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Salient. Victoria University Student Newspaper. Volume 36, Number 21. 5th September 1973
Two Sides of Malaya
Two Sides of Malaya
Deal sir,
Verity Jones is insulting, arrogant and patronising in the extreme if she is attempting to tell me that, to quote her "social and political inequality" exists in Malaysia. Who doesn't know that? The easiest enterprise to enjoy is to criticise and sit back with a sigh — "see, I am right, your country is rot!"
| 1) | Redistribution of wealth. How are you going to do this? By the New Zealand formula, the Russian formula, the US formula or the Chinese formula? If you opt for the Chinese formula, to be true to your promise, you must carry it out in NZ i.e. you must now organise your armed revolution. We don't want any hyper critical pontifical wagging of the tongues only. If conditions in NZ arc different, may it not be possible that conditions in Malaysia are also different. Why discriminate? |
| 2) | The social or racial inequality. This, to my mind is a far greater problem that the one above. Solve it if you can. At the moment, there is entrenched in the Malaysian constitution a provision protecting the 'special position' of the Malays and other indigenous races with the responsibility for them resting on the king, (or Yang-di Bestruan Agong, if you know). The rationale for this provision is that the indigenous races in Malaysia would suffer a 'serious and unfair' disadvantage if they are left to compete on an equal basis with the so-called stronger races, viz Chinese and Indians (see Report of the Federation of Malaya Constitution Commission 1957, Rana 163, et seg. Chairman Lord Reid.) Fortunately or unfortunately according as to how strong your racial feelings are, such a principle is now also recognised by the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. |
I should be agreed on all sides that such a special provision is only a temporary device. The problem now is when we should agitate for the deletion of this provision. By what standards are we to use to test the ability of the indigenous races to tend for themselves? (For the sake of analysis, perhaps you may be able to draw some analogies from the Maori situation in NZ.) Quite a few of the non-indigenous races in Malaysia are growing resentful over this provision. It may have been the sole cause of the bloody race riots in 1969, although mind you, a race-riot, by definition, is a conflict based on intense, emotional, uncontrolled racial feelings. No doubt too, some of the indigenous races want the retention of this provision and a few others are "ashamed" of its presence in the constitution. But given the highly explosive climate of the present situation, what is your suggestion?
It is enough initially to give you these two problems. I hope to hear from you soon. But for God's sake, please don't suggest a revolution because you won't know what it entails.
By the way, Verity, is it not slightly unfair to criticise the Malaysian Students Assoc. for showing the good side of Malaysia in a cultural exhibition? After all, I would hardly expect you to show the bad side (if any) of New Zealand when you came to my country.
Hee Kiang.
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