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

Street Children of Malaysia

News broadcasted by ALJAZEERA today on malaysian street children..

yeah..believe it..Its in Kuala Lumpur, the HQ of Malaysia

Rainforest World Music Festival 2007

music lover?? want to enjoy this time at a different n cool place??
find this..
The Rainforest World Music Festival is a unique festival that brings
together on the same stage renowned world musicians from all continents and indigenous musicians from the interiors of the mythical island of Borneo.

Its formula of afternoon informative workshops, ethno-musical lectures, jamming sessions and mini concerts, followed by evening performances on the main stage has proven to be a hit with the audience, who come from near and far.

The festival site also sets up a variety of food and drink stalls, an arts and crafts area as well as a counter for festival memorabilia, Sarawak souvenirs and CDs by the performing artists, all this contributing to a fun filled, wholesome festival experience. World Music plus a country fair atmosphere in the midst of lush greenery.

The Rainforest World Music Festival, a not-to-be-missed occasion, guarantees a smashing time in the heart of the
Borneo Jungle !
organisers r saying this.. reality?? i donno.. pls go n find :)this week i am busy..
Rainforest World Music Festival 2007

adventures at Perhentian Islands

didnt tell u rite? last month we went to perhentian Islands.. hectic journey covered around 1000Km in a day.. was able to visit n passby the places that never went so far during this 3 n 1/2 years.. covered few states of malaysia by road n tasted different foods at different locations.. islands are beautiful.. worth travelling.. luckily got wonderful vegetarian food at the beach resorts.. thanks to TUNABAY (resorts).. other wise i wud ve died without food.. :) dont have much time to spend there, but on the whole its a nice experience to remember.. look at us how active we are even after the whole night car journey without sleep :) ofcourse.. still young rite??
sounds nice? why waiting?? browse for perhentian islands, plan ur trip n drop me a msg.. we go together.. :) what do u say??

dis friday night

hi all,

sorry for d gap.. wht to do? everyone of us will have some sort of disturbance in our life rite? :( i am not exceptional as well.. i too have one these days..
k, lets forget abt it, thats my problem..
..before starting new posts, lemme tell u few things about dis weekend.. its not d weekend so important but the places.. after couple of years, again this friday night n saturday i've really spent some time in kuala lumpur (KL).. not much difference from the last time.. guys, anybody coming to KL these days? if yes, n u wish to do some shopping, dis is d place i suggest.. but it doesn't mean that this is the place where u get the best prices.. there are many places where in certain place, u'll get certain items cheaper than compared to dis place.. but if u need a place of "all in one", no choice.. have to go here.. the place name is MidValley [A shopping centre with 430 shops on five floors located near Bangsar (i lived here earlier :)). Anchor tenants include Carrefour, Jusco, Metrojaya.], people say that one of our indian politician (andhra :)) have 40% share in this.. :) let him.. as we know, indians invest everywhere and they will involve in everything.. i cant sit n type everything here.. if really interested, pls go n visit this link for the details..
Midvalley.com.my
completed shopping?? now what?? hungry?? there r many to go n eat..KFC, MCD..many.. tired of eating at these places everyday?? ya, i know that u r thinking the same in ur mind.. wanna try at foodcourt near the movie mall??
try this only if you can sit in between hundreds of ppl crowded and then a nice flavour which u cant take it.. :), choice is urs if u wanna sit in the walkway.. where people will just walk very close to u.. ofcourse they will, why dont they do it when u sit in their walk way?? dont ask me.. then why the chairs are in the walk way?? may be midvalley's style..hahaha..i donno.. take care if somebody hit u while walking, the chicken piece u r eating may be on ur GF's head or the coffee that u r drinking may fall on her new T-Shirt which u bought her in ur last shopping.. :)same thing can happen to u if somebody hit her.. ( apart from this, odd mix of non veg, mixed smell of hundreds of perfumes.. donno what to say, u better feel it..)
dont worry, i got a place for u here, but please.. if u agree with me that u can adjust with vegetarian food for that time.. Indian style, Indian taste.. much to say.. a unique of its kind.. look at their caption "Eat what you want, Give as you Feel. we believe in you, we trust you". they will never charge you for what u ate, its up to u howmuch u want to pay.. i bet nobody will misue this after eating there.. need full details on where they r located world wide?? :) i know u all not like me, u all travel a lot.. ok, go here for full details. this is singapore annalakshmi website, u can get the other details here..
AnnaLakshmi Home
btw, this is one of the rare places where u can find a correct spelling for an indian name in malaysia.. any other place, i am sorry.. we will forget the actual spellings if we c theirs.. letchumi for lakshmi, mayantharan for mahendran, sathia or satiah of satya are few examples.. many to say .. :)..
ok, finished lunch?? (u'll get it only if u go in the right time.. ANNALAKSHMI is in the east side of midvalley ground floor.. land mark is next to police outpost in midvalley.. i think these details r enuf to find it, if not.. take ur time to search n explore on ur own.. ) now what?? wanna watch movie?? few theatres r inside u can watch d one u wish.. finished watching movie?? now what?? :) i hope u'll be with empty pockets by now.. go home n sleep then.. "NO MONEY..HOW ABT TOMORROW?? follow our regular policy.. TOMORROW WE THINK ABT TOMORROW.." a policy most of us follow rite?? :)

ladies and gentleman, dont forget to come and comment here abt ur experience in d above said places before u slp.. ok??.. thks for coming.. c u later..

A Malaysian diaspora speaks up....

"following is something which i can't judge or comment.. what is the reality u
guys know better than me.. whatever it is, lets go read n think abt it.. Ignore it
if it is a coax".. do u think it is??

I am a female Chinese Malaysian, living in the Washington DC area in the United States. I have read many of the letters that often talk about foreign countries when the writers have no real knowledge of actually living in those countries.

Many draw conclusions about what those countries are like after hearing it from someone else or by reading and hearing about them in the media or after four years in a college town in those countries.

I finished STPM with outstanding results from the prestigious St George's Girls School in Penang. Did I get a university place from the Malaysian government? Nothing. With near perfect scores, I had nothing, while my Malay friends were getting offers to go overseas. Even those with 2As got into university. I was so depressed. I was my parents last hope for getting the family out of poverty and at 18, I thought I had failed my parents. Today, I understand it was the Malaysian Government that had failed me and my family because of its discriminatory policies.

Fortunately, I did not give up and immediately did research at the Malaysian American Commission on Education Exchange (MACEE) to find a university in the US that would accept me and provide all the finances. My family and friends thought I was crazy, being the youngest of nine children of a very poor carpenter. Anything that required a fee was out of our reach. Based on merit and my extracurricular activities of community service in secondary school, I received full tuition scholarship, work study, and grants to cover the four years at a highly competitive US university.

Often, I took 21 credits each semester, 15 credits each term while working 20 hours each week and maintaining a 3.5 CGPA. A couple of semesters, I also received division scholarships and worked as a TA (teaching assistant) on top of everything else. For the work study, I worked as a custodian (yes, cleaning toilets), carpet layer, computer lab assistant, grounds keeping, librarian, painter, tour guide, etc. If you understand the US credit system, you will understand this is a heavy load.

Why did I do it? This is because I learnt as a young child from my parents that hard work is an opportunity, to give my best in everything, and to take pride in the work I do. I walked away with a double major and a minor with honours but most of all a great lesson in humility and a great respect for those who are forced to labour in so-called `blue collar' positions.

Those of you who think you know all about Australia, US, or the West, think again. Unless you have really lived in these countries, i.e. paid a mortgage, paid taxes, taken part in elections, you do not understand the level of commitment and hard work it takes to be successful in these countries, not just for immigrants but for people who have lived here for generations.

These people are where they are today because of hard work. (Of course, I am not saying everyone in the US is hardworking. There is always the lazy lot which lives off of someone else's hard work. Fortunately, they are the minority.) Every single person, anywhere, should have the opportunity to succeed if they want to put in the effort and be accountable for their own actions. In the end, they should be able to reap what they sow.

It is bearable that opportunities are limited depending on how well-off financially one's family is but when higher education opportunities are race-based, like it is in Malaysia; it is downright cruel for those who see education as the only way out of poverty. If you want to say discrimination is here in the US, yes, of course it is. Can you name a country where it doesn't happen? But let me tell you one thing - if you go looking for it, you will find it. But in Malaysia, you don't have to go
look for it because it seeks you out, slaps you in your face every which way you turn, and is sanctioned by law!

Here in the US, my children have the same opportunity to go to school and learn just like their black, white, and immigrant friends. At school, they eat the same food, play the same games, are taught the same classes and when they are 18, they will still have the same opportunities.

Why would I want to bring my children back to Malaysia? So they can suffer
the state-sanctioned discrimination as the non-malays have for over 30 years?

As for being a slave in the foreign country, I am a happy 'slave' earning a good income as an IT project manager. I work five days a week; can talk bad about the president when I want to; argue about politics, race and religion openly; gather with more than 50 friends and family when I want (no permit needed) and I don't worry about the police pulling me over because they say I ran the light when I didn't.

my last words: thanx to MACEE n malaysia, atleast she got the oppurtunity because she is a citizen of malaysia.. could she able to if she is not a malaysian citizen?? Its not just what the country gave us.. what we did 4 the country also.. anyway, after all these r every individual's personal views..dear lady, be happy wherever u r.. A good country always wishes the same for its citizens

Courtesy: anonymous friend's mail