MUTAKHIR: Eh, Guan Eng belum ajar Dong Jiao Zong lagi ke?
DAP kelmarin mengisytiharkan sokongan penuh terhadap perhimpunan ‘Selamatkan Pendidikan Cina’ anjuran Dong Jiao Zong (DJZ) yang dijadualkan berlangsung pada Mac 25.
Naib pengerusi parti Tan Kok Wai memberitahu pemberita bahawa DAP bercadang untuk mengglembengkan ahli-ahlinya bagi menghadiri tunjuk perasaan tersebut yang akan diadakan di Kolej New Era di Kajang.
Mengikut laporan Malaysiakini ‘DAP all out to back Chinese education rights rally‘, tindakan tersebut adalah untuk memprotes dasar Kementerian Pelajaran menghantar beratus orang guru yang “tidak mempunyai kelayakan dalam bahasa Cina” untuk mengajar di Sekolah Rendah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina.
DJZ, iaitu kumpulan dua pertubuhan – dongzong (gabungan jawatankuasa lembaga sekolah) dan jiaozong (gabungan persatuan guru sekolah Cina), menuntut kementerian supaya memindah keluar dari SRJK (C) semua anggota tenaga pengajar yang tidak mampu bertutur dalam bahasa Cina.
Sokongan DAP kepada perhimpunan DJZ bermakna parti itu menentang pendidik yang tidak berbahasa Cina (siapa lagi kalau bukan guru Melayu?) bertugas di SRJK (C).
Pendirian DAP juga bermakna parti tersebut mempunyai pendekatan memisah-misahkan kaum walaupun ia tampak begitu lantang mencanangkan Malaysian First serta langkah-langkah menghapuskan pengenalan diri mengikut keturunan.
Sejak kebelakangan ini, DAP begitu ghairah menonjolkan wajah ‘keMalaysiaan’nya.
Aksi dan penampilan wakil-wakil parti membayangkan DAP pasti tidak akan mengeluarkan apa-apa bantahan sekiranya, demi memupuk semangat kebangsaan, baju kurung dan tudung dijadikan pakaian seragam rasmi di SRJK (C) selaras dengan amalan di SK.
Harap boleh DAP jelaskan apa yang menjadi masalah sekiranya cikgu yang bukan Cina dibenarkan mendidik murid Cina, dan atas alasan apa guru Melayu yang ditempatkan di SRJK (C) dianggap menidakkan “hak” kanak-kanak Cina menerima pendidikan vernakular?
Helen Ang 
racist to the extreme! – ini anggapan pertama yg lintas di kepala saya bila baca entry ni.
terbaekk dari dap dan djz. jujurnya saya pun teringin nak tengok betul2 berapa ramai orang cina yang akan turut serta dalam demo ni.
bukan kementerian pendidikan Malaysia tak buat apa2 untuk mengatasi masaalah kekurangan tenaga pengajar berbahasa Mandarin di SJK(C), tapi yang berminat kurang. sebagaimana artikel dari bigcat @
http://bigcatrambleon.blogspot.com/2012/03/plea-to-young-chinese-school-graduates.html
KPM nak tolong, tapi DJZ ni pandai marah jek. patutnya mereka mengadakan recruitment drive untuk lepasan graduan kolej2 dari Taiwan, malahan dari UTAR sendiri contohnya untuk mengisi kekosongan jawatan guru. ini tak, bantai marah jek.
and i’m not surprised if there’ll be an opposing rally against DJZ and DAP on that very day by the Sekolah Satu Malaysia people. Newton’s Third Law never fails.
“Sokongan DAP kepada perhimpunan DJZ bermakna parti itu menentang pendidik yang tidak berbahasa Cina (siapa lagi kalau bukan guru Melayu?) bertugas di SRJK (C).”
just curious, is your chinese good enough to teach in srjkc?
sigh… DAP and their likes is better off living in other countries than stir trouble in our peace loving country…
It’s because of stupid people like you that this country is going to the dogs..oh well you lot were never smart anyway
Wah , Huaren ho meh?
Sebenarnya, tidak ada “Chinese education rights” secara mengajar dan belajar di sekolah sekolah yang menggunakan selain dari Bahasa Malaysia sebagai bahasa pengantar.
Perkara 152 Perlembagaan menyatakan bahawa Bahasa Kebangsaan ada lah Bahasa Melayu/ Malaysia. Bahasa ibunda boleh di gunakan hanya “SELAIN DARI UNTUK TUJUAN RESMI”. Dan sekolah ada lah tujuan resmi mana mana negara pun. Sekolah Cina sepatutnya di serapkan kedalam sistem Sekolah Kebangsaan.
Sekolah Cina yang di benarkan British kolonial dan di biarkan begitu selepas Perlembagaan negara di luluskan Parlimen masa Merdeka sekarang berada di atas ikhsan rakayat dan pemerintah sahaja. Bukan sebagai “right” bagi nya wujud.
Dato Seri Najib sendiri telah mengatakan di blog 1Malaysia nya di masa Kempen SSS atau Satu Sekolah Untuk Semua di hebahkan di media massa hingga di bincang di Parlimen setahun dua yang lalu bahawa “sistem sekolah satu aliran akan di laksanakan bila rakyat memerlukannya.” Jawapan politiknya itu tidak menyebutkan bila atau bagaimana cara menentukan jika rakyat mahukannya sekarang atau tidak. Ada yang mencadangkan pungutan suara secara referendum ada lah cara yang selamat dan terbaik baginya.
Dong Jiao Zong, DAP dan lain lain sedar akan perkara ini. Itu sebab mereka mahu berdemo, cuba mempertahankan sekolah Cina.
Kerajaan tidak boleh benarkan pelatihan guru guru yang fasih dalam bahasa Mandarin sebab dasar begitu bercanggah dengan Perlembagaan negara, menunjukkan menggalakkan sekolah Cina.
Sebaliknya, jika berbagai Zong berkenaan sanggup terima BM sebagai bahasa pengantar dan Mandarin di ajar sebagai mata pelajaran pilihan dan sekolah sekolah Cina di anggap di serapkan ke dalam sistem Sekolah Kebangsaan (ganti rugi harta tanah, bangunan dll di rundingkan), saya fikir Kerajaan tentu akan mengaturkan latihan bagi menentukan guru guru yang mengajar Mandarin akan ada secukup cukupnya.
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Seingat saya, Wee Ka Siong pernah berkata DS Najib tatkala menjadi Menteri Pelajaran dulu telah membuat pindaan kepada Akta Pelajaran 1996 & pindaan yang diperkenalkan oleh beliau mengukuhkan kedudukan SRJK (C) kerana telah membuang klausa yang membenarkan sekolah Cina ditukar kepada SK. Juga Akta Pelajaran pada asalnya pun ada memperuntukkan aliran pendidikan vernakular. — Helen
Pada hemat saya, DS Najib sebagai Menteri Pelajaran di masa itu hanya menukar kuasa membenarkan sekolah Cina di tukar kapada SK itu daripada Pengarah Jabatan Pelajaran (Pegawai-Pegawai Kerajaan) kapada Menteri Pelajaran (politikus Kerajaan).
Kuasa menyerapkan sekolah vernakular itu kedalam sistem Sekolah Kebangsaan ada pada Menteri Pelajaran.
Tindakan/perbuatan secara pentadbiran tidak boleh override Perlembagaan. Akta Parlimen yang bercanggah dengan peruntukan Perlembagaan Persekutuan juga adalah tidak sah (void) setakat percanggahan itu.
Istilah Bangsa Malaysia – atau Anak Bangsa Malaysia yang di gunakan Hannah Yeo itu – mestilah berdasarkan kapada Perlembagaan negara sepenuhnya. Tidak lain dan tidak bukan.
Maka mereka yang tidak patuh kapada Perkara 152 Perlembagaan berkenaan BM sebagai Bahasa Kebangsaan negara ini menjadi tanda so’al tepatnya tidak istilah Bangsa Malaysia yang di gunanya. Demikian juga yang tidak hormatkan peruntukan Perlembagaan yang mengatakan Islam ada lah agama negara ini – ada desas desus mengatakan ada yang mahukan agama Kristian di jadikan satu daripada agama resmi negara ini, atau sebaginya.
Tambah lagi, mereka yang memikul sepandok Malaysian Malaysia kononnya, mahukan sama rata dengan tidak memperakui Kedudukan Istimewa Melayu dan Bumiputera Sabah dan Sarawak – dengan itu menjadi subversif kapada Kedudukan Istimewa itu – tidak boleh di panggil atau mengaku dirinya Bangsa Malaysia dari segi tafsiran tersebut di atas.
Tidak ada so’al Malaysian First dsbnya selagi tidak hormatkan dan patuhi Perlembagaan negara sepenuhnya. Perlembagaan ada lah undang undang tubuh sesuatu negara demokratik. Undang undang lain timbul darinya, dan tidak boleh melanggar kata kata dan semangat yang ada padanya, jika tidak, dipanggil ultra vires atau tidak sah. Jika tidak ada Perlembagaan, kita hidup dengan undang undang hutan, siapa cepat dia dapat, yang lambat di sana sini tersumbat.
Mata pelajaran Sejarah akan bermula di mestikan di tahun 2013. Saya harap latar belakang dan sejarah Perlembagaan di ajar kapada murid murid supaya generasi akan datang semuanya tahu asal usul dan sumbangan nenek moyang kita kapada negara ini, dan supaya tidak timbul dakyah Malaysian First tetapi resmikan bangunan bernama Sun Yat Sen seperti di lakukan Lim Guan Eng di Penang. Sun Yat Sen tidak ada kena mengena dengan negara ini selain menumpang di masa Revolusi China. Sebaliknya, Dato Maharaja Lela boleh di banggakan sebab melembing mati Residen British James W Birch yang mahu menguat kuasa penjajahan berdasarkan Perjanjian Pangkor yang telah di tanda tangani “under the barrel of a gun” di tahun 1874.
Anon,
ACT 550: EDUCATION ACT 1996
17. (1) The national language shall be the main medium of instruction in all educational institutions in the National Education System except a national-type school established under section 28 or any other educational institution exempted by the Minister from this subsection.
28. Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Minister may establish national schools and national-type schools and shall maintain such schools.
The amendment mentioned by WKS appears to be to Section 8.
Click to access Act%20550.pdf
The key words are “except a national-type school established under section 28 or any other educational institution exempted by the Minister from this subsection.”
More specifically, the operative words are “exempted by the Minister from this subsection.”
The Minister has exempted such schools since then up to now. An exemption may be withdrawn at a time deemed suitable by the powers that be.
We need single-stream schooling, Helen. One system, not three as exist now. Future Malaysians must become totally and fully Malaysian, not a hotch potch of distinctly ethnic and divergent communities, some in London calling themselves Chinese, others in American towns identifying themselves somewhat like the Red Indians having land reservations of sorts.
We need long-term peace and prosperity and the basis for that must be one school for all. No segregation of the young, promote mixing and the building of common hopes and aspirations since small.
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My personal view: Weighing the attitudes (of Malays/Muslims & Chinese) & our environment (153, NEP, very strong & extensive Islamic bureaucracy) & the future of my community, such a move would be detrimental to the Chinese. — Helen
Would you like to say how else we can unite, Helen? Truly unite, future generations having common hopes and aspirations, willing to fight a common enemy together as truly fellow Malaysians, shoot Singapore planes etc in combat, like Malaysian soldiers (you know who) shot Indonesians during the undeclared war called Confrontation in the 1960s.
It’s not right to expect only one community to fight wars for everybody. All Malaysians must have trust on one another in the face of the common enemy. We must reach a stage where we no longer regard one another as belonging to different communities but belong to one and the same Bangsa Malaysia, don’t you think?
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I don’t foresee that we can integrate. On the other hand, I believe that after GE13 & over the next 5 years until GE14, we’re going to get even more polarized (both sides to be blamed) & Chinese sentiment possibly like S’pore in 1965. — Helen
I hope your sentiment is not shared by the majority of the Chinese in this country. If so, it does not augur well for the future of this country. There have been those speaking about integration Thai, Flipino or Indonesian style. We must avoid another May 13 or the likelihood of losing our democratic way of life Fiji-style.
Racist like this dong jia zong…kementerian shud send in the senoi praaq,the vat 69 and sungai manik warriors to handle these chauvinists!!!
Selain bersikap rasis, DAP dan DJZ melihat guru2 bangsa Melayu di Kementerian Pelajaran sebagai penyokong tegar UMNO. DAP dan DJZ takut jika ramai guru Melayu ditempatkan di SRJK (C) banyak rahsia atau maklumat sulit akan terbongkar.
Just a thought … They reject non-Chinese speakers teaching in Chinese school but they (some of the M’sian First parents whose kids are in SRJK-C) want PPSMI.
This is exactly the kind of hypocrisy that DAP thrives in and their fanatical supporters and our sorry Alternative Media lap it up without questions.
When they stir up racial and religious hatred using issues like Lina Joy, Kugan, Allah issue, TBH, Article 153,etc etc, they are hailed as courageous fighters for the minorities against the “represssive UMNO/ Malay /Muslim majority”.
But when Utusan or Perkasa brings up the issue of Muslims being converted or Malays being margainalised in Penang, they are accused of being racist for stirring trouble.
Shouldn’t DAP follow PAP if they believe in Malaysian First ? If so they should support the closusre of all vernacular schools and only have national schools.
I am afraid that DAP has poisoned the minds of the Chinese and the community no longer believe in give and take policy but “take it all” policy in the name of meritocracy. DAP does not want equal rights but the rights to take it all for themselves.
All these augurs badly for the nation. If as expected, Pakatan suffers a reverse in the coming GE, one can expect DAP to ramp up their instigations of the Chinese saying they have no longer a future in Malaysia.
The change in the mindset of the Chinese is very obvious and their contempt for the rest of Malaysians is really worrying. They have drunk the DAP’s Kool-Aid and I am afraid they are addicted to this poison.
org cina malaysia dah makin berani buat tuntutan yg bukan2.. mereka fikir mereka superior… hnya pentingkn diri sendiri.
jgn mcm tu laa kwn…
The choice for the malays…either revert to PPSMI or adopt Bahasa Indonesia…if the Chinese want to hang to mother country lingo ,viz People Republic of China, and the Tamils want their mother country lingo, viz Tamil Nadu..Malys have the same right to create their own mother country, viz Indonesia for them to hang to…so malays should set up sekolah indonesia..like the chinese and Tamils set up vernacular Chinese schools and Tamil vernacular school respectively…
The choice for the malays…either revert to PPSMI or adopt Bahasa Indonesia
==> Bahasa kebangsaan di Malaysia ialah Bahasa Melayu, bukannya Bahasa Indonesia. Bahasa Melayu telah dipertuturkan di seluruh kepulauan Melayu sebagai lingua franca sejak empayar Srivijaya lagi.
Empayar Srivijaya terletak di Palembang dan merupakan sebuah kerajaan Melayu.
Dahulu, tidak wujud negara bernama Malaysia dan Indonesia.
Seluruh semenanjung dan maritim Asia Tenggara dikenali sebagai kepulauan Melayu dan pribumi bebas untuk berhijrah dari satu tempat ke satu tempat yang lain di kepulauan Melayu (seperti pada masa kini, orang Kelantan, Kedah, Johor dll berhijrah ke Selangor untuk bekerja dan bermastautin).
Bahasa Indonesia pula berasal daripada Bahasa Melayu tetapi kerana untuk memupuk penyatuan pelbagai etnik (setiap etnik mempunyai dialek tersendiri) di Indonesia walaupun majoritinya etnik Jawa, maka Bahasa Melayu dipilih sebagai bahasa kebangsaan di Indonesia dan dikenali sebagai Bahasa Indonesia ketika Sumpah Pemuda pada 28 Oktober 1928.
Berlainan daripada Amerika Syarikat, meskipun ia telah merdeka daripada England, tetapi ia masih merujuk bahasa kebangsaan di Amerika Syarikat sebagai Bahasa Inggeris, bukannya Bahasa Amerika.
Just heard something about Chinese… Apparently, The Mainland Chinese i.e. from the country name China, some of them do not see Malaysian Chinese, as one of them. For them, Malaysian Chinese is a Malaysian, and not “Chinese” from China.
aiya, now only u hear this? of course in malaysia we have to call ourselves chinese otherwise a153 no more relevant la.
I am in thailand. Some thai chinese still consider themselves ‘chinese’. One thai-chinese admitted to me that his parents barred him from marrying non-chinese thais (ie brown skinned thais).
Thailand is what malaysia could have been if Article 153 didn’t exist.
I’m afraid I don’t understand your last line, OverseasBumi. Wd you like to clarify, pls.
That they consider themselves Chinese in marriage preferences is one thing. But that they are identified by name, dresses etc as Thai, and presumably will fight foreign enemies as Thais, for decades is another.
Thailand is a complicated place. They have their own affirmative action policy. From what I was told , it’s based on geography. Families living outside bangkok are given preferential treatment. Education quotas are granted to students from ‘baan nawk’ (rural) areas.
I’vebeen in Thailand long enough to imagine how Malaysia would be like if we didn’t have NEP policy. I think malaysia would be very similar to Thailand in terms of economic/social disparities.
Thailand is not bad, but it’s not great either. There are stark differences between rich and poor. But Malaysia has this problem too. Malaysia actually scores lower on the GINI coefficient index ! Personally, I don’t trust Thailand’s GINI figure, just like I don’t trust Thailand’s claim that theyhave an unemployment rate of about 1.5%. They score very badly in the corruption index so , to me, it puts a lot of their statistics in doubt. Also, from what I’ve witnessed in the streets and in other ‘changwats’ or provinces the situation doesn’t look that encouraging. Same thing can be said of other Malaysian rural states. But I do think that Georgetown (pre-LGE) is better developed than ChiangMai . That could be my bias.
Thais claim they are ‘integrated’, but I see brown skin thais generally occupying governmetn jobs and chinese thais occupying more private sector jobs. Wealth also appear to be separated along those racial lines. Thai chinese appear to love thailand, but I also know a few who have migrated. But I think all thais agree that they hate the political situation (red shirt vs yellow shirt). Two party systems tend to be very divisive.
They share a religion, but Thai chinese follow guan yin and hence don’ t eat beef. Some Malaysian chiense are similar in that respect. Helen can probably enlighten you on that.
I have spoken to many indigenous thais (brown skin and lighter skinned northerners), and they exhibit some dissatisfaction toward their chinese (or perceived chinese) compatriots. Most don’t want to elaborate why they are dissatisfied. Maybe because thai people are generally meek and they don’t want to criticize others.
Of course, due to similaries in culture and religion, it’s hard to segregate thais by race. Miscegenation is common. But, lighter skinned thais obviously are treated better and featured favorably in all media. Ironically, most ‘farang’ (ie caucasians) who visit or live here prefer the nam-thaan (brown skin) girls.
Although it is known thais are generally nice people, the thing most foreigners remark when working here is that Thais do have issues with respect to skin color. They seem not to like dark skinned people. Indians are discriminated against and most recently africans are discriminated as well.
Having mentioned that, it doesn’t mean historically Thais have the best relations with the chinese. See this link:
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/commentary/the-china-post/special-to-the-china-post/2010/06/29/262547/p2/Thai-China-friendship.htm
At least in malaysia we can identify each other based on race and I think it helps address social issues very accurately. I know we will never be ‘united’ like say japan is if a war were to ever break out. But our neighbors have similar issues. Singapore doesn’t trust having Malay commandos in their ranks. They claim that malays would be divided in their loyalties if they had to fight a malay/indonesian adversary. The US army also looks at ethnic and religious backgrounds of their recruits before making battalion assignments. This is the reality of any multi-ethnic country.
Malaysian society, in my view, is like a marriage of convenience. In comparison, Thailand displays greater unity becuase they have socially engineered their people to respect a specific thai institution – the royal family. They stand up to pay respect to the king in movie theaters and some bow their head and make the ‘wai’ gesture with their hands at any image of the king.That shows near divine devotion towards him . Lese majeste laws are used against any individual (even foreigners) who questions or disparages the king, so there is also an element of fear that keeps people in line.
OB, interesting read.
Chinese is relatively well assimilated (or integrated?) in Thailand due to 1) no policy that tend to segregated rather than integrate 2) most Chinese are Buddhist or Taoist 3) many ethnic Thais have partial Chinese ancestry 4) force assimilation policy by Plaek Pibunsongkhram (a half ethnic Chinese).
Racial issue and discrimination happen everywhere and of course in Thailand as well though almost everyone speaks fantastic Siamese and most probably attend one school, that said, do you think the Malay is well integrated in Thailand?
Thanks OB for the response. You are a meaningful participant in this blog, often responding to matters raised with as much information and views as you can manage, some of course being disputed. But that’s democracy in this blog and helen has released both the pro and contra views quite fairly I think.
2-3 points interest me this time:
1. “the anti-China furor and Thai nationalism from 1930-1960, Chinese education in Thailand literally wiped out. Studying Chinese language became illegal. TV programs with Chinese language were banned.” But I don’t think the adoption of Thai names was a passive reaction of the Chinese immigrants, using Thai names and pretending to be Thais. What I read is that they were required by law at that time. The Thai Army General in charge created a “Cultural Police force” that went around beating the immigrants on the streets if they do not speak Thai language and wear clothes Thai style.
2. The Thai Chinese migrating despite having supposedly integrated into Thai society. They could have been encouraged by the fact that there are Chinese almost everywhere on earth, China having overflowed with its 1.2 billion population long ago. They can always find their own kind and not feel too out of place perhaps even in Tumbuktu. This characteristic of the Chinese has perhaps made the overseas Chinese be generally perceived even by the British as a “transient” population, an argument used during the period prior to independence to persuade the Malays to agree to citizenship right for them. It also casts aspersion on the loyalty of the overseas Chinese, including in this country.
3. “most ‘farang’ (ie caucasians) who visit or live here prefer the nam-thaan (brown skin) girls.” I hope only from the cultural angle!
First of all, as a malaysian working in thailand I am still an ‘outsider’ looking into Thai culture and society. I learn by hearing many stories from Thais, such as their aspirations and frustrations. However I can’t say they correctly depict thai society in general. My observations are of course not necessarily reflective of reality and may be biased.
I have observed that Thai Chinese are good at identifying each other 1) because of appearance and 2) because of their names.
Thai chinsese have long thai surnames. I heard when they were forced to adopt thai names, they went all out to ‘out-thai’ the indigenous thais, hence the long surnames which are concatenaations of various shorter thai names and suffixes.
From what I understand, the thai chinese also had to adopt unique names. On their appplication of surnames, i heard some families had to apply a few times, as their names were found to be identical to another adopted name.
A very ‘malay’ looking thai informed me about long thai-chinese surnames upon my arrival to thailand. He wanted me to identify the chinese in the office.
I was actually taken aback by this information, because i didn’t know him well enough. He knew I was malaysian, but I didn’t realize he would think that race was a pertinent subject that needed to be clarified.
I couldn’t differentiate based on race originally upon arrival. But after walking the streets a few times, i could see some were obviously chinese and didn’t have any racial mix with local thais.
I met a thai chinese man who married a brown skinned thai woman. He told me his child, who of course carries his long surname, would come home from school crying because she was teased by her classmates or teachers. This suggested to me that in the school she was discriminated. I’ve seen her, she doesn’t look chinese.
She attends a school outside of bangkok because her father believes that her chances of attending a good university like chulalongkorn is higher. This proves to me that thai chinese emphasis on education is strong, in line with the stereotype.
My interactions with thai chinese business people have indicated that the thai chinese have preference for one anohter. It is not just cultural affinity. In my opinion, it’s deeper. Can’t put my finger on it. Genetic affinity? It certainly helped them gain greater success, even in cases where it was not merited, as I;ve observed.
I know one thai chinese business woman who quit her lucrative cosmetics business to join the government. Would that happen in Malaysia? Doubt it. But she told me she wanted to get the ‘network contacts’. She also hinted that the corruption in the government meant she might make even more money in the long run.
Some thai chinese leave thailand because they already have families overseas. Some marry foreigners who have a preference for chinese looking thais. I know one who ‘migrated’ to Singapore. He worked there and got his PR promptly.
There is however a heavy preponderance of white ‘farang’ who prefer brown skin thai girls. Brown skin (nam thaan) thai girls leave thailand because they run off with the farang to his homeland.
A british guy told me that some nam-thaan girls living in UK would congregate and talk about how they plan to milk the wealth from their husbands, and they would share stories of which bar they worked from. Most originated from the Issarn area up north .
Strong supporters of the red-shirt Peua Thai political party originate from the north. Generally they are brown skinned.
Yellow shirt party supporters are considered more elite. Of course, the elites are mainly from royal or thai chinese families. But it’s not as simple as that, because both parties are headed by thai chinese. Abhisit, yingluck’s predecessor, and opposition leader is also thai chinese.
Many farang don’t know Abhisit is thai chinese because he doesn’t look characteristally chinese. That’s where mixing of races blurs the lines. As they say, it’s no longer ‘black or white.’ But, yes, farang people in thailand do tend to simplify according to who is white, yellow (ie chinese) and malay/thai or indian. And they reinforce the stereotypes.
The lynchpin holding both political sides together is Thai royalty. But there have been challenges to the royal authority. The cynicism against thai royalty reminds me how some people are cynical toward the malaysian constitution (A153 especially). It’s an attack at the very foundation/core of the culture and country. To me, it’s a political challenge, but framed in a philosophical way as to appeal to foreign observers and grassroots supporters.
Foreigners have also picked a side. They like to criticize thai institution when they are dissatisfied. They want to criticise the king, but thai authorities have shown theyy are willing to punish foreigners who do, in order to assert their sovereignty.
Gogo bars are dotted throughout the city. No concept of ‘zoning’ the red light districts exists apparently. But this is probably one of the main reasons why investments keep coming back to thailand despite threats of violence, floods and political unrest. is the sex-trade what attracts investments and is it worth emulating? An arab-muslim enclave full of arab tourists is actually right across the road from a popular transgender gogo bar area. You can only speculate why.
As for other thai muslims, they are relegated to enclaves in bangkok such as in the outskirts (on nut , wong wian yai). If shopping malls and state of the art transportation systems are considered ‘development’, then the absence of such amenities in those areas means they are less ‘developed’ than other parts of bangkok.
They have mosques that broadcast azan in bangkok. One mosque i know is actually in close proximity to a trendy watering hole for foreigners. Sermons are in thai. I haven’t heard a single thai complain to me about muslim mosques. I contrast that with the malaysian chinese. I mentioned in another post how a thai chinese i know was willing to pray in a mosque. Unfortunately he prays in churches and temples too. I think he’s a pan-theist buddhist.
In bangkok, there are some women in the long hijab and some even wear face covering niqabs. They don’t appear often on the mass transit trains or skytrain. They tend to stay in the enclaves.
I’m actually going to leave thailand soon, and I just found out there is a muslim lady (sans hijab) in my office. She greeted me with ‘assalamuaikum,’ that’s howw i found out.
She asked if i ate pork and if i drank. I said if there isn’t any other choice. She then looked at me favorably. I guess she’s one of the few ‘progressive’ muslims [if there is such a thing] who managed to get hired by a foreign firm in thailand. Maybe she succeeded by hiding her true faith.
Considering the troubles in the south, and the bad press muslims tend to get, it’s no surprise sentiments towards muslims in thailand aren’t great. Despite that, thais are still very tolerant; they just won’t say anything about their discontentment.
Maybe that’s a theraveda buddhist thing. But, aren’t western countries like this too? In my experience yes. Many in western countriess claim they aren’t racist, but they do have racial/religious preferences and dislikes. This affects their decision-making, consciously or not.
Di barisan depan demo: DAP diikuti oleh PAS. PKR suka ikut di belakang.
Bagaimana orang bukan Melayu yang sudah duduk di Malaysia yang masih lagi tidak pandai berbahasa Melayu ?
Sama dengan berjuta orang India di India yang tidak pandai berbahasa Hindi.
India has 49 official langauge, and more tham700 dialects( not including bahasa daerah) . Banyak State ada offical langauge yang lain.
Tengok indonesia , banyak bahasa dialect (suku)dan bahasa daerah tapi mereka di sekolahkan dengan Bahasa Indonesia.
Helen, i dont what is going to happen, but when it happens duck down, fast.