The three testimonies below are copypasted from Syed Akbar Ali’s blog post today. They are personal stories shared by Tuan Syed’s readers.
I’ve taken the trouble to reproduce here ‘Comments by [OutSyed the Box] Readers about Hardship, Inherited and Self Inflicted’ because SSA does not maintain an archive.
<Quote>
Firestone said…
“I am an alumni of Universiti Malaya, Tuan Syed… I came from a poor family and I had no father since I was 9… couldn’t get a bursary or loan too. Yet the authority never allocated me a place in residential college and I stayed 16 to a house with 4 bedrooms in Section 17 Petaling Jaya.
“My share of rent was RM40 per month and my mother sent me RM50… and I am expected to eat for 30 days and pay for my fees and pay for transport…
“I gave tuition from Subang to Gombak with a second-hand CB100… I survived and I got a first class honours BEc (Hons) in 1982…
“This country has been a failed state as soon as it started the NEP program… the idea was good but the abuses destroyed this country forever..
“Now I see 99% of the students suffering are Malays and I ask myself – who f*cked them up? Their own leaders f*cked them up… don’t blame others please… we suffered too…”
Friday, January 08, 2016 3:06
<Unquote>
Helen Ang’s comment on Firestone:
The fella graduated in 1982. That would make him presently 57 years old or thereabouts. His uni days were decades ago. Why can’t he just let go?
Why still harbouring such rancour?
<Quote>
Anonymous said…
“Most students work to supplement their father’s scholarship. The students know the hardship the parents are undergoing, how everybody is chipping in to help. My niece cannot go to University. Her mother is working. She is working. Her sister is giving tuition. They are all saving for next year for her to enrol in a local university. Malay students expect to get everything cukup from the government! The nons have to work, work and work!!”
Thursday, January 07, 2016 11:57:00
<Unquote>
Helen Ang’s comment on Anonymous:
Is your niece from Chinese school? Let’s say the Umno-PAS unity government abolishes SRJK(C).
All Chinese will then go to Malaysian First schools. Under this new order, all students from Malaysian First schools (irrespective of race) will “get everything cukup from the government!” in future just like you think Malays are receiving today.
Will you agree to this ‘ubah’ new arrangement?
<Quote>
Vincent Ang said…
“What are you Malays bitching about. The parents and students of nons have for DECADES been sacrificing meals and the simplest pleasures of life so that the non students get to go to university. If you Malays can’t handle the cost of studying in the IPTAs please stop your studies and go get a job. Give your place to the nons who for decades have had to suffer endless emotional and physical discrimination from the Ketuanans of Malaysia. Is it too much to ask for the children of MALAYSIA to have a shot at the better life? No end to the bitching Ketuanans it seems. Government help also bitch – to use broken Malaysian English.”
Thursday, January 07, 2016 10:32
<Unquote>
Helen Ang’s comment on Vincent:
This Vincent person has been commenting in my blog too.
He called me a “whore“, thinks I “bend over for your [my] Malays masters” and is eager to meet me so that he can “really put the Ang into [me]” in order to remind me of who I really am.
Vincent is such a lost soul. It is he who, like Hannah Banana, is bereft of his cultural legacy.
The neo-Zionists
I have only one simple thing to say.
If DAP takes over Putrajaya after GE14, how do you think they will rule the country?
Helen Ang 
Sometimes I wonder where these people get the idea that Melayus have it so easy. Scholarship= free money = no worries. Sorry to rain on your pity parade but we had to work through college too even with scholarships because scholarship covers tuition and housing. Makan still maggi after housing is paid. Thank god for maggi mee. That was 30 years ago and its still the same today.
Every kid today suffers from entitlement issues regardless of race. My Cina grocer was swamped so I asked him, your son went back to uni, not helping out? And he started a long rant about how kids today do not know the value of money or work. Want everything and expect everything to drop in their lap. It’s what the Americans would say first world problem. It’s not just the Melayu okay?
There are a lot of opportunities for everyone to win scholarships today. Just look it up. Almost every Cina group, association and conglomerate offer scholarships. They are definitely more than the ones from Melayu or GLCs. I don’t know maybe they favour Melayu, too. Of course people can also go international. The benefit of the internet. You can apply for the GCC countries, Commonwealth, Canada, NZ, British and even some American scholarships, which is what I encourage my smartest kin to do. Why limit yourselves to just the one from JPA?
Btw Helen what do you think Vincent means by emotional and physical discrimination?
(a) He’s reeling emotionally from NEP.
(b) I’m just guessing on this one … he had wanted to be in the football First Eleven but he’s a pale, bespectacled nerd and the coach picked the brawnier Malay boys to play.
Helen,
I am emotionally challenged too. I am emotionally upset that UMNO still loves to babysit MCA, Gerakan despite Tanah Melayu achieved independence way back in 1957.
One Chinese friend lamented that he feel the Malays are questioning the loyalty of Chinese. I told her off that that is the reason why Sultan of Brunei refused to grant citizenships to these species.
harsh as it may sound but I believe he got the message.
https://helenang.wordpress.com/2014/11/13/tun-dr-ismail-sedition-act-is-also-to-protect-the-mca/
lol
But maybe it’s not because he is pale but rather he just held onto the ball hoping to make a kill … uhm I mean to score goal on his own.
The melayus are sick of hearing this type of ungrateful chinese. It’s always about me me me me me. Look around you and see where you are and start learning about the history that brought you here.
Just because I am anti Najib now doesn’t mean I don’t know what they’re up to.
I am sick of fucking Melayus. Period.
Just so you know. We fucking hate you. Just go and think why is that.
That is if you have the capacity to think.
Piece of shit.
“I am sick of fucking Melayus”
Then do your F****** with other races. Nobody stopping you. You had your fun f***** Melayus, now go away and never to come back OK?
Oh poor you. Living in a land full of Melayus and you hate them. How miserable your life must be.
Since you are sick of Melayus, are you thinking of moving? If you are, be careful where you move to, because you know, some places hate Asians (Cina) and they let you know it. In fact sometimes you can get kill.
“The same three-word message has cropped up in recent days on walls and fences around San Francisco: “No more Chinese.”
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-chinese-graffiti-san-francisco-hate-crime-investigation-20150907-story.html
“In October 2014, Chinese takeaway owner Jie Yu was stabbed during what police have described as a racially-aggravated attack in Edinburgh.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/30538929/british-chinese-people-say-racism-against-them-is-ignored
You are sick of Melayus? Then why are you here?
Blame your ancestors lor. Go ask them why they belayar all the way from China mainland to “Tanah Melayu?”. Siapa yang jemput mereka datang sini anyway?
Don’t bullshit with the “British Malaya” nonsense, those British also came from elsewhere and landed on Tanah Melayu themselves. Go and scold them la why they ask your ancestors to come to Tanah Melayu to become their coolies?
Anyway, still not too late. Berhijrah pulang la kalau talak suka Melayu. Noone is forcing you to stay here wan.
Most of their ancestors came because the British bought them to work as coolies. “Bought” them, mereka di beli oleh orang Inggeris, macam barang dagangan. That’s why their descendants today behave as they are. Their forefathers were not proper Chinese.
Those who came on their own accord were merchants and others fleeing the chaos. Their descendants are decent law abiding citizens of this country.
Sigh .. all this melodramatic ranting is self-inflicted and delusional. If their life is so damn tough, why sit in front of a computer to pour out your so-called woes ? Go and get a job la! Do a side business on weekends to earn some extra money. Go take a course or read some books to improve your skills, then you can get a better job or a raise.
Anyway, OSTB’s blog is also the baling batu sorok tangan type – keeps taking down his posts. Very cowardly …
Not happy working and living in Malaysia?
My son n 10 of his close friends all Melayus Bumiputras are now in Singapore, Australia, Canada, Korea and Dubai.. Opportunities everywhere. The skies the limit.
Tak payah tunggu asyik pandai nak komplen saja, better offer elsewhere jemput pergi.. takde siapa menghalang.
Hi helen. I just read the pity party.
I agree la with ppl here. I melayu totok also takde scholar. Managed to secure loan. After that time postgrad bayar loan undergrad. Postgrad pun out of pocket. Pokai jangan cakaplah. I wore hand me downs until 34yo. That includes furniture mattress curtains clothing and car. I only buy books with what i had. Later i lived this way to pay off housing loan.
Ppl forget. Zaman my dad, ww2; melayu not allowed to go to real schools. Pondok je. Only the elite went to real school. Trade school or vocational pun omputeh asslickers saja dapat but very2 few malays. Uni dont talk la. Only very few lucky ones not quite clever also got in eg dr siti hasmah. Very2 few. In our own land. Cepat betul org lupa. Sebab itu melayu takut nak kasik peluang kat dap. Nanti anak sekolah pondok semula. Kenapa zaman dulu korang tak bising2 hak asasi hak samarata hak pelbagai? Semasa kami melayu dan bumi ditindas? Masa tu hak orang asli pun korang tak jaga. Zaman hipster ni aje korang nak sebok. Sorry but history is the best prediction of the future.
re: “Nanti anak sekolah pondok semula.”
,D
@ Firestone,
Look around you. Cashiers, salespersons, waiters, factory workers, pasar malam, food trucks bla bla today ramai dari kalangan students Melayu lor! Sem breaks easy they can work part-time and earn bet RM1K – 2K to help cover their cost of studies. Kena rajin la cari opportunities.
Haiyaaa my kampung even 10yr old kids can easily make RM120 pocket money weekends (plus makan free) just to help the wedding caterers. Anak2 kamu jangan ajar jadi pemalas.
Ouch.. but true Ms Rina…..
my son got into small business and provide employment for his friends and ex-classmates….
All legal and no help from govt….dia tak komplen pun….they are not rich, at the moment but can get by and self-supporting…
Melayu bukan malas, Melayu bukan bodoh hanya Melayu dinafikan peluang….dulu….
Betoi tu Melayu Malaysia.
Ni yg payah dapat employment anywhere pasti anak2 yg membesar dok bawah ketiak ibubapa, makan bersuap aje.
Ramai anak2 muda Melayu kita sekarang minda dah global. Nak dengan taknak saja. Kalau kata cannot get employment IMPOSSIBLE.
Kenapa kat pasar borong PATIs are seen everywhere? Kalau your qualification tak laku, just go and learn from them how they can make easy money IN MALAYSIA.
“Will you agree to this ‘ubah’ new arrangement?”
I thot many chinese agree to this in the 70’s, the question is y we revert? how many of yr malay classmate did form 6 (i guess, u could be diff) like u n me did? n helen, I think many of yr what if argument pertaining to chinese school is twisted of logic.
I believe most of those that claim malay more or less go thru the same as any chinese in education life is bull shit. pls “own up” what the umno govt did for u fella. its one of the privilege u people enjoy, jangan cakap takde, buat malu aje.
re: “I thot many chinese agree to this in the 70’s”
You mean that Chinese schools dipped in popularity in the 1970s?
re: “the question is y we revert?
… and regained popularity again, say, in the 80s?
Going by the timeline above, my guess would be it was a reaction to the rapid and intense implementation of the NEP.
re: “how many of yr malay classmate did form 6 (i guess, u could be diff) like u n me did?”
Malays have the privilege of matriculation. Chinese have the privilege of SRJK(C). I’m not sure if a Malay who went through the Chinese school system would get a place in matric if he were to apply.
re: “n helen, I think many of yr what if argument pertaining to chinese school is twisted of logic.”
On the contrary, it’s the basic argument by those who press for Chinese schools to be abolished. (FYI, my stand is that Chinese schools should be maintained.)
They (the 1Sekolah pressure group) accuse Chinese schools of producing youths who are unable to fit into the national mainstream. Due to majoritarian demography, history, authority/constitution and government polices, the mainstream is Malay.
re: “its one of the privilege u people enjoy”
Educational opportunities is one of the advantages that Malays enjoy.
My question is essentially, would Chinese be willing to give up the vernacular education system if all pupils go to Malaysian First school, and thereafter from Form 1 to Form 5, and then tertiary – the doors, including UiTM, are open to all equally?
I reckon the Chinese are not willing to see SRJK(C) abolished and neither are Malays willing to see the Mara colleges and UiTM open to Chinese.
So it boils down to the desires of the two communities (i.e. decision of the people). I don’t see why blame should be laid at the door of Umno & MCA for delivering a system – kononnya “divisive” – but one that is really the rakyat’s choice.
Look around you at the rest of the world. Minorities have to assimilate or at the least integrate. We Chinese in Malaysia do neither.
When we’re neither assimilated nor integrated, then quite naturally we’re treated like outsiders. Taken to the more Far Right margin, this role as the outsider or alien race causes us to be taunted as “pendatang”.
But we shouldn’t pretend to be innocent as if it (the marginalization) is entirely no fault of ours and just put all the blame on the other side.
If we have real social mobility none would have complained bitterly.
Now with globalization in full swing I can imagine less social mobility for more and more people, most people will live on the fringe, while there is ever growing concentration of wealth and power in the hands of the few.
Who are you going to blame ? Those who shout the loudest saying they are doing this i.e defend SRJK or those Malay champions of Ketuanan are the people who send their children to private educational institutions and ‘fighting’ for their constituents’ rights to the educational system(s) of choice. How ironic.
Give up vernacular? Sure if LKS steps into Putrajaya and change to single school system. All of the sheeple will meekly follow and sing a different tune.
Look, they can’t even accept public university places offered not in the field that they want. That’s one of their complaints. They asked to do medicine and were offered biology, so they complain. The Melayu, especially the non-elite, on the other hand will accept any offer even if they do not like the course offered.
“popularity” – I just talked to my cousin the other day, I asked him y he was not in a english school, he told me that was the trend at that time, many parents believe malay school is the future. the revert is as u say, govt policy.
“Malays have the privilege of matriculation. Chinese have the privilege of SRJK(C).” – matriculation is more about race, not school, n I dun see y srjkc is a privilege, my chinese classmate from national school not given the privilege of matriculation.
“twisted logic” – what I meant was most chinese is ready to give up chinese school, what make u think the chinese here is diff with the rest? let say spore?
“but one that is really the rakyat’s choice.” – the rakyat choose not to have tax, especially gst, can we have it?
“Look around you at the rest of the world. Minorities have to assimilate or at the least integrate.” – u pls do the same, which govt have to keep on reminding us we are chinese?
“then quite naturally we’re treated like outsiders.” – do u really believe u can blend in if u remain a buddhist?
“But we shouldn’t pretend to be innocent” – we (the general chinese, not politician or elite) r innocent on education matter. u have to keep on asking yrself the same question, y we chinese malaysian r so unique, what strength we have that we are able to preserve the chinese school?
generally I think me n u sharing the same discourse on chinese school, the diff is perhaps u r more incline to assert chinese insist on chinese school, the fact is u try lowering the fee of international school on par with chinese school n see what happen.
re: “what I meant was most chinese is ready to give up chinese school”
Have a referendum.
a referendum on whether most chinese is ready to give up chinese school for international school? why not? but how to do it? if not, whats yr point of this comment?
You’re over-confident that Chinese are ready to give up SRJK(C)s.
I doubt it.
Let’s get some empirical evidence.
For what it’s worth (but I’m saying this now only with the benefit of hindsight), I agree and support the MCA’s approach of keeping/maintaining us as Chinese but the price to pay is racial discrimination.
The DAP 2.0 (party post-2008) with its Bangsa Anak Malaysia wants more, i.e. equality but in their demand to obtain extra, i.e. more than what our community possesses at this point, we’re going to lose whatever that we already had.
I understand however that you’re making a conscious electoral choice to take the gamble and its risk – double or nothing.
“I believe most of those that claim malay more or less go thru the same as any chinese in education life is bull shit.” Go ahead and believe that.
The reality is we were not told we were privileged. We were told to study hard and work our asses off so we can get good grades to win scholarships. We did.
I was told I was a privileged Melayu when I completed my degree and started working for a Chinese organisation when I was 22, after I had seriously slogged for good grades at school and uni. I was bombarded by the fact that I was privileged thereby negating every effort I had expanded in pursuing my degree.
Nasib baiklah jati diri ini kuat, kalau tidak aku dah jadi Dyana Sofia angguk-angguk, geleng-geleng untuk DAP.
u did form 6? if yes, u might be the exception. if not, where is the similarity? n do u know y a malay can earn 3k n could have 5 to 7 children while the rest cant? i am fine with nep, u can read each n every my comment in the past. my point is u do enjoy much much more privileged as compare to us, dun make it sound as if u dun.
HY,
“…while the rest cant?”
Anybody stopping you from having 5 to 7 children?
sa, from an financial burden pov wrt education, its no easy. not sure if u can call that stopping.
HY,
so no need to be bitter. It is your choice
sa, no worry i am not, despite all tis we did better.
‘we did better.’
The Cinas, you mean?
nope, I mean the eskimo.
All the chibai melayu like spectre is talking cock.
Why should I leave Malaysia?
I am not happy means I must leave meh?
If I am not happy I can say fuck you, correct or not?
If I am not happy I also can curse your behind your back, correct or not?
If I am not happy, I can take my own sweet time at the ATM while you are queueing behind me, correct or not?
If you ask for directions, I can point you to the wrong direction, correct or not?
You would be surprised how creative we are at the slilent fuck you thing. We’ve have been doing it for the last 50 years.
Just the other day, a Melayu was rushing towards the lift I was in, I pressed close instead of open.
Why? Because I can. And I did not break the law.
So, again, why the fuck must I migrate?
I cannot stick around and fucking piss you off?
If all 6 million of us decided not to cooperate, then what? You build a big jail in Bandar Malaysia to put all of us in there?
Cancel our passport?
Take away our citizenship?
I WOULD LIKE TO SEE YOU FUCKING TRY. Ask whichever lameass UMNO lawyers to tell you how to push that through the courts.
You know why you can’t? Because you don’t have the fucking votes to amend the constitution, and you never will.
So, I can say Fuck you till the cow comes home, and there is not a fucking thing you can do about it.
Ya ya ya, start your fucking May 13 2.0 threat again la.
Or you will throw some weak insults like cina bukit la, kurang ajar la, etc. And then what?
Then you continue your fucking pounding of the keyboard.
And I am still sticking up my middle finger.
And 99% of us feel the same way… (Helen belongs to the 0.2%…. It’s not 5% la. She bluff you one. Only stupid Melayu swallowed what she says wholesale. Whahaha.)
What makes you guys soo special? This is really a waste of resources what more during this slow economy time. Najib should revise allocation to this unproductive class in 2016 budget revision. MCA (the backstabber) must support the government moves to save this waste of resources during this hard times. Bare in mind there is no special treatment if the same occurs in sjkt and sk.
http://www.sinarharian.com.my/mobile/edisi/utara/hanya-seorang-pelajar-tahun-satu-sjkc-chee-nan-1.468341