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Salient. Newspaper of the Victoria University Students' Association. Vol 42 No. 16. July 16 1979

Malaysian Replies to Racist

Malaysian Replies to Racist

Dear Editor,

To balance up a typical Malaysian Gov't cheap propaganda by Abu Sajed, I would like to express the general feeling felt by the majority of the people back in Malaysia.

(1)All the three races (Malay, Chinese and Indiar.) were equally neglected in education during colonial times and not just the Malays as Abu Sajed said. Why did he single out Chinese and Indians equally as important as the Malay, in constructing the economy of Malaysia after the colonial rule. It's obvious that Abu is adopting a racist line by the Malaysian Government.
(2)The fact that the Maori people have been deprived from higher education in New Zealand is revealed by counting the number of Maori students in Victoria University. The gap between the population of Maori students and the proportion of the Maoris in the population as a whole is far too great. This is not true in Malaysia where Malays constitute about 42% of the population but they dominated 66% of the tertiary education scats in 1978 - 1979 academic year. That is why many non-Malays who acquired good results are forced to go overseas to study or stayed away from university when financial problems barred them from overseas study. Because of the general ill-feeling and strong protest by the non-Malays, the Government agreed to increase by a meagre 2% the intake of non-Malays in 1979-1989 academic year. I strongly suggest Abu should check up all the necessary statistical figures from his brother high commissioner down in the Terrace before he makes wild and outragious accusations. Otherwise I would ask Peter to blacklist your name and your future letters will go down the basket.
(3)To use the word "raigrant races" by which Abu meant Chinese and Indian, is again showing his arrogant and racsit nature. Why should Abu downgrade the non-Malays who were born in the native soil of Malaysia. Furthermore the Chinese' and Indians have been integrating themselves in the Malaysian Society for few decades and why should he discriminate against the Chinese and Indians since they are Malaysian by birth or by adopting citizenship. By adopting the Malaysian Government racist line, Abu is falling into the trap of racism. The Malay, Chinese and Indian have long been divided by the colonial masters and the hangovers of colonialism. It's high time Abu corrects his wrong attitude towards the misconceptions engineered by the Government.
(4)I totally agree that Malaysia needs a national language but we should be aware that the Government is imposing this policy in a racist manner and at the expense of other races. This is clearly why the Government turned down the setting up of the Merdeka University. Furthermore the Government is too high-handed in carrying out its policy where overemphasis on Bahasa Malaysia and has deliberately neglected other factors and difficulties faced by the non-Malays who can't handle Bahasa Malaysia in a short period. I am sure if the Government gives a fair go to the non-Malays, they will be willing to learn this language and master it as well as their Malay counterparts. It's the racist policy that turned many people away from learning it.

Finally I advise Abu to crawl out from the coconut shell in which he has been shadowed for too long under the umbrella of racism.

Yours sincerely,

Hitam bin Ahmad.

Drawing of a tired person with bottles