Whenever we point a finger at someone, we end up pointing 3 fingers back at ourselves don't we? Whenever I refer to someone as an Australian, I usually mean 'that white skinned dude/dudette of the caucasian race that was born and bred in Australia'. Same goes to whenever someone tells me about an Australian. Never does the picture of an Australian born 'yellow-skinned dude/dudette of the asian race' enter my mind.
But what amazes me is how often non-white-skinned people who grew up in Sustralia refer to themselves as Australian.
No, not ABC (Australian-Born/Bred-Chinese), ABH (Australian-Born/Bred-Hongkie), ABK (Australian-Born/Bred-Korean) etc.
Just plain AUSTRALIAN.
They see themselves and every characteristic in themselves as Australian, nothing more, nothing less. They are proud to be Australian, and some even resent being given the labels of ABC, ABH, ABK etc. "But I'm Australian!" would be their outcry.
On the flip side of that, is how often we Malaysians like to put race over country. When people in Australia ask me and some of my other chinese friends: "Are you Malay?", we would almost instinctively respond with: "NONONONONONOO, definitely NOt malays. Malays are the darker skinned race in Malaysia. I am a Malaysian CHINESE.". (some may even have an overflow of thoughts as to how 'lazy' or 'pampered' Malays are etc).
The curious ones would then go on asking about what the difference between malays and malaysian chinese is besides their skin colour. Which brings us into a whole new level of discussion, involving the social contract and it's implications such as quotas for malays in every sector in Malaysia etc. Often we need to exert a great deal of self control to stop ourselves giving a 150 hour lecture on this issue and what we think about it.
And we end with "That's why we're Malaysian Chinese, and not Malay".
Sure we don't agree to the quota system and its associated discrimination practiced in Malaysia, but aren't we practicing the same thing, discrimination, yet in a totally different form? By labelling ourselves as Malaysian chinese, do we not subtly imply that we should not be mixed up with the other races? Are we implying that we are better? hm...
5 comments:
ummmm so when i call myself a banana am i being racist?
In retrospect after writing that post, I decided to be a little bit less hard on myself and look at it from the angles of appreciating my ethnic background and embracing my national culture, which can coexist peacefully =)
To Jia Kai: you seem rather set on your opinions that the Malaysian government is the root of all evils. You can be whatever you want to be, of any nationality, even if you have or don't have the citizenship. It is purely of personal choice and inclination. Being Malaysian, to me, is the strong love I have of this country that I was born and bred in. I am Malaysian enough to envisage a better tomorrow for this country, and discriminatory policies are not the only thing that defines Malaysia. Probably it will be more constructive for you to find out why we have this kind of policies, and by why I don't mean "because Malays are greedy and lazy".
It is one thing to have migrant mentality, and another to force it upon others.
u can also say that "i'm chinese Malaysian", just so to distinguish yourself from other race in the counrty, without necessarily think we are better than the malays.
for example, whenever i ask about my brother's friends, which i havent met all of them before, i tend to ask what background do they come from, eventhough all of them are australians. i do this just get a vague picture of them in my mind, that's all. it's like a way to identify them, just like there are people with dark skin or fair skin. i don't think of them as any way more superior/inferior than other people.
so when people ask me am i chinese? i'll say i'm chinese Malaysian, just to clarify the fact that i have malaysian citizenship.
when people ask me am i a malay? i'll say i'm not, cos as jia kai said, malay is a race, many people do get confused with the term 'malay' and 'malaysian'. so i said, i'm chinese malaysian. i usually go on and explain to them that there are many ethinic groups in malaysia, just like there are many in australia.
i think, people shouldn't ask non-caucasian australians "what country do u come from?" cos they might be born and bred in australia, so thay come from australia. i prefer "which ethnic background do u come from?".
but then things can get a bit complicated later on down the years when their parents are also born and bred in australia, or when they have a mixed background etc. so i guess, things will start to homogenise later on, and eventually, people won't have to ask about background etc.
all of us will then become "global citizens". period.
to jeffery,
Yes, you are being 'racist' if you call yourself a 'banana' simply because it reduces the entirety of your value, or detracts you, and others who hear you say it, from the details that comprise you and which might very well make you similar to people who are coloured differently. One would be practicing people in appreciating the obvious - when one calls oneself a banana, amongst others - as opposed to the less salient but more significant aspects of your persona.
The root of the problem: we don't feel belonged; while they don't think that we are a part of them.
Generally that's what the society thinks. Since government is constituted by the society, government policies are reflections of what the society thinks.
To change the situation: we either assimilate each other into one single race (like what the ancient china did), or accept that we have different backgounds (e.g. US and Australia).
Either way, the transition process will take a few generations to complete (that is, if the process is started).
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