Malaysia denies racism claim :)

Is it true that Indians and chinese are not interested in football these days?
If yes, what are the factors that made them to loose the interest ??
Time to open up the hearts and to be broad minded.. this is not something good for this country..

From correspondents in Singapore
August 02, 2007

MALAYSIA'S football federation has denied selecting its national team based on racial lines.

The country's Asian Cup squad, who was panned after its poor performances at last month's Asian Cup, was made up of 20 ethnic Malays and two Indians.

Malays make up around 60 per cent of the country's population but Chinese and Indians also form strong minorities.

Football Association of Malaysia deputy president, Redzuan Sheikh Ahmad, was quoted in the Today newspaper as saying: "Never once in the history of FAM have we tried to build a Malay-dominated team.

"And we have never based our selection of players on race or religion. It's just unfortunate that the Indians and Chinese are not interested in football these days."

The FAM is preparing to explain to the government why the national team performed so badly at the Asian Cup, where the co-host lost 5-1 to China, 5-0 to Uzbekistan and 2-0 to Iran in Group C.

In Singapore, ethnic Malays are the minority but make up more than 60 per cent of the national football squad.

Agence France-Presse

In general, most Malays are lazy..most Chinese are greedy..most Indians cannot be trusted.

Racism in Malaysia: they are right in front of the door step of 50yrs of independence, but this is what they said about their fellow citizens.. :) interesting, a must read..

Punch Lines: In the survey..
Thirty four percent said they have never had a meal with people of other races.

The survey found that 42 percent do not consider themselves Malaysian first, 46 percent say ethnicity is important in voting, 55 percent blame politicians for racial problems and 70 percent would help their own ethnic group first.

According to the survey, 58 percent of Malays, 63 percent of Chinese and 43 percent of Indians polled agreed that "in general, most Malays are lazy."

Meanwhile, 71 percent of Malays, 60 percent of Chinese and 47 percent of Indians agree that "in general, most Chinese are greedy."

Sixty-four percent of Malays, 58 percent of Chinese and 20 percent of Indians agreed that "in general, most Indians cannot be trusted."

Full details:
Racism
Still rife in Malaysia.
First survey in 50 years makes dismal reading. Baradan Kuppusamy. Asia Times.
Mar 26, 2006

Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia's first serious survey of race relations, in 50 years, shows that behind the façade of outward unity and peace, racism runs deep in this multi-ethnic 'melting pot'.

The telephone survey of about 1,200 Malaysians also found that the majority of the various races find comfort and security in their respective ethnicity and not in a common 'Malaysian' identity, as the travel and tourism brochures suggest.

"The findings are not at all surprising," said social scientist Chandra Muzaffar.

"This is partly because ethnic boundaries are real in our society and almost every sphere of public life is linked to ethnicity in one way or another."

The survey, by the independent Merdeka Centre for Opinion Research, also found that negative racial stereotyping was deeply entrenched.

For example, minority Chinese and Indians see the majority Malays, who make up 60 percent of the population of 25 million people, as lazy.

Chinese and Indians, who began migrating here in the early 19th century, make up 26 percent and 8.0 percent of the population, respectively.

It found that more than half the population does not trust each other. For a nation that claims to be a 'melting pot', only eleven percent of the respondents said they had eaten often with friends from other races in the past three months.

Thirty four percent said they have never had a meal with people of other races.

The survey found that 42 percent do not consider themselves Malaysian first, 46 percent say ethnicity is important in voting, 55 percent blame politicians for racial problems and 70 percent would help their own ethnic group first.

According to the survey, 58 percent of Malays, 63 percent of Chinese and 43 percent of Indians polled agreed that "in general, most Malays are lazy."

Meanwhile, 71 percent of Malays, 60 percent of Chinese and 47 percent of Indians agree that "in general, most Chinese are greedy."

Sixty-four percent of Malays, 58 percent of Chinese and 20 percent of Indians agreed that "in general, most Indians cannot be trusted."

The survey, commissioned by the semi-official New Straits Times newspaper and supported by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, is the first honest look at Malaysian society and the findings have left Malaysians gasping in disbelief at how firmly racism and racial stereotyping has become entrenched and accepted as a way of life.

The Merdeka Centre said the survey "gives an honest picture of the country's situation and inter-racial perception" and warns that extremists can take advantage of inter-racial fears and suspicions in the absence of a meaningful interaction.

The ruling National Front government of Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi works hard to portray the country as an example of multiculturalism where Muslims, Hindus and Christians live together in peace.

But experts have been voicing concern that, increasingly, the communities were drifting apart and polarization of the races and a lack of social unity were on the rise.

They squarely blame the politicians and the country's race-based politics for the sharp rise in racism. The shocking findings have also prompted civil society to demand a ban on all race- based political parties.

"Let us outlaw all Malaysian political parties that restricts membership on grounds of race, religion or sex," said lawyer politician A. Sivanesan who is senior leader in the opposition Democratic Action Party, one of the four registered multi-racial parties in the country.

"It should be written in the constitution that only multi-racial bodies be permitted."

Others say the few multi-racial political parties are weak and unable to grow because of the strong domination of race-based parties over the political system.

"Social problems affect all communities," Sivanesan said. "Poverty, drug and crime are not specific to any one race. All races face the blight."

"What the survey clearly shows is that the various races live peacefully but separately," Sivanesan told IPS.

"Half a century after independence we are further away from knowing each other than when we startedàseparate schools, separate friends, separate lives."

Curiously, the survey showed that many Malaysians had vague ideas, not only of each other's cultures and traditions but also of their own.

Hari Raya Puasa was wrongly perceived as the Malay New Year by 32 per cent of Malays, 84 per cent of Chinese and 45 per cent of Indians --when the festival actually marks the culmination of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting.

Similarly, the Chinese New Year was thought to be a religious festival by 57 percent of Malays, 53 percent of Indians and a whopping 62 percent of Chinese respondents.

Despite the lack of unity, the country has enjoyed long periods of peace except for one race riot in 1969.

And unlike in some neighbouring countries where uniformity is enforced, Malaysia's minorities are not restricted and are free to practice their own cultures and religions and enjoy a vernacular education.

But, the government officially practices a policy of positive discrimination that favours Malays over other races in many areas -- from employment, education, scholarships and business to cheaper housing and assisted savings.

Private companies must hand over 30 percent of equity to ethnic Malays and a portion of housing and commercial property must be sold to them

These measures, collectively called the New Economic Policy or NEP, were started in 1970 to reduce the yawning economic gap with the Chinese community, which dominates business in this country, as in most of South-east Asia.

Originally designed to last for 20 years it has continued without check, sparking envy and resentment between Malays and non-Malays.

Former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who was sacked and jailed in 1998, has caused a stir by proposing to reform the political landscape which he says is straining national harmony.

"We need to appeal to the Malays, Chinese and the Indians and the rest that we need to go beyond race-based politics.

"If you continue to harp and support this racial equation, you will never be able to overcome racial divisions," he told supporters at a recent rally.

The government is aware of the deep divide and has taken measures to close the gap.

One experiment in racial integration is the 'Vision Schools' initiative where students share sports fields, assembly halls and canteens, but attend classes conducted in their own languages.

But the initiative is embroiled in controversy mainly because of the fear among Chinese and Indians that the vernacular education system would suffer and erode their identities.

A popular initiative, the national service programme, started in 2004, puts youths of all the races under a single roof.

Students are chosen at random and taken to camps for about three months in the hope that they will learn team work and absorb each other's culture.

But, the experts say racism is too deeply entrenched in official policies and the socio-political system for such 'half-hearted' measures to make impact.

"The survey's findings might be a bitter pill to swallow but it tells us who we really are behind the façade we show the world," said Sivanesan.
Asia Times

American Soldiers - Suicides

American soldiers committed suicide last year at the highest rate in 26 years, and more than a quarter did so while fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a military report.

Irony :: Good news for Al Qaeda, they can get suicide bombers in America very easily.. :( [we heard about suicide bombers all this while, but here soldiers are committing suicides.. Oh Great America !! What the hell that you are giving to your soldiers which makes them to think its better to die than to live?? Hope my dear Butcher will respond soon...]

full story - courtesy: The Independent.

Suicide rate in US Army at highest in 26 years

By Leonard Doyle in Washington
Published: 17 August 2007

American soldiers committed suicide last year at the highest rate in 26 years, and more than a quarter did so while fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a military report.

The suicides are occurring at a time when many soldiers are reporting symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, including repeated flashbacks of combat experiences and other severe reactions.

But, with President George Bush demanding results and insurgents striking with greater success, an overstretched US Army has been extending the combat tours of soldiers in Iraq. It is also sending units back into action on a far more regular basis than was the case in the past.

The report found that there were 99 confirmed suicides among active-duty soldiers during 2006, up from 88 the previous year and the highest since 102 suicides in 1991.

The suicides included 28 soldiers deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. About twice as many women serving in the wars committed suicide as those not sent to war, the report said.

The Army said "occupational/operational issues" as well as failed relationships, and legal and financial issues had led to the suicides. Not surprisingly, it did not speculate about the falling morale of US combat troops in the face of ongoing military failure in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Pentagon said there was "limited evidence" that repeated deployments were putting more of its soldiers at risk from suicide. Stretched thinly by nearly six years of fighting two wars, the Pentagon has extended normal tours of duty this year to 15 months from 12 and has sent some troops back to the wars several times.

The Army recorded 17.3 suicides per 100,000 soldiers in 2006, including two deaths still pending confirmation, up from 12.8 suicides per 100,000 soldiers the year before.

Last year, 30 of the 99 confirmed suicides occurred in war zones and, so far this year, 44 soldiers have committed suicide, including 17 in either Iraq or Afghanistan.

The number of suicides in 2006 marked the highest level since 1991, the time of the Gulf War, when the Army recorded 102 soldier suicides.

More than 1.5 million US troops have taken part in operations in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001. And the Army, the largest branch of the American military, frequently complains of being overstretched by multiple and extended deployments for its combat troops.

The suicide figures follow a string of studies showing an increase in mental-health problems among soldiers and other American troops. According to those studies, including an assessment by the Pentagon, the military has not provided adequate mental-health resources to its service members.

About 35 per cent of soldiers are seeking some kind of mental-health treatment a year after returning home and the Army routinely sends medical teams to the battlefront in Iraq to survey troops, their morale and related issues.

The Army, which has been heavily criticised for the poor facilities it provides returning soldiers, says it has revised training programs and bolstered suicide prevention. It has added some 25 per cent more psychiatrists and other mental-health professionals to its staff. It is also trying to teach all soldiers how to recognise mental-health problems in themselves and their comrades - and encourage them to seek help.