Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Mat Salleh Boleh!!!

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Hari ini, Hari Merdeka.
Sehelai bendera tidak ada di rumah kami
Sebab suami aku bersama kucing aku
Sudah dikolonisikan balik!

Tetapi
Walaupun aku asal dari negeri Britain,
Hari ini aku terpaksa membelogkan
Dalam Bahasa Melayu.
Aku sudah berjanji pada kawan belog aku
Yang bernama Eyeris.

Susahlah!
Aku tidak pandai menulis
Dalam BM.

Aku boleh bercakap sikit-sikit
Tapi aku selalu
Membuat banyak kesalahan.

Bila ibu-papa kawan aku bertanya "Mana pergi?"
"Oh, saya pergi makan anjing" saya menjawab.

"Tolong sapu semua sarang labu-labu,"
Aku cakap kepada pembantu rumah.

Suami aku selalu nak becakap dalam Bahasa Ingerris.
Kalau aku berbual dengan pekerja kebun,
Suami berkata itulah
“Macam ayam cakap dengan itik.”

Tapi kami selalu bercakap dalam BM
Waktu bila kami berada
Di negeri England,
Dalam pub dan sebagainya,
Sebab orang British tak boleh faham.
(Tetapi pada suatu hari kami berjumpa
Pemandu teksi yang boleh faham:
Berkata dia "Terima kasih"
Bila saya baginya tambang!)

Hari ini, hari sangat istimewa
Untuk raykat Malaysia.
Sebab itu
Aku mahu mendedikasikan
Puisi pertama aku di BM
Kepada semua kawan-kawanku.

Inilah dia:
Dikeliling kebun,
Seperti Si Bruang,
Pijak satu! Pijak dua!
Geletek kau? Jangan!!!

39 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, this is such a cute post, Sharon :)

Anonymous said...

oookay sharon :)

i like this!

munsta said...

great effort! :)

Fashionasia said...

notbad notbad!!!! better than alot of locals even

Nazrah Leopolis said...

yup ,saya setuju. sangat-sangat comel!

NickTay said...

Woohoo!!! Great post!! Clap Clap! Hats off :) Kudus!!!

Nisah Haji Haron said...

Wah! Sharon, good job. Sharon boleh!

Anonymous said...

Super! So proud of you! Fashionasia was right - i couldn't have written like that!
It was charming, sincere and funny - with a straight face too! Great, friend.

Chet said...

Tulisan BM lu lebih baik dari cakapan BM lu.

“Macam ayam cakap dengan itik.”

We have that saying in Cantonese, too!

Is your hubby part Chinese?

(sorry, ran out of Malay vocab)

Unknown said...

Amat menarik. Saya betul betul enjoy entry ini!

Kak Teh said...

sharon! syabas. Sudah cukup bagus bahasa Sharon. Kak Teh dah melayari beberapa belog yang berbahasa Melayu untuk hari Merdeka. Ramai yang memberi smbutan. Syabas juga kepada Eyeris.

Lydia Teh said...

Sharon

Syabas! Berapa kali rujuk kepada kamus, huh?

bibliobibuli said...

You are all so kind. I expected everyone to be correcting me right left and centre. I think this is the first time I've ever written publically in Malay and I don't use the language so much these days so I've grown rusty. I think I'm inspired to improve my language skills now.

Kak Teh - do you think I can pass my Bahasa 'O' level?

Lydia - I did not use a dictionary because I've lost the little English-Malay one I used to use. But when I wasn't sure of a spelling I googled it and checked.

Chet - I'm sure sayings in one language leak into another if they are good ones.

Now I have some blog reading to do to improve my BM even further!! this really was a fun thing that brought us together.

Anonymous said...

What a feat! I'm impressed and tickled pink by your pantun :D

Aria said...

HEHE!

bibliobibuli said...

Ariel - itu bukan "pantun", itulah "puisi kanak-kanak". Lain kali aku akan menulis pantun.

Kak Teh said...

sharon, memang boleh dapat A, lebih2 lagi kalau Kak teh yang mark. Tapi Sharon tak datang baca belog yang Kak Teh penat tulis pun! Kalau baca kak teh bagi A plus!

Pyewacket said...

Wow, this is going to take me some time and a kamus to understand, but it looks very impressive! Can't wait to read it! But will have to...Hari ini saya sangat sibuk...and that's all my BM...:-(

Good job, Sharon!

bibliobibuli said...

Kak Teh - A? Wow! Saya sudah membaca setengah karangan Kak Teh malam semalam. Tapi panjangnya dan saya kurang rajin! Saya akan pergi terus ke blog Kak Teh menghabiskannya!

Leah - I can translate for you next time I see you. but if you read the poem aloud and look at the picture you will know exactly what it means!

Anonymous said...

==========






First of all, are we (the non-bumis, that is) really to believe that the government will abolish or tone down the New Economic Policy in the near future? We must be realistic, if you have the right to buy a property at a discount and have scholarships for your children, would you let go of these rights?

With Chinese population dwindling in Malaysia, what needs to be done depends on the Chinese themselves.

There is nothing wrong with the brain drain. In fact, we should encourage our children to move to Singapore, Taiwan, China etc. if we disagree with Malaysian government policies that are based on race and religion.

When it comes to the matter of the dwindling number of Chinese Malaysians, we should talk about quality, not quantity.

We should resolve why the Chinese-Malaysian population is reducing. Official figures have more than one million Chinese Malaysians emigrating over the past 25 years. Why did they emigrate? I am sure the government knows.

Straight A students can't get scholarships or university places. Nothing new, it is been that way for the past 35 years. Nowadays, even enlightened malay Malaysians are speaking up on this injustice. The MCA and Gerakan? Busy making money from private colleges.

What is so great about having TAR College or Utar which took more than 35 years of begging? Why should it be so difficult to set up an independent university when we have scores of public ones?

While we push young talented people away, other countries notably Singapore, the US and Australia welcome them with open arms.

Is it logical that we drive away our young talented ones and then invite retired Mat Sallehs to live here and exploit our low-cost of living?

Singapore's success in particular owes much to these ex-Malaysians or their descendants including Hon Sui Sen, Goh Keng Swee, Goh Chok Tong, just to name a few.

About 30 percent of top management in both Singapore's government and corporate sector are ex-Malaysians. We export them so that Singapore can compete with, and then whack us.

Korea and Taiwan, both way behind us in the 70s and 80s are now way ahead. Thailand is breathing down our necks.

Sadly, there is just no integrity in the nation's leadership.








====================

bibliobibuli said...

malaysia is no future country said... you make many valid points here, but why are you hiding behing a pseudonym? Until folks are prepared to speak openly how can anything change?

Also intersted why you chose to post this here?

bibliobibuli said...

Ohhh ... this guy is also the author of the piece that is getting spammed around all over the place perportedly from a disillutioned Malaysian living abroad. It was also on John Ling's website. (And was posted on dozens of blogs too.)

All I can say is that a voice without a name is not a voice.

Kak Teh said...

sharon, I've got several from the same person as well. but never in the current postings - always in some old entries.

Anonymous said...

There are so many things wrong with his post I won't even bother. For instance, according to http://www.cabinet.gov.sg/smgoh.htm, GCT was born in Singapore. I'm not sure when the secession was, but even if he was born before that he'd only be an ex-Malaysian by necessity and not by choice.

There are a lot of these people around. The "surat layang" has come to the Internet, apparently. But here at least people can correct them.

Anonymous said...

I applaud your BM knowledge. My BM is so rusty now :P

Anonymous said...

"The Malay Dilemma" revealing the weaknesses of malays. But did they do something to amend their weaknesses using the correct way, like work harder, compete equally etc?

They did with the fastest way, implementing unfair policies. How many of you all will agree that the policies are not benefiting the malays?

From the economy to the education system and to the society, all policies were meant to "close" their mind and body.

In Pak Lah announce that NEP will stay, as long as the gap between the poor and the rich exists. In a free economy, this will always be the case. How can the gap be narrowed if they do not work hard?

Just ask any economists how an economy works.

Let's assume that they are trying to perform transferring wealth to the poor in this way, it would be better to practice socialism or communism, where everything belongs to the country and no personal assets are allowed.

After 35 years of NEP, how has it benefited the country as a whole?

No one benefited in the end except those in power.

The most important thing is that the malay goes back and tell his children and grandchildren that in Malaysia, all you need to do to survive is stretch out your hand and ask for handouts.

If you malays don't get it, then use force.

Many non-malays in this country share the same view. Give in to them. Why bother to fight? Can you win possibly? Give in, and eventually it is not the non-malays who will get hurt. It is hurt the malays themselves.

A friend of mine used to say that if you want to kill off someone, spoil him.

The non-malays are not afraid of the malays asking for handouts. They are worried that they don't and start to become hardworking like non-malays.

This plot begins to sound more like the X-files - the only way to fight the future is to collaborate with the alien invaders!

Anonymous said...

Read it all. In Mahathir’s Malaysia, over 40% of the population lives under Constitutionally mandated and perpetual state sanctioned racism. It is verging on illegality to even bring up the subject - even in parliament.

Non-bumis live under widespread and considerable electoral, educational, economic and even religious restrictions and also have to live with the risk of racially motivated stirring from malay politicians who could put one nation to shame. And don’t ask about illegal aliens, they’re safely locked up in detention centres.

Unsurprisingly, some malay policies have played upon resultant fears of racial tensions and the difficulties non-bumis face in creating their own political voice to shore up a captive vote in the ethnic electorate.

Starting up a company or even purchasing land and property is harder and more expensive for non-bumis. The only way to alleviate their permanent designation as a second-class citizen is to convert to Islam and thus enjoy partial legal acceptance as a bumis.

This Malaysia, a land where racism is used to justify racism, is Mahathir’s creation and if that isn’t the pot calling the kettle black, then I need a new palette.

Perhaps you may have heard of the axiom making its rounds among the Malaysian bloggers:

“If it is a malay issue, it is a national issue. If it is an Indian issue, it is not an issue. If it is a Chinese issue, it is a racial issue.”

That is the problem with Malaysia. The Chinese and Indians are made to feel as if Malaysia is for the malays, and not for the citizens of Malaysia. Even the textbooks are often written as if addressing the malays instead of Malaysians, with references to Islam and other malay cultural aspects.

Just look at Singapore. In spite of their being a multiracial society completely lacking in national resources, they are now a developed country. Why?

Because the people there are united. There is no presumption that the average citizen is a Chinese or any serious programme giving a particular race special rights.

The presumption that greed, dishonesty, and betrayal are innate qualities of a Chinese is simply as abhorrent as the presumption by some Chinese that malays smell bad, are lazy, and are extremely religious to the point of martyrdom. Such stereotyping accomplishes nothing.

If Chinese kids won’t die for Malaysia, we should not jump to the conclusion that Chinese cannot be trusted. Instead, we should consider it equally among other possibilities, such as the government’s policies creating a feeling of unfair treatment despite the premise that we are all equal as citizens of Malaysia.

We know what the original intentions of the malay special privileges provision in the Merdeka Constitution were, but to maintain that it is a carte blanche for all manner of discrimination based on the bumi/non-bumi divide is certainly straining credibility.

Now that the commanding heights of the Malaysian economy have fallen into the hands of malay capitalists 48 years after independence, is it wrong to appeal for a new consensus based on social sector and need instead of race?

From the above, it is clear that the question of the constitutionality of the quota system as it has been practised since 1971 especially in totally bumi institutions has never been tested.

Because the government imposes racial quota in education and government departments, therefore Singapore and other countries take fortune at the tide. For years, there has been brain drain to our neighbour.

I called my newfound friend earlier who works in Singapore. Somehow, the conversation ended up on Malaysians holding top positions in Singapore.

Well, I have a good friend who is currently working with a top-notch investment company in Singapore. When my new friend found out, immediately said, “No wonder that Pak Lah person was mentioning about the brain drain in Malaysia!”

Well, I know a lot of doctors and scientists are working overseas. A number of my school alumni are actually working overseas and not in Malaysia. Some are doing well in Boston, London, to name a few. It’s even funnier to hear stories of some of my school alumni to accidentally meet each other when they are overseas. Yes, my school is guilty for contributing to the brain drain……….

Closer to home, I wonder if Pak Lah knows about our own Malaysian companies that are also contributing to the brain drain. No name mentioned, but I know of one company, due to the change in business process has forced a number of the disgruntled staff to leave the company.

The worse thing, these staff left and joined the competitors that are not Malaysian owned. And even worse, some staff actually decided to leave Malaysia and work at greener pastures.

They could have stayed in Malaysia, but no company in Malaysia could afford to pay the expected salary due to the staff being former scholars and studied overseas during the economic crisis.

Sad really. Now wonder why Pak Lah has an uphill task.

Clearly, there has always been movement of highly skilled people in and out of a country. If there is brain drain from a particular country, it can scarcely develop. On the other hand, if it can keep its talents and successfully attract its skilled citizens to return as well as foreign talents to come, it will prosper.

bibliobibuli said...

*sigh*

okay so you have something to say and a grievance ... but is here the best place to air it? i think you need your own forum where you can debate issues ... lurking on pages of my blog that no-one really visits anymore is not going to do much for you.

it's also pretty much off topic ... i want to talk books and creative writing not political issues ... please go spam some of the bloggers who debate current affairs and politics and come back when you want to talk about what you're reading ...

Anonymous said...

Actually, the average number of Malaysians who get into Harvard for undergrad studies per year is 1.

It is quite easy to increase the number of Malaysians entering Harvard - ask one of our brilliant ministers to wield his keris in front of Harvard, demanding at least 100 students to be accepted into Harvard each year……….

Just my 2 cents……….Hahaha……….let's hope for a better education in Malaysia……….

Well, there was Professor KS Jomo who attended Harvard for his MBA (prior to that he was at Yale). He came back to teach……….but look what happened to him……….

We, hope for less intervention from government in tertiary education, less oppression on Chinese schools in Malaysia……….[Hisham: "Nah, dream on!"]

The trouble with some ministers is that they dream instead of actually think.

Almost all the ministers in Bolehland like to talk nonsense ever now and then, and this is one of the examples. Ignore him and move on.

To build, it takes a long time, sometimes generations. To destroy, it takes overnight.

The English language - the education system has been destroyed through the regime of Dr M, and it will take even longer time to regain back the former status.

It is really a micros of the NEP policy. As the elite take more and more resources to put up a cosmetic appearance of progress and development, and hence denying effort, resources as well as sending the wrong signal to the average what they need to do who are lulled into complacency and lack of competitiveness.

University Malaya is churning out a lot of bumi graduates majoring in religious studies, moral studies, Islamic studies etc. These graduates are then given post in GLCs.

Like the executive for MAS, an anthropology graduate, and like 90% of all executives in GLCs. No wonder all of them are making losses every year.

The government would do well to ensure standards are kept high as otherwise it is the public that suffers.

It is sad that many people will not go and see doctors (or other professionals) who graduate from local universities, as there are fears that these doctors are incompetent. Some of these doctors won't even touch you to give you a thorough examination. It is a fact.

The politicians and those who could afford are not sending their children to local universities but overseas universities. That tells us what it is about.

Anonymous said...

In Malaysia it is all about race and religion. Other than the old South Africa, I think Malaysia is the only country that officially practice racial discrimination.

There are very few countries (if any) in the world where government promotes affirmative action for the majority.

Look at the NEP, the housing discount for malays, the number of malays in all government composition of political parties. How come nobody complain to United Nation?

This proves to the world that Bolehland is one country two standards. Pak Lah said he is fair to all citizens, and he is the prime minister for all Malaysians. Is he?

No wonder, our Malaysia country has become a laughing stock to the world. What kind of message is our country sending to the media?

We are almost coming to 50 years after independence - surely the country has matured sufficiently to accept that democracy, whatever its weaknesses, works best for all.

For a 48 years old person - Bolehland is an overgrown imbecile who is clearly a very spoilt brat. What more is that it has also started to exhibit symptoms of senility.

This is a great shame for someone who has never managed to grow up to an adult. Without reaching adulthood, it has directly become senile. If that is not the fault of the government ruling parties, one cannot think of any other reasons.

The worst thing is it happening under the nose of our prime minister who had so many times pledged and promised a fair and transparent administration.

Again one shameful decision by the authorities. Anyway, it is nothing new. In year 2020, it will still be the same. This 'senility' haven been spread out by the Umno-led government. And I don't see there is a cure even in the year 2020.

For heaven sake, Pak Lah, enough is enough, has the courage to remove his cabinet ministers before he make a vast mockery of our country.

Anonymous said...

Seems to me Malaysians are lucky to have Singapore to run for!

The brain drain that Singapore is experiencing, Malaysia is also experiencing. Malaysians or Singaporeans, all those who can fulfill the criteria for emigration (not "migration" - that term is used for birds, not people) to the US, UK or EU will go there if they so desire.

Except Malaysia also faces a brain drain in the direction of Singapore, whereas Singapore faces no such drainage in the direction of Malaysia!

All the non-malay Malaysians who can afford it send their children here to study to avoid the corrupt and racist education system in their own country. Malaysia is so much bigger than Singapore, so many different regions - so how come Malaysians need to come here at all?

Why are you here, instead of somewhere in your lush and plentiful land?

Two of my best friends are Malaysians Singapore PR working in Singapore. They looked at me in horror when I asked them if they'd ever thought of going back to live and work in Malaysia!

Even a weekend spent visiting their folks back home leaves them rushing back across the causeway in relief.

Malaysia has so many natural resources and a larger workforce. Singapore is just a miserable dot on a map and has so few assets. Yet Singapore is wealthier and has progressed faster than Malaysia (e.g. the standard of living is leaps and bounds better here, the currency stronger etc).

It may happen, but it is going to take absolutely ages for Malaysia to catch up, let alone do so much better (would be like Africa catching up with Europe) that it is worth the while for Malaysians Singapore PR to go back kampung!

If Singapore dies, it will be most likely due to China snatching all our Singapore business. In which case, China will also snatch all of Malaysia's business.

Anonymous said...

It is better that you leave Malaysia. This country is full of crap. Everything is crap here. There is racism and lots of red tape bureaucracy. Malaysia don't practise meritocracy.

If a bumi is not even capable in comparison with a Chinese or Indians, he will still get all the goodies and left the shit to the other races. I advise the government not to help the stupid bumis but to give equal rights to everyone and also judge a person based on his merits and not his background or race.

If the government continues to help those incapable bumis and not cutting those red tapes, I think Malaysia will not meet its 2020 vision. Also my advise to those bumis: To the Hell with you!!!

There has been a survey done to investigate whether Chinese, Indians and Malays are hardworking. They found out that malays are the ones to be lazy. Lazier than Chinese and Indians. They do not have the motivation to strive harder.

Most of Malaysia's success come from the hard work of other races while the malays just reaped the fruits that the Chinese and Indians sowed. The Malaysian government know about this fact and that is how they implemented to protect those bumis from lagging behind the other races.

If you agreed with what I had said, you know that this is making sense. However if you disagree on my views, here is 2 possibilities -

(1) you are a bumi that is receiving help from the government and hence you don't make any contribution to the society.

(2) you are a corrupted, biased person that is easily influenced, just like our police force. Think about it.

Anonymous said...

How about leadership by example in education - deserves further systematic exploration for Malaysians to see through Umno's hypocrisy, hubris and folly.

One, these Umno elite themselves have no confidence in the so-called 'national' system of education they promote and defend. That is why for example, Najib and Hussein studied in British universities not local ones.

That is also why the children of all our prime ministers, including those of Dr Mahathir and Badawi, were overseas for their secondary or tertiary education.

Two, increasingly even ordinary bumi parents have realised that the Chinese-language education system is better for intellectual quality as well as for the inculcation of discipline among children and youths.

There are now more than 65000 bumi children studying in Chinese primary schools.

The government has to admit that our national schools have a lot of shortcomings, which is why the Chinese prefer to send their children to the vernacular schools. The Chinese schools also have better discipline levels and tend to be better in the teaching of mathematics.

A lot of my Chinese friends also had the same regret in not being able to learn to write and speak Chinese due to their parents' obsession in enrolling them into English-medium schools.

The answer as to whether the glass is half empty or half full will depend on who asked the question.

Of course, the MIC, MCA, Gerakan and the other Barisan Nasional component parties cannot evade political and social responsibility too for the failure of the 'national' education system.

It is indeed time for a serious national introspection and national renewal. It's time also for the removal of the rotten systems in Malaysia.

The government must realise that they have to accommodate both national and national-type schools. No one should call for the abolishment of vernacular schools, as they are there to provide an alternative and also to keep the national schools on their toes.

After all, it is just like the case of Malaysian sports. We used to be quite good and proud of our standards, but after decades of institutional mediocrity in the administration and selection process, we are now mediocre.

We cannot have the cake and eat it anymore. Just like sports where many of us have given up, we can also forget about trying to be a nation of academic reputation if we continue to institutionalise mediocrity.

There is a solution to the current problems in our public education system. We just have to take political considerations out of the equation.

There should also be no racial profiling for public schooling and communal sentiments do not supercede the importance of a quality education.

Spending on public education should be increased and the syllabus content streamlined for quality. Take control of the schools, weed out poor teachers from the system and retrain them if necessary.

Make teaching a more attractive position and have efficient school administrative policies to let teachers enjoy their freedom to educate rather than to teach for exams.

The road towards a quality public education system would require huge political and economic commitment from the government, the people and the private sector.

Today, we can and must create a quality education system for all.

Anonymous said...

I agree with views on the poor reasoning behind the new directive to play the national anthem in movie theatres before the beginning of every movie.

Besides this venue, the good doctor has also prescribed that the national anthem be played before the start of official government functions and at all schools, kindergartens and institutions of higher learning.

In short, because some Malaysians, a bunch of kids and some athletes don’t sing the anthem, the rest of us have to suffer. This is the typical ass-backwards type of reasoning that is commonly applied in governmental policy.

Why isn’t action just taken against those who have misbehaved? This mentality is just endemic in Malaysian government policy. Or are these announcements made merely so that these petty government officials can have their Warholian fame?

Patriotism is a daily occurrence. We are patriotic when we obey our country's laws. We are patriotic when we take the trouble to speak up about things we don't like happening in our country especially if it's done by the government.

We are patriotic when we promote the good things about each other and our country, and overlook and try to make good the bad things. We are patriotic when we share, care and help our fellow citizen irrespective of race, religion or gender. And finally, we are patriotic when we ask what we can do for our country, and not what our country can do for us.

It is not unusual for Malaysian ministers and leaders to have knee-jerk responses and reactions as solutions to impending problems.

Values and morality cannot be legislated. They have to be taught from young. Forcing someone to stand up when the Negaraku is being played does not make him any more patriotic then the migrant labourer building the nation's infrastructure.

A corrupt civil servant who receives bribes for favours, litters the streets with his cigarette butts and fails to pay his bills but stands up in the cinema hall when the Negaraku is played is missing the point.

Let me put it on record that patriotism is as much based on policies as it is on civic-mindedness. So it means the government and people working hand-in-hand.

What is needed is not a short-term plug but a pragmatic, long-term solution beginning with sound government policies, mutual access to opportunities, level-playing fields and non-discriminatory socio-economic plans.

When the 'rakyat' see that the government is sincere in its efforts, clean in its administration, forward thinking in its nation-building plans and honest in providing avenues for democracy to be practiced in its true essence, then patriotism will come naturally.

I must say that laws which force people to respect anybody or anything or laws that are designed to control our subjective thinking and feeling are the most dumb.

Perhaps it is a sad reflection of how pathetic and immature the state of Malaysian and Umno politics is. That our politicians would have to resort to 'gung ho-sounding-but-essentially-dumb' policies in order to get themselves noticed by the masses.

Our politicians and government officers should wise up and stop churning out policies which expose how naive and childish they actually are.

Anonymous said...

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The primary motive for emigration is not always pure economics. More generally, emigration happens because of a desire to better one's lot, or to achieve one's purpose in life whatever that may be.

There are push and pull factors involved. An emigrant is both trying to escape something and advance towards another thing at the same time. For instance, a scientist who cannot flourish in his own country will want to go somewhere where his expertise is appreciated.

Perhaps he finds the anti-intellectualism in his milieu too stifling (unfortunately, this is very true in Malaysia), or the government of the day too partial when it comes to resource allocation.

There are many reasons for moving, and more often than not, people do it for more than one reason. Political dissatisfaction could well be one of those reasons, and why not? No one is saying that it is the only. Or sometimes it is because of a foreign spouse. It could also be a preference for a milder climate. Or simply to have the opportunities to do things that will lead to self-actualisation.

You see, the major problem with a not insignificant number of Malaysians is that there is a lot of false pride around. This is a vestige of Mahathirianism. Small achievements are overblown so as to build up national pride. It is Malaysia Boleh this and Malaysia Boleh that.

Therefore we need to look to other countries to remind ourselves that a society that is both equal and multicultural is simultaneously possible.

We may not achieve it the same way they did, but we must definitely look at what we have done wrong and correct those things, and at the same time, look at what mistakes they have made and how they solved their problems.

Anyway, I say cheer the emigrants on. Let people do what they want with their lives - they should not be beholden to the country. Do not blame their lack of patriotism for not staying - patriotism is poor persuasion.






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Anonymous said...

-----------------





The primary motive for emigration is not always pure economics. More generally, emigration happens because of a desire to better one's lot, or to achieve one's purpose in life whatever that may be.

There are push and pull factors involved. An emigrant is both trying to escape something and advance towards another thing at the same time. For instance, a scientist who cannot flourish in his own country will want to go somewhere where his expertise is appreciated.

Perhaps he finds the anti-intellectualism in his milieu too stifling (unfortunately, this is very true in Malaysia), or the government of the day too partial when it comes to resource allocation.

There are many reasons for moving, and more often than not, people do it for more than one reason. Political dissatisfaction could well be one of those reasons, and why not? No one is saying that it is the only. Or sometimes it is because of a foreign spouse. It could also be a preference for a milder climate. Or simply to have the opportunities to do things that will lead to self-actualisation.

You see, the major problem with a not insignificant number of Malaysians is that there is a lot of false pride around. This is a vestige of Mahathirianism. Small achievements are overblown so as to build up national pride. It is Malaysia Boleh this and Malaysia Boleh that.

Therefore we need to look to other countries to remind ourselves that a society that is both equal and multicultural is simultaneously possible.

We may not achieve it the same way they did, but we must definitely look at what we have done wrong and correct those things, and at the same time, look at what mistakes they have made and how they solved their problems.

Anyway, I say cheer the emigrants on. Let people do what they want with their lives - they should not be beholden to the country. Do not blame their lack of patriotism for not staying - patriotism is poor persuasion.






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bibliobibuli said...

omigosh - you're still sitting in the dark talking to yourself under a plethora of fake names. (after how many months?) how sad are you.

instead of mentally masturbating at the computer why not do something that gets your views heard in a proper forum????

Anonymous said...

LOL! I'm kinda glad the spammer popped up, else I probably would never have seen this post (I think I only found your blog halfway through '06)

Very amusing poem!

bibliobibuli said...

thanks! i excelled myself didn't i?