lingering sentiments of unhappiness from the people. But overtime all this will die down as the reality of life in our sunny Island catches up.

    Below are a summary of issues for our reflections in moving forward.

    1. Race

    – Race was upfront and personal in this RPE. It was ugly at times but overall it was a good exercise for everyone to see the raw issues in public space. It is not as bad as we pictured.

    – Singapore has indeed grown up somewhat and from the spectrum of views and commentaries from all segments of society, we can see that it gave a fair variety, capturing feelings and thoughts representatives of quite a good number of us, Singaporeans.

    – The letting off steam period will soon pass and we will pick up the pieces so to speak and honestly we came off not as bad as we might have. A testimony of our collective growth and vigour. We differ strongly on views and adamantly stood our grounds but at the end of the day we all have to move on. The bruises are part and parcel of growing up as a nation.

    – Much can therefore be picked up and learned to continue the engagement from where this RPE have left us to reach the needed rapprochement across the stereotypes and divide. We should all see this as a welcome process of our maturing society.

    – I may be against the RPE but I do see the benefits that this truly unexpected move the Government took for reasons that is best left for now, as all sentiments have been expressed.

    – The Government has a vital role to address the soreness of the RPE but it has the vantage view of where we are truly at by taking a pretty back seat so far to its credit. But the next move it makes will be the game-changer. It can choose to ignore or capture the moment to offer us a fresh new deal which Singaporean clearly are keen to learn about.

    2. Politics

    – Putting aside the unfortunate vitriols of all kinds, there has been many more reasoned and intellectually worthy discourses from netizens. Several online forums platform do provide critical and constructive analysis offering good sound bases for further political explorations.

    – Citizen’s has shown genuine concerns on processes and changes to our constitution. The Government should consider the people’s desire for engagement in politics and have their questions answered, instead of sticking to rigid clinical executions ignoring the people.

    – This RPE stood right in the middle of the 5-year term of parliament and should have an impact in the next election. Depending on which way the Government again choose to lead, the opportunity for widening the political space is there for the taking.

    – Singapore politics clearly has so much room for improvement and the Government should cease the day and begin the process of political reform.

    3. Democracy

    – This word has too often been taken for granted and it is high time that society and citizens learn more about what democracy is about. The Government for reasons it chooses to keep to itself adopts a very measured and slow progress in teaching democracy to us. Now is the right time for the Government to embrace the spirit of strengthening our democracy.

    – For this, the Government can begin to reduce its excessive control on the media and public spaces for political discourse. It should not be overly sensitive and show more confidence which it actually has, as not all political discourse including opposition’s views are automatically detrimental to the Government.

    – In fact, it will benefit the Government by allowing more diverse ideas and plurality of political viewpoints. It has enough buffer to take a robust political engagement than it realises. However, it has to restrain its army of online supporters which often time discredit the Government more than any short term good it does. The online troops adopts a shallow approach in engaging netizens that contributes little in content and substance but focuses on sarcasm, emotions and fears. It is hampering our citizen’s political growth and education.

    4. Singaporean Identity

    – The Government has thrown race into the political machine that it has carefully avoided in the past. It has open up a can of worms but on the flip-side it actually forced a nationwide wakeup. It now has the golden chance to reconfigure the race discourse as it chooses to. It should do so together with the people.

    – The stakes are high but it is worth taking as the benefits truly outweighs its downside. This is about the Singaporean identity project that now requires a deeper soul searching exploration.

    – There has been many opinions about race but most are stale uninspiring tales of the political past. However there has been thought provoking but reasoned views calling for a relook at our ethnic divide.

    – Race realities are more fluid and the struggles over the definition of race for the RPE should suffice to tell us reform is a must, as indeed society has moved on and policies on race may be past its dues.

    – We are more united and race blind in form than we view from the emotional lenses of ourselves. It is an exciting window to be opened by the Government to offer us a review of what our multi-racialism today is truly all about.

    Finally, we can see the less savoury, somewhat polarised race divide that this RPE has caused. The Government by its decision for the RPE has calculated and has said clearly that it is prepared to take the risk. It must now listen to the voices of the people expressed in frustration not out of any hate, but an emotional pouring of love for this nation that we truly care about. The Government is truly poised to take the higher road and address this divide with the grace of leadership foresight or chooses to do otherwise. The nation awaits to see what it does.

     

    Source: Damanhuri Bin Abas