“Malaysia is unlikely to change. Even if it succeeds, everything will only return to the original point, because the issue of racial conflicts cannot be resolved. Even if the opposition party is in power and wants to overthrow the original policy of favoring indigenous people and promote the new Malaysia of Malaysians, that accounts for the population, a higher proportion of Malays will be incited by the opposition to racial sentiment to teach the government with votes. In the end they will only last at most one general election, and they will have to pay a heavy political price. Moreover, I see that these various opposition parties are allied just because they want to seize power. In general, they do not have clear direction on how to lead and manage the country.”
Almost a decade on, Lee Kuan Yew’s analysis is still remarkably accurate. Malaysia has yet to untangle itself from race-based politics and corruption.
“Malaysians saw Malaysia as a Malay country, all others are lodgers, “orang tumpangan”, and they the Bumiputras, sons of the soil, run the show.” Lee Kuan Yew speaks his mind about why he never allowed segregation in Singapore and why racial politics is not the way forward.
Lee said that the greatest satisfaction he had was (that) “my colleagues and I, (who) were of that generation who were turfed out of Malaysia (and) suffered two years under a racial policy, decided that we will go the other way.”
“We will not as a majority squeeze the minority… We made quite sure whatever your race, language or religion, you are an equal citizen and we’ll drum that into the people.”
“And I think our Chinese understand and today we have an integrated society. Our Malays are English-educated, they’re no longer like the Malays in Malaysia and you can see there are some still wearing headscarves but very modern looking,” Lee said.
Speaking on race-based politics and how it can destroy society as a whole, Lee beautifully expresses that “if you chose the easy way to Muslim votes and switch to racial politics, this society is finished”
“The easiest way to get majority vote is a vote for me, we’re Chinese, they’re Indians, they’re Malays. Our society will be ripped apart,” he said, adding that “If you do not have a cohesive society, you cannot make progress.”
When Seth probes him by asking if that’s a concern that the younger generation doesn’t realise as much as it should, Lee responds by saying that he believes “they have come to believe that this is a natural state of affairs, and they can take liberties with it. They think you can put it on auto-pilot. I know that is never so.
“We’ve crafted a set of very intricate rules, no housing blocks shall have more than a percentage of so many Chinese, so many per cent Malays, Indians.
“All are thoroughly mixed. Your neighbours are Indians, Malays. You go to the same shopping malls, you go to the same schools, the same playing fields, you go up and down the same lifts. We cannot allow segregation.”
When Seth points out there are people who think that Singapore may lighten up a little after his demise, that the rules will become a little looser and that might be something that’s a concern to him
Lee responded by saying that, “No, you can go looser where it’s not (about) race, language and religion because those are deeply gut issues and it will surface the moment you start playing on them. It’s inevitable, but on other areas, policies, right or wrong, a disparity of opportunities, rich and poor, will go ahead. But don’t play the race, language, religion (card). We’ve got here, we’ve become cohesive, keep it that way.”
Explaining why they didn’t keep Chinese as a majority language and adopted English as their working language, Lee said that Chinese “will split the population.”
“(English) is equal for everybody, and it’s given us the progress because we’re connected to the world,” he said, adding that “if you want to keep your Malay, or your Chinese, or your Tamil, Urdu or whatever, do that as a second language, not equal to your first language. It’s up to you, how high a standard you want to achieve.”
When asked if leadership is a constant battle, Lee had this to say:
“In a multiracial situation like this, it is.
“Malaysia took the different line; Malaysians saw it as a Malay country, all others are lodgers, ‘orang tumpangan’, and they the Bumiputras, sons of the soil, run the show.
“So the Chinese build and find their own independent schools to teach Chinese, the Tamils create their own Tamil schools, which do not get them jobs.
“It’s the most unhappy situation.”
Source : SAYS
Kuan Yew Says Malaysia Bleeding Talent Due To Race Policy
Malaysia’s acute brain drain problem is due to its government’s insistence on promoting “one race” above all others, former Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew wrote in his latest book.
Malaysia experiences a severe talent flight issue with an estimated 5 per cent of skilled locals exiting the country on an annual basis, with the main beneficiary being Singapore.
A World Bank report from 2011 concluded that 20 per cent of Malaysian graduates opt to quit the country, again with Singapore cited as the preferred destinations. Worryingly for Malaysia, the report concluded that these migrants were being replaced by unskilled and uneducated foreigners.
“They are prepared to lose that talent in order to maintain the dominance of one race,” read an excerpt of Lee’s book, “One Man’s View of the World”.
“This is putting the country at a disadvantage. It is voluntarily shrinking the talent pool needed to build the kind of society that makes use of talent from all races,” Lee continued in parts of the book reproduced by news portal The Malaysian Insider.
In a report last month, British newspaper The Guardian cited analysts as saying the cloud of the New Economic Policy (NEP) race-based affirmative action may stifle investment and hamper Malaysia’s quest for developed nation status come 2020 and drag the bottom 40 per cent of its population into high-income status.
Born from the communal dissatisfaction that climaxed during the May 13, 1969 race riots, the NEP was designed ostensibly to lift the poorer sections of the Bumiputera Malay group in a bid to help it catch up to the economic progress of other communities.
Although technically defunct since 1990, the application of the NEP remains very much alive albeit unofficially.
The NEP and other policies in its vein have been blamed for driving the country’s non-Malays to find an exit, with Singapore being the destination of choice for geographic and cultural reasons.
“The Chinese made up 35.6 per cent of the population in 1970. They were down to 24.6 per cent at the last census in 2010,” Lee wrote in his book
“Over that same period, the Indian numbers fell from 10.8 per cent to 7.3 per cent,” he said.
While saying “40 per cent of our migrants are from Malaysia”, Lee said the group were now casting their sights farther afield, heading for Europe, America and Australia.
“Some have done very well for themselves, such as Penny Wong, Australia’s current finance minister.”
But perhaps most damning of Lee’s assessments was why some non-Malays who remain, do.
“Among those who have chosen to remain in Malaysia, some lack the means to leave and others are making a good living through business despite the discriminatory policies. Many in this latter class partner with Malays who have connections.”
Source : Malay Mail
‘Never treat minorities like that’: PM Wong says Singapore won’t use ‘pendatang’ label like some Malaysians did
Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong yesterday urged its citizens to continue safeguarding racial and religious harmony amid global uncertainties, while criticising a remark by former Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) Calvin Cheng.
Reflecting on Singapore’s past, Wong recalled that during the period when Singapore was part of Malaysia, some in the Malaysian community had labelled local Chinese as “pendatang” or immigrants, which left many feeling like second-class citizens.
“When Singapore became independent, we resolved never to treat our minorities like that,” he posted on Facebook.
He added that Singapore today is a diverse yet harmonious society where all races and religions are respected and have “their place under the sun”.
“This cohesion is the result of generations of patient effort and hard work. We must treasure it, protect it, and nurture it,” he said.
Wong warned that in today’s uncertain environment, there were external forces that could threaten the country’s unity, making efforts to preserve harmony even more critical.
He expressed appreciation to religious leaders Pasuni Maulan and Mohamad Hasbi from Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) for their contributions in promoting inter-faith understanding.
“Together, let’s build on what we have, and ensure that our little red dot remains an oasis of stability and harmony,” Wong said.
The Muis duo and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Masagos Zulkifli had earlier reprimanded Cheng Cheng over his callous remarks against a pro-Palestine group, leading to his apology.
Cheng had previously suggested on Facebook that activists from the group Monday of Palestine Solidarity should be sent to Gaza, offering to sponsor their relocation and implying they should not return.
Other government officials, including Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam, have also publicly disagreed with Cheng’s views on the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Cheng has been involved in several controversies over the years, including downplaying concerns about gerrymandering in August 2024, and advocating in November 2015 for the killing of terrorists’ children to prevent future threats.
The Coverage Malaysia
