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09 August 2000 by Jackson Tan
A lot of Chinese living in western countries have been the target of
racism, e.g. Australia, and Europe and elsewhere. But racism against Chinese
people occurs in Asian countries too. In Malaysia and Indonesia where
the Chinese have done well, racism against Chinese people is terrible.
There are laws in Malaysia giving privileges to Malays in higher education,
business and politics. In Indonesia, we have heard of how the Chinese
have been treated; Chinese women raped, houses burnt down, and possessions
taken away.
Although the Chinese have been the target of racism, and although they
know how it feels to be treated like second class citizens, some of them
are not above being racist themselves. In Malaysia where I live, a lot
of Chinese do not like the Malays. The times when me and my Chinese friends
see a Chinese girl with a Malay boy, my friends feel very unhappy. But
perhaps their feelings of racism would not be so strong if they lived
in a country where the Chinese are not treated as badly.
The Chinese as a group tend to be closely knit. They do not like to see
their children marrying out to other races. I do not know about the Chinese
in western countries, but from the view of the Chinese in Malaysia and
Singapore where I was born, this is the attitude of Chinese people here,
especially of the older generation.
Two Chinese friends of mine married Malay girls. The first couple was
ostracised by both their families, and it was not until many years later
that their families were able to accept the marriage. The boy in the second
couple became Muslim. The boy's parents tried every way to stop the relationship,
but to no avail. For some time after the marriage, they did not talk to
him, but fortunately they eventually patched up.Whether they are the majority
or minority in a country, the Chinese are not above racism.
But from what I see, the new generation of Chinese who are brought up
in a modern world are less racist and more willing to accept mixed race
relationships. This new generation though have the odds stacked up against
them. In Malaysia where I live, the majority Malays ostracise their children
if they are in a couple with a Chinese person who is not Muslim. The blatant
unequal treatment between Malays and Chinese is also a source for resentment
and makes it very difficult for both races to come together.
It seems that racism is a universal sickness of mankind. But through
education maybe the next generation will not be like that. The Chinese
have a saying "One goes to school to learn how to be a human being and
to acquire knowledge". It is sad that our current education system concentrates
only on the knowledge part. |