Political correct.
Why are most oversea Chinese do not want to be involved with politics ? Are Chinese people born non-confrontational ?
The first night when I met with my home town friends whom I have known for years, the mere mentioned of BERSIH brought frowns on most of my friends’ forehead, sigh…
Why are oversea Chinese being Discriminated in most countries where they call homes ?
Overseas Chinese have sometimes experienced hostility and discrimination (see Sinophobia). Whether such treatment is reasonable, is a frequent point of contention between Overseas Chinese and nativist elements of their host societies. A major point of friction is the often disproportionate economic influence of the Overseas Chinese (who dominate the economies of Southeast Asia), and their tendency to segregate themselves into a subculture. For example, the anti-Chinese Jakarta Riots of May 1998 and Kuala Lumpur Racial Riots of 13 May 1969 seem to have been motivated by these perceptions.
Ethnic politics can be found to motivate both sides of the debate. In Malaysia, Overseas Chinese tend to support equal and meritocratic treatment on the expectation that they would not be discriminated against in the resulting competition for government contracts, university places, etc., whereas many “Bumiputra” (“native sons”) Malays oppose this on the grounds that their group needs such protections in order to retain their patrimony. The question of to what extent ethnic Malays, Chinese, or others are “native” to Malaysia is a sensitive political one. It is currently a taboo for Chinese politicians to raise the issue of Bumiputra protections in parliament, as this would be deemed ethnic incitement.[8]
In Indonesia, ethnic Chinese are not allowed to educate their children in formal Chinese-medium schools. In some cases other cultural markers (such as Chinese calendars) are banned. Chinese-language signs were banned in Indonesia until 2004.
In order to avoid discrimination, some overseas Chinese explicitly identify themselves only by nationality (i.e., the state they are from or resident in).
Many of the overseas Chinese who worked on railways in North America in the 19th century suffered from racial discrimination in Canada and the United States. Although most discriminatory laws have been repealed or are no longer enforced today, both countries had at one time introduced statutes that barred Chinese from entering the country, for example the Chinese Exclusion Act in the United States or the Canadian Chinese Immigration Act, 1923.
What are your opinion on this issue ?
Thanks for the excerpt, rather an eyeopener I must say.
To survive in wilderness, even wolves have to hunt in pack.
I’ll comment on the Chinese community in Malaysia. I’m rather jealous of the Indonesian Chinese who hardly reveal their race in the international stage.
In Malaysia, the Chinese in general resent the positive discrimination (affirmative action) by the government. The Chinese here do enjoy a regular moment in kopitiam with colleagues, old friends, but it seems they preferred a non-confrontational-mind-your-own-business approach when dealing with community issues.
For example, with respect to higher learning, Chinese do not same equal opportunity with the other natives in entering public universities, under the current quota system under the guise of ‘matriculation system’. The current Chinese politicians in the government seem to not able to reach a deal with the ruling chauvinistic Malay party Umno to adopt meritocracy as a basis for policies, so they went on to developed and achieved the UTAR dream (Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman), a network of semi-public universities to make higher education accessible and affordable to most Chineses, though they also admit students from other race.
The current political climate in Malaysia that most often than not run along racial lines, with the current ruling Umno party much to be blamed, it further reinforce the already-existing disparity between races. Even in Sarawak, a state where inter-marriages had the highest rate in the nation, the “us and them” sentiment seems to grow stronger among the Chinese community.
Take heart Aunty, I’m very pleased to have heard from you for the first time last night.
Have a Christmas Christmas
Daniel,
I am very happy to hear from you too.
Let’s keep in touch and encourage one another in our faith and vision. May the Lord keep you healthy and strong.
love
Js.
Daniel,
The non confrontational culture has its rooted beyond our conscious.
Even a Western educated woman like me would prefer to take the ” I am sorry” route than “There might be other way of doing it” route. However, after attending the local education institution, I was sent to re-educated on “appropriate assertiveness” , not aggressive but appropriate assertive.
I am thankful with the course because it helped me to understand what does it mean to express my rights but not aggressive.
I find it very uncomfortable with Malaysia youth minister attitude. I personally think Malaysia is regressing than progressing.
If there is a choice, I will leave, of course in my case, I have oleri left but I am talking about those people who remain.
Oversea Chinese is every where, Malaysia is only one of the places.
Just my 2 cents.