Newsgroups: soc.culture.asean
Subject: Re: Malaysia's racial policies
From: projs8@ccu1.aukuni.ac.nz (TSE THAM)
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 01:32:00 GMT
Organization: University of Auckland, New Zealand.

eoahmad@ntuix.ntu.ac.sg (Othman Ahmad) writes:

>TSE THAM (projs8@ccu1.aukuni.ac.nz) wrote:
>: 
>: I take exception to the above statement. I do not have prove that the non-
>: bumis do not get scholarships but on the other hand have not heard of any
>: that have (which would probably be a small minority). But, I know for a fact
>: that financial need is not a pre-requisite for a bumi to obtain a scholarship.
>: I know of a government scholarship offered through one of the central
>: government agencies being given to the son of a very high ranking state
>: official (in the state executive committee), which covered all expenses, for
>: study in the United Kingdom. Admittedly his SPM results were good, but according
>: to your logic, he isn't a DESERVING case. His parents can well afford to send
>: him on their own (ie. support themselves). This shows, in turn, how UNRELIABLE

>What has it got to do with racial bias? If he were a PAS supporter, do you
>think he has any chance of being offered the scholarship?
>	Is it race or something else?

So, you're saying it's based on political affiliations. If you're insinuating
that the above mentioned state official was a BN supporter, you're wrong. He's
as far as I know apolitical.

Therefore, by the way you worded your statments, it would seem that if a 
person is a non-bumi but is a MCA or MIC supporter, he or she would be more
likely to get a scholarship than a bumi? I think not.

>: 
>: As for your argument that more non-bumis overseas show that they can afford it,
>: I must again beg to differ. Most asian cultures place great emphasis on
>: education and therefore parents make great sacrifices to give their offspring
>: every opportunity they can get. If help is not forthcoming from the government,

>If you can afford it, you can afford it. There are a lot of Malays who cannot
>afford it at all. Let alone sacrifice anything. They do not have enough food
>to eat, not enough place to stay etc. There are more poor malays than the
>other races, still.

Just because some members of a particular race can afford overseas education,
that doesn't mean every member of that race can afford it. The allocation
of scholarships should be on the basis of merit and need regardless of race.
More poor malays doesn't mean there's no poor Indians, Chinese or other races.

[ Bumiputeras mean prince of the land, doesn't it? Strictly speaking, it should
only be accorded to the Orang Asli, as they've been in Malaysia since about
2000BC (that's according to my Form 1 history books). The modern Malays only
arrived about 3000 years later (I'm not sure about this), so they should not
(strictly) be classified as bumiputera. What about the ancient Indian traders
who traded with the Sungai Lembing kingdom in the 7th century and stayed?
The orang asli, polynesians, Malays and Indonesians all originated from a
region in the South of present day China (and probably northern India) where
most Chinese in Malaysia originate from (again sourced from the form 1 history
book and a recent issue of Scientific American). Therefore, since most of the
major races in present day Malaysia originated from the same geographic region
and are now again living together, why shouldn't everyone be accorded the title
of bumiputera? That's an interesting thought, isn't it?)
 
>	Even in established government bodies, the minimum wage is $300.00,
>which admittedly is below the poverty line in Malaysia.
>	The chinese like these situations because they do not have to 
>sponsor expensive governments but they have to suffer in other ways.

What do you mean by "not having to sponsor expensive governments"? The MARA
scholarships are funded by the government, are they not? Therefore, non bumis
would suffer twice (once for the tax which funds the scholarships and another
for the ineligibility of their offspring to obtain tax funded scholarships).

>: this group some time back) that scholarships in M'sia are influenced by race,
>: which I find shocking. I detest divisions based on racial grounds and the
>: Malaysian government, which is such a fervent opponent of apartheid in South 

>So you are against the "affirmative action" in USA to help the blacks,
>or any special assistance to develop the Black schools or even raise their
>standard of living to make them competitive.

You're putting words in to my mouth, Othman. I'm not against affirmative action
as long as it's available to all who need it, regardless of RACE. It's not
just the African-Americans who are less priveledged, there are those of other
races who need help, even some of the European-Americans.

>	After all, the richer gets richer. It would be a pity if even the
>richer can also get assistance instead of the poorer ones, or groups of
>poorer ones. Sometimes we have to develop a community/race so that they
>can later help their family members. We must be realistic that family ties
>are important elements in business, or even in providing a proper environemnt
>for development.

That would seem to be what's happening to the scholarships. The better off
Malays (eg offspring of high government and state officials) seem to be able
to easily walk off with the scholarships. Since their parents do not need to
support them through University, aren't they, who are already rich, getting
richer?

>: Africa would do well to heed its own words in this respect. Would not it be 
>: better, as Othman suggests, to base it on need and merit? In New Zealand, I 
>: know of a person (non-bumi Malaysian) who has obtained 5 scholarships, 1 
>: fellowship and 6 prizes in the last 4 years. These were evidently not given on
>: the basis of a racial bias and therefore there is no feelings of unfairness.

>If he get get all these scholarships, why bother to get one from Malaysian
>government? In Malaysia, it is not allowed to get more than one sholarships.

The point I'm trying to make here is that in New Zealand, the award of 
scholarships is done fairly on the basis of merit and need and not on an ad hoc
manner depending on the pigmentation of your epidermis. The scholarships were
all less than NZ$1500 and awarded by different firms, unlike the comprenhensive
scholarships which the Malaysian Government awards that cover almost everything.

The award of scholarships by the Malaysian Govt still runs contrary to their
belief in equality for the Africans when opposing apartheid in South Africa. 
Therefore there's two sets of values, one for foreign affairs as a 'leader' of
the non-aligned movement and another set for domestic policy.

>We need the money for other people.

Who do you need the money for? Other bumis? BTW, how many of you bumi & non-bumi
netters out there are on Government scholarships? It will be good to hear it
from their perspective.

>--
>Othman bin Ahmad, School of EEE,
>Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 2263.
>Internet Email: eoahmad@ntuix.ntu.ac.sg
>Bitnet Email: eoahmad@ntuvax.bitnet

Newsgroups: soc.culture.asean