There is a big problem with racism in Malaysia, it's mostly in the sense of positive racism and the 'Bumi' status (cheaper houses, lower interest rates, easier acamedic lives and so on)..
Malay folks get many easy breaks and advantages solely based on their race, which in turn makes them lazier as they aren't required to work so hard as the other races to acheive the same thing. The sad thing is the policy was a good one initially, it's just too out of date now and it's doing more bad than good..
It's mostly like an open secret, it's always discussed, but never openly, always without the same racial group.
There has also been books about the issue, the most recent one being The Chinese Dilemma, in part this book is a follow up or revisit of Mahatir's famous first work The Malay Dilemma..
The power of the Chinese is exaggerated and the laziness of the Malays is overrated, they still both exist in pockets but apparently the field is more even nowdays..
What sparked this off anyway? Hmm shall I just cuss everyone?
Anyway...I find a lot of Malays in the business world arrogant, and yet they have nothing to be arrogant about, they have no skills, the work they produce is poor, they are in the position due to a family tie, someone they know, and mostly because of their race. Do they realise this? And do they care?
The Tidak Apa attitude still prevails, mostly born from the all the easy breaks the Bumi's get, from the education system, through into the work place. The civil service in Malaysia is a joke and many mostly Malay companies are the same, they work short hours, do little work and when you expect them to do some work they do everything to get out of it. Mostly it's not their fault, it's the systems fault, the government, the establishment, the society, the culture...not the individual, but every individual could work to change it, but due to the problem itself, they wont.
Look at all the small start up companies, those fighting for business, those people making money, those people taking risks, are any of those companies Malay companies? Very, very few...they are mostly Chinese and Indian.
The Malay start-ups only start up when they can get a lucrative government contract that they don't have to work hard on through a contact. It's like the way tenders and proposals are done here for the big companies, generally it's who you know, or how much you bribe, not who does the best work and has the skillset for the job. This is changing somewhat, but the whole system still stinks, and it's actually bad for the country..
Most of the talented people in the country leave, because of this exact problem, the smart Malays have two options, they can use their skills abroad, do something interesting, exciting, innovative, or stay in Malayia, learn to abuse the system and their family ties and make shit loads of money.
Many of the late twenties Chinese also go overseas to earn more, and have qualms about coming back.
The reasons keeping Malaysians away from Malaysia..
As I read all this, I tremble with fear. I love my country and long to return. I am willing to take a 70% pay cut. I am willing to face a demotion. I honestly want to contribute my expertise in complex financial services and capital markets. But really, is there a future for me, for my children and for their children? I am truly frightened.
I can deal with the lack of democracy, the lack of press freedom, the ISA, our inefficient and bureaucratic civil service, our awful manners and even a little corruption. But I cannot deal with racism in my homeland.
The lack of meritocracy in the Malaysian education system is frightening, the problem is it creates more disparity and continues into the work place..
The Chinese and Indians have to work much harder to get the same results, by doing this they are also improving themselves, the Malays however can sit back a bit so when they both reach the corporate world, even tho the non Bumi's have been at a disadvantage, they actually end up better of, so in the end the system is hurting everyone.
Malaysian, via email
19/09/10
Malay folks get many easy breaks and advantages solely based on their race, which in turn makes them lazier as they aren't required to work so hard as the other races to acheive the same thing. The sad thing is the policy was a good one initially, it's just too out of date now and it's doing more bad than good..
It's mostly like an open secret, it's always discussed, but never openly, always without the same racial group.
There has also been books about the issue, the most recent one being The Chinese Dilemma, in part this book is a follow up or revisit of Mahatir's famous first work The Malay Dilemma..
The power of the Chinese is exaggerated and the laziness of the Malays is overrated, they still both exist in pockets but apparently the field is more even nowdays..
What sparked this off anyway? Hmm shall I just cuss everyone?
Anyway...I find a lot of Malays in the business world arrogant, and yet they have nothing to be arrogant about, they have no skills, the work they produce is poor, they are in the position due to a family tie, someone they know, and mostly because of their race. Do they realise this? And do they care?
The Tidak Apa attitude still prevails, mostly born from the all the easy breaks the Bumi's get, from the education system, through into the work place. The civil service in Malaysia is a joke and many mostly Malay companies are the same, they work short hours, do little work and when you expect them to do some work they do everything to get out of it. Mostly it's not their fault, it's the systems fault, the government, the establishment, the society, the culture...not the individual, but every individual could work to change it, but due to the problem itself, they wont.
Look at all the small start up companies, those fighting for business, those people making money, those people taking risks, are any of those companies Malay companies? Very, very few...they are mostly Chinese and Indian.
The Malay start-ups only start up when they can get a lucrative government contract that they don't have to work hard on through a contact. It's like the way tenders and proposals are done here for the big companies, generally it's who you know, or how much you bribe, not who does the best work and has the skillset for the job. This is changing somewhat, but the whole system still stinks, and it's actually bad for the country..
Most of the talented people in the country leave, because of this exact problem, the smart Malays have two options, they can use their skills abroad, do something interesting, exciting, innovative, or stay in Malayia, learn to abuse the system and their family ties and make shit loads of money.
Many of the late twenties Chinese also go overseas to earn more, and have qualms about coming back.
The reasons keeping Malaysians away from Malaysia..
As I read all this, I tremble with fear. I love my country and long to return. I am willing to take a 70% pay cut. I am willing to face a demotion. I honestly want to contribute my expertise in complex financial services and capital markets. But really, is there a future for me, for my children and for their children? I am truly frightened.
I can deal with the lack of democracy, the lack of press freedom, the ISA, our inefficient and bureaucratic civil service, our awful manners and even a little corruption. But I cannot deal with racism in my homeland.
The lack of meritocracy in the Malaysian education system is frightening, the problem is it creates more disparity and continues into the work place..
The Chinese and Indians have to work much harder to get the same results, by doing this they are also improving themselves, the Malays however can sit back a bit so when they both reach the corporate world, even tho the non Bumi's have been at a disadvantage, they actually end up better of, so in the end the system is hurting everyone.
Malaysian, via email
19/09/10
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