55 Interesting Facts about Racism In Malaysia

List of racial discriminations in Malaysia, practiced by government as well as government agencies. This list is an open secret. Best verified by government itself because it got the statistics.

(1) Out of all the 5 major banks, only one bank is multi-racial, the rest are controlled by malays

(2) 99% of Petronas directors are malays

(3) 3% of Petronas employees are Chinese


(4) 99% of 2000 Petronas gasoline stations are owned by malays

(5) 100% all contractors working under Petronas projects must be bumis status

(6) 0% of non-malay staffs is legally required in malay companies. But there must be 30% malay staffs in Chinese companies.

(7) 5% of all new intake for government police, nurses, army, is non-malays.

(8) 2% is the present Chinese staff in Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF), drop from 40% in 1960

(9) 2% is the percentage of non-malay government servants in Putrajaya. But malays make up 98%

(10) 7% is the percentage of Chinese government servants in the whole government (in 2004), drop from 30% in 1960

(11) 95% of government contracts are given to malays

(12) 100% all business licensees are controlled by malay government e.g. Taxi permits, Approved permits, etc

(13) 80% of the Chinese rice millers in Kedah had to be sold to malay controlled Bernas in 1980s. Otherwise, life is make difficult for Chinese rice millers

(14) 100 big companies set up, owned and managed by Chinese Malaysians were taken over by government, and later managed by malays since 1970s e.g. UTC, UMBC, MISC, etc

(15) At least 10 Chinese owned bus companies (throughout Malaysia, throughout 40 years) had to be sold to MARA or other malay transport companies due to rejection by malay authority to Chinese application for bus routes and rejection for their application for new buses

(16) 2 Chinese taxi drivers were barred from driving in Johor Larkin bus station. There are about 30 taxi drivers and 3 are Chinese in October 2004. Spoiling taxi club properties was the reason given

(17) 0 non-malays are allowed to get shop lots in the new Muar bus station (November 2004)

(18) 8000 billions ringgit is the total amount the government channeled to malay pockets through ASB, ASN, MARA, privatisation of government agencies, Tabung Haji etc, through NEP over 34 years period

(19) 48 Chinese primary schools closed down since 1968 - 2000

(20) 144 Indian primary schools closed down since 1968 - 2000

(21) 2637 malay primary schools built since 1968 - 2000

(22) 2.5% is government budget for Chinese primary schools. Indian schools got only 1%, malay schools got 96.5%

(23) While a Chinese parent with RM1000 salary (monthly) cannot get school-text-book-loan, a malay parent with RM2000 salary is eligible

(24) 10 all public universities vice chancellors are malays

(25) 5% - the government universities lecturers of non-malay origins had been reduced from about 70% in 1965 to only 5% in 2004

(26) Only 5% is given to non-malays for government scholarships over 40 years

(27) 0 Chinese or Indians were sent to Japan and Korea under "Look East Policy"

(28) 128 STPM Chinese top students could not get into the course that they aspired i.e. Medicine (in 2004)

(29) 10% place for non-bumi students for MARA science schools beginning from year 2003, but only 7% are filled. Before that it was 100% malays

(30) 50 cases whereby Chinese and Indian Malaysians, are beaten up in the National Service program in 2003

(31) 25% is Malaysian Chinese population in 2004, drop from 45% in 1957

(32) 7% is the present Malaysian Indians population (2004), a drop from 12% in 1957

(33) 2 millions Chinese Malaysians had emigrated to overseas since 40 years ago

(34) 0.5 million Indian Malaysians had emigrated to overseas

(35) 3 millions Indonesians had migrated into Malaysia and became Malaysian citizens with bumis status.

(36) 600000 are the Chinese and Indians Malaysians with red IC and were rejected repeatedly when applying for citizenship for 40 years. Perhaps 60% of them had already passed away due to old age. This shows racism of how easily Indonesians got their citizenships compare with the Chinese and Indians

(37) 5% - 15% discount for a malay to buy a house, regardless whether the malay is rich or poor

(38) 2% is what Chinese new villages get compare with 98% of what malay villages got for rural development budget

(39) 50 road names (at least) had been change from Chinese names to other names

(40) 1 Dewan Gan Boon Leong (in Malacca) was altered to other name (e.g. Dewan Serbaguna or sort) when it was being officially used for a few days. Government try to shun Chinese names. This racism happened in around year 2000 or sort

(41) 0 temples/churches were built for each housing estate. But every housing estate got at least one mosque/surau built

(42) 3000 mosques/surau were built in all housing estates throughout Malaysia since 1970. No temples, no churches are required to be built in housing estates

(43) 1 Catholic church in Shah Alam took 20 years to apply to be constructed. But told by malay authority that it must look like a factory and not look like a church. Still not yet approved in 2004

(44) 1 publishing of Bible in Iban language banned (in 2002)

(45) 0 of the government TV stations (RTM1, RTM2, TV3) are directors of non-malay origins

(46) 30 government produced TV dramas and films always showed that the bad guys had Chinese face, and the good guys had malay face. You can check it out since 1970s. Recent years, this tendency becomes less

(47) 10 times, at least, malays (especially Umno) had threatened to massacre the Chinese Malaysians using May 13 since 1969

(48) 20 constituencies won by DAP would not get funds from the government to develop. Or these Chinese majority constituencies would be the last to be developed

(49) 100 constituencies (parliaments and states) had been racistly re-delineated so Chinese voters were diluted that Chinese candidates, particularly DAP candidates lost in election since 1970s

(50) Only 3 out of 12 human rights items are ratified by Malaysia government since 1960

(51) 0 - elimination of all forms of racial discrimination (UN Human Rights) is not ratified by Malaysia government since 1960s

(52) 20 reported cases whereby malay ambulance attendances treated Chinese patients inhumanely, and malay government hospital staffs purposely delay attending to Chinese patients in 2003. Unreported cases may be 200

(53) 50 cases each year whereby Chinese, especially Chinese youths being beaten up by malay youths in public places. We may check at police reports provided the police took the report, otherwise there will be no record

(54) 20 cases every year whereby Chinese drivers who accidentally knocked down malays were seriously assaulted or killed by malays

(55) 12% is what ASB/ASN got per annum while banks fixed deposit is only about 3.5% per annum.

Source : Twiart.Blogspot.Com / Infoshop.org

Noordin Top and Latent Conflict Between Indonesia and Malaysia

The 17 September death of Noordin Top at the hands of Indonesia’s anti terror squad Densus 88 brought a sense of relief to many in Southeast Asia. Noordin was Southeast Asia’s most wanted terrorist. Following the July 17 hotel bombings in Jakarta, a message attributed to him signaled a split from Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), and a move toward more radical and deadly tactics.
A not-so-subtle subtext of Noordin’s death is the strained relationship of Indonesia and Malaysia. Noordin was Malaysian and graduated from Malaysia’s Technological University, but he resided and committed terrorist acts in Indonesia (and killed Indonesians). This might be enough to promote some hostility between the two countries, but the story is much more complicated. Rather, the tense relationship between the two countries goes back decades but includes some recent events as well.
Malaysia’s early 1960s decolonization plan included containing the provinces of Sabah and Sarawak on Borneo. Indonesia had its eyes on these regions and hoped to merge them with its province of Kalimantan (South Borneo). A low-level conflict called “Konfrontasi” broke out between the two states, but with the aid of the British, Malaysian was victorious. Some Indonesians have retained resentment over this outcome.
There are more recent examples, however. In 2002, the International Court of Justice awarded to Malaysia two islands in the Ambalat region (off the Borneo coast). This infuriated many Indonesians, some of whom hold “territorial integrity” sacred. Some were still smarting from East Timor’s independence following a 1999 UN referendum. There remain competing claims at the border between the two neighbors (recently refered to as a “Time Bomb” by Indonesian media). Indonesia and Malaysia have since been making moves to bolster their competing claims, and a naval skirmish was narrowly avoided in 2005.
Malaysia has also been accused of stealing Indonesian culture. In 2007, the Malaysian Tourism Board used a song (“Rasa Sayang”) that Indonesians claim as their own. This year, a Balinese dance (Tari Pendet) was used by the Discovery Channel in a feature on Malaysia. These provoked accusations of thievery by Indonesians, and led to the use of the nickname “Malingsia;” Maling means thief. This youtube video is exemplary, including its belligerent tone and images of the Indonesian military. More tangible threats came from the Barisan Muda Betawi (Betawi Youth Front). The BMB threatened to “sweep” Tangerang for Malaysian citizens and target them for harassment. The Jakarta police reacted to other groups’ intimidation by making arrests.
Use of the term Malingsia is prominent in blog posts and websites and is used in many contexts that concern both Indonesia and Malaysia. Malaysians don’t have quite as catchy a nickname for Indonesians, but their vitriol is expressed in other ways. For example, Malaysians mock Indonesia’s lower levels of development and education. Comment threads inevitably turn to name-calling and swearing.
This perception of Malaysia is so common that it colored coverage of (the Malaysian) Noordin Top’s demise. Malaysian Interior Minister Hishammuddin Tun Hussein issued a statement denying that his country was “exporting” terrorists or selling them weapons. This statement was echoed by Malaysian PM Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who parried by arguing that Noordin was influenced by Abu Bakar Bashir, an Indonesian considered the head of JI.
Yet some of the statements coming from Malaysia may have stoked Indonesian feelings of resentment. Malaysian newspaper Utusan Malaysia erroneously reported that Noordin blew himself up in the raid. Interior Minister Hishammuddin stated he hoped Noordin’s body could be returned quickly, which was viewed by some as making the feelings of a known terrorist’s family (one of them at least — Noordin had one Malaysian wife and two Indonesian) more important than the post-event investigation. He also stated he thought it was a shame than Noordin was killed as life is sacred and perhaps Noordin could have been rehabilitated. These cheery thoughts are no consolation to Noordin’s victims in Indonesia.
Although the two countries have officially maintained cordial relations despite the hue and cry from the blogosphere, a recent story quoted spokesman Musni Umar of the Malaysia-Indonesia Eminent Persons Group as stating that Noordin’s death will improve relations between the neighbors. Official positions aside, given the history and depth of the animosity the cybersparring will continue, stoked by whatever event comes next. Thankfully they’ll continue to just be words on the internet, more vent than event.


*) From COMOPS Journal

Indonesia vs. Malaysia ?????

As a people, Indonesians have become more and more hot-headed by the minute. It is actually something to be ashamed of as hot-headedness is one of the typical signs of being uneducated (thus not being able to keep one’s cool).
Not only are we getting more hot-headed, it seems that we are also falling deeper into ignorance. Which is a shame, because there should be no more excuses for one to be stupid and ignorant seeing as there is almost no restriction on the information flow into the country, nor is there a shortage of ways for a person to educate one’s self autodidactically (by ways of internet, television, books etc).
We have also become a nation that is stubbornly disrespectful to other nations; people who are different to us; and also our own culture. And by our culture I mean our indigenous culture, not the one you see nowadays in Indonesia or Indonesian television which is full of telenovelas, gossip shows and rich people/celebrities sporting their hedonistic lives on national television for everybody to drool over.
The upside of being this way is none, while the downsides are many. By being hot-headed and ignorant, we often miss simple truths and even more often this trait will make it easy for us to be provoked by the smallest of things. The most recent issue that has taken Indonesia like a storm is how our Malay brothers and sisters from Malaysia are “thieves” of our so-called culture.
While it may come as a surprise to some Indonesians, we should all acknowledge that many Malaysians have Indonesian ancestors, whether from Sumatra, Kalimantan or Java. Even the great Malaysian actor/comedian P Ramlee’s ancestry can be traced back to Aceh, where his father is from.
And let’s not forget the Malaysian students who went to Indonesia five or six decades ago to study, many of which ended up marrying Indonesians who they brought back to Malaysia and produced Malaysian-Indonesian off-springs with.
So basically what I’m saying is as it is apparent that Indonesia is made up of people with Chinese/Indian/Dutch/Portuguese/Arab/Polynasian/Aborigine ancestry, the same goes for Malaysia. The difference is that in addition to the Malay, Chinese and Indian ancestries that the Malaysians have, Indonesian ancestry is also in the mix, hence the many similarities in our foods, clothing materials, music, etc.
Yet we accuse them of stealing this and that, from our culture to our cuisine. While in fact we are both originally Malay people (the race of which people from the northernmost part of Thailand and people from the Philippines also belong to) sharing many of the same culture and cuisine traits that it’s a little absurd (not to mention difficult) to claim which is whose first to be stolen by the other second.
Personally, instead of calling Malaysia thieves, I think we should ‘steal’ something from them. You all know how in the 60s and 70s we were much more progressed and advanced than them that they sent many of their students to study in Indonesia and hired many teachers and lecturers to teach their younger generation in Malaysia. What I don’t get is why it’s the other way around now, six decades later.
We all know Malaysians aren’t perfect and neither are we, but I do salute their determination and ability to turn up trumps, as today it’s us who send our kids to study in Malaysia; it’s us who are less progressed and are less advanced (technology and economy wise), and it’s us who are lagging behind. I think we should learn from them and ‘steal’ their tips and tricks in pulling a 180 from being blah to hurrah!
After the lengthy explanation above on the origins of both nations and all my positive observation about Malaysia, you may:
a. hate me, or
b. think, “Ok, so we share many traits with Malaysia, but it still doesn’t explain them using the Balinese pendet dance, because Unlike Kalimantan, Sumatra and Java, Bali is very specific and unique, that their culture is not found anywhere but Bali.”
For those of you who chose ‘a’ I will advise you to take a number and wait in line. For those who opted ‘b’ Ok, point well taken. But the thing is, the recent debacle over the Pendet dance that we claimed to have been used by the Malaysian government in an advertisement they have made to promote their country, an issue that turned countless Indonesians angry, with our Minister of Tourism hastily sending a letter to his Malaysian counterpart, demanding the ad campaign be removed, is a more complicated than it seemed.
Turns out, the whole thing was a misunderstanding and a BIG mistake on our part. And let me emphasize on the BIG MISTAKE. Apparently out of the 250 million or so people living in the beautiful archipelago we call Indonesia, none of us did our homework thoroughly before blasting bullets to the so-called ‘enemy of the state’ a.k.a, Malaysia because,

1. The advertisement wasn’t made by the Malaysian government or anybody in Malaysia,
2. The ‘advertisement’ isn’t even an advertisement to promote their country as we have made to believe,
3. The ‘advertisement’ was an ad created by the Asian Discovery channel to promote one of their TV shows. The TV station have acknowledged their mistake and apologized for it, after where some embarrassed Indonesians re-directed their anger at, what with Discovery channel being owned by the usual suspects and all (and by usual suspects I mean Americans and Jews – who most Indonesians believe are the evil culprits who monopolize all information flow in the world *yawns* thus are TRUE ‘enemy of the state’ as opposed to Malaysians because at the end of the day, we are all a big beige/brown nation sharing the same culture, language and religion)

Yet after knowing that this parade of anger and belligerence towards our Malaysian peers is baseless, did we apologize to them and acknowledge the truth publicly? No. We just swept the truth under the rug and continued calling Malaysia names. Basically we remained shameless and stubborn bullies, as always.
Some people went as far as protesting in front of the Malaysian Embassy over their ‘unauthorized use of the Pendet dance’ in their ‘mysterious advertisement’ and a small radical group even performed ‘raids’ on Malaysians on the streets of Jakarta, against stern warnings from the Indonesian Police Force. Why the Indonesian media blew the accusations out of proportion which created havoc but didn’t really publish the truth after they found out (with the exception of The Jakarta Globe), is beyond me.
But as I wrote in one of my older posts, the Indonesian media is as responsible to many of the things happening in our country as the Indonesian people themselves (who are easily provoked by these so-called ‘news’ and then usually go run amok like a drunken bull before getting all their facts and figures straight).
Now as if that’s not embarrassing enough, our resurfaced accusations of Malaysians using one of our folk songs called Terang Bulan and turning it into their National Anthem has really put us in a shit-hole.
Leading Indonesian musician and artist, Remy Sylado, as quoted by The Jakarta Globe, said the so-called Indonesian song “Terang Bulan” (“Moonlight”) was actually an adaptation of “La Rosalie,” which was composed in the 19th century by Pierre-Jean de Beranger of Francey.
Citing a Dutch historical text on national anthems, Sylado said the song became popular in the former French colony of the Seychelles and arrived in the Malay archipelago at the turn of the 20th century, where it was eventually used as the basis for Malaysia’s anthem, “Negaraku” (“My Country”).
With this new finding, Malaysians can easily accuse us as thieves ourselves. The question remains, Who’s the thief now? Who stole what from who? And, Who is the thief first?
Why are we that easy to provoke, especially when it comes to matters of religion and the relationship of Indonesia and Malaysia? Weren’t we at one point ONE people? Why do we keep on blasting Malaysians for ‘stealing’ our cultural heritage but don’t do much to promote it ourselves? Why do we get angry when a country ‘steals’ our cultural heritage but feel at ease about stealing other people’s culture? (This is in relation to the fact that the Indonesian ‘indigenous’ culture is actually heavily influenced by the Chinese, Arabs, Indians, Aborigines, European, Portuguese, other South East Asian countries, etc.)
Now as a person and a member of our nation we must all ask ourselves. Why are we easily provoked? We should stop this silliness and learn to contain our emotions. Most importantly, true to the saying that those who live in a glass house should not throw stones, we should be aware of our own weaknesses, of the things that we ‘stole’ before accusing other people of ‘stealing’ anything.
Think about it, maybe the truest ‘culture’ we have now is corruption, collusion and nepotism. And that’s not even something to be proud about.