I do not know who Awang Selamat is, but he keeps haunting me, claiming that I have owed him something.
Other than banks, I don't think I have owed anyone anything. All the things I have had, from the birth certificate when I was born, the car I bought at 22, my house at 30... have all been acquired in a clean way, including my self respect.
Moreover, because I do not know Awang Selamat at all, as I said earlier, how could I possibly owe him anything?
But in an article entitled The Malays are betrayed published on Utusan Malaysia recently, Awang Selamat said Chinese Malaysians were immigrants, and were indebted to the Malays.
I am a Chinese Malaysian, one in the six million. He said the Chinese owed this and owed that, and as a Chinese, I can't help but must ask: "What have I owed you?"
Some more, I am not an immigrant. My birth cert and IC, along with all the documents of my assets point to the fact that I am a Malaysian citizen.
The Constitution protects my status, my rights as well as my properties. If I have done anything illegal, I will be bound by the Malaysian laws, like anyone else.
Of course, I can say proudly that I have paid my income tax and owes not a dime.
Moreover, I have never betrayed my Malay friends. We treat one another sincerely and fairly.
When my old friend Ghaffar buys me teh tarik, I'll get him nasi lemak, although nasi lemak is twenty cents dearer than teh tarik.
But that is not because I feel that I'm indebted to him, and I've never felt that he's trying to take advantage of me either.
Right, Awang said Chinese Malaysians were getting more and more demanding, and racist, after the general elections last March.
What demands, or should I say what excessive demands, have the Chinese voiced up?
Scholarships? Land titles? Chinese primary schools? Democracy? Equality?
All I know these are reasonable requests from each and every citizen. As long as they are eligible, they should have them.
This has nothing to do with race.
If we are denied of these things because of skin colour, then we must fight for them. This is not racism.
Although I have no idea who Awang is, I know he is hiding under the protective net of Utusan Malaysia.
He may be an individual, or a group of people. And he may have his own hidden agendas for his displeasure with Chinese Malaysians.
A lawyer friend told me, it was an act of sedition just to brand ethnic Chinese Malaysians as immigrants, and that the police should probe this incident.
Or perhaps there should be someone lodging a police report, in particular those who claim they represent the six million Chinese Malaysians.
Other than banks, I don't think I have owed anyone anything. All the things I have had, from the birth certificate when I was born, the car I bought at 22, my house at 30... have all been acquired in a clean way, including my self respect.
Moreover, because I do not know Awang Selamat at all, as I said earlier, how could I possibly owe him anything?
But in an article entitled The Malays are betrayed published on Utusan Malaysia recently, Awang Selamat said Chinese Malaysians were immigrants, and were indebted to the Malays.
I am a Chinese Malaysian, one in the six million. He said the Chinese owed this and owed that, and as a Chinese, I can't help but must ask: "What have I owed you?"
Some more, I am not an immigrant. My birth cert and IC, along with all the documents of my assets point to the fact that I am a Malaysian citizen.
The Constitution protects my status, my rights as well as my properties. If I have done anything illegal, I will be bound by the Malaysian laws, like anyone else.
Of course, I can say proudly that I have paid my income tax and owes not a dime.
Moreover, I have never betrayed my Malay friends. We treat one another sincerely and fairly.
When my old friend Ghaffar buys me teh tarik, I'll get him nasi lemak, although nasi lemak is twenty cents dearer than teh tarik.
But that is not because I feel that I'm indebted to him, and I've never felt that he's trying to take advantage of me either.
Right, Awang said Chinese Malaysians were getting more and more demanding, and racist, after the general elections last March.
What demands, or should I say what excessive demands, have the Chinese voiced up?
Scholarships? Land titles? Chinese primary schools? Democracy? Equality?
All I know these are reasonable requests from each and every citizen. As long as they are eligible, they should have them.
This has nothing to do with race.
If we are denied of these things because of skin colour, then we must fight for them. This is not racism.
Although I have no idea who Awang is, I know he is hiding under the protective net of Utusan Malaysia.
He may be an individual, or a group of people. And he may have his own hidden agendas for his displeasure with Chinese Malaysians.
A lawyer friend told me, it was an act of sedition just to brand ethnic Chinese Malaysians as immigrants, and that the police should probe this incident.
Or perhaps there should be someone lodging a police report, in particular those who claim they represent the six million Chinese Malaysians.
TAY TIAN YAN
Translated by DOMINIC LOH
Sin Chew Daily
MySinchew
MySinchew
2009.06.04
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