Behaving like 2nd Class Citizens
A common complaint by non-bumiputera Malaysians is that they are treated like 2nd class citizens.
There is clearly much truth to this matter, but it began to occur to me that perhaps being treated like 2nd class citizens is largely a symptom of behaving like 2nd class citizens.
Much has been said about the migrant mentality. How, for instance, the Chinese care most about survival, earning a living and making sure we don’t rock the boat.
Many attribute this to an ingrown fear that results from forever feeling at the mercy of the dominant indigenous population, due to smaller numbers and smaller political clout.
What this does however is create a self-inflicted 2nd class citizen mentality, perpetuated most succintly by parties like the MCA.
The odd thing is, people continue to complain about the boat they are in, while refusing to rock it.
The irony of this in Malaysia is evident now more than ever. For once, we have a credible, Malay-led political movement that stands for the dismantling of the major barriers that separate ‘first’ and ’second’ class citizens.
Yes, it may sound too good to be true, but that’s only because we’ve had fifty years of conditioning and brainwashing to think that we can’t do any better. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Political parties formed supposedly to defend Chinese and Indian interests are thumbing their nose at this movement, which calls for a more meaningful, wholesome approach to Malaysian-ness, in favour of maintaining the status quo - wherein some parties are all too clearly more equal than others.
Parties like MCA, MIC and even Gerakan or PPP are inexplicably refusing to support those who can actually pave the way to true equality and harmony, while propping up keris-wielding thugs who cannot abide by changing the first class citizens vs. the rest mentality.
Why? Patronage, pure and simple.
Just like in colonial times, where the easiest way to subjugate the native rulers was to buy them out, pure and simple. Enrich a ruling class at the cost of the lower classes, then task them with keeping their communities in check.
The Brits did it brilliantly, now Umno is doing it just as well. The end result is also much the same: fat elites, suffering rakyat.
Another secret to this type of subjugation is by perpetuating the myth that this is some natural order that can never be questioned, lest it incurs the wrath of the rulers.
The truth however is simple: reality is only what we make it.
If we don’t want to spend an eternity as second class citizens believing that the crumbs we are getting are plenty, we have to stand up, act like first class citizens and vote in the parties that stand for equality, mutual respect and justice - not an eternity of racial division.
Fear is by far one of the most effective tools of tyranny, but behind every lie that perpetuates this fear is the truth: that people have the power; and by people, I mean You.
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3 Responses to “Behaving like 2nd Class Citizens”
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I totally agree with your views.
Nicely put.
Now the question is how do we dismantle the Goliath-like propaganda machinery of the BN government to spread the truth to the rakyat?
The internet penetration rate is still very low.
People throughour the contry has been buying lies after lies by them.
Reading the mainstream media makes me want to puke.
Agreed!
I would go further to say that what the ruling party/government has done is the similar warfare tactic that was used to rule our country during colonial times - divide and rule. Today, second class citizens feel that way because the current government has bred this resentment in us ever since…forever!
Thus, our ‘behaving like 2nd class citizens’ and ‘feeling’ like one too is success for the ruling party!
They’ve succeeded in dividing us racially and ruling effectively - thus far…
Till 8 March 2008!