I BELIEVE the majority of Malaysians will not agree with Stephen Ng who pleaded that “… we have to avoid stereotyping Africans …” (The Star, Dec 31).

There may be good Africans like students Ile Pius of Nigeria and Emmanuel Muheka of Mozambique. Unfortunately, the good men of Africa, like President Nelson Mandela, are the exceptions rather than the rule.

Negative stereotyping of Africa is the fault of the Africans themselves. Mention Africa and nothing positive comes to mind. Africa is synonymous with corruption, misadministration, power-crazy leaders, inept civil service, war, poverty, famine, disease, etc.

My own experience with Africans in Kuala Lumpur cannot rid me of my negative opinion of them. In fact, those I spoke to agree that good governance is lacking in their respective countries.

Until and unless the Africans themselves set their house in order, no amount of defence from Stephen Ng can change the negative stereotyping by Malaysians of Africans.

At one time, the world stereotyped Malaysia as a backward and hopeless country. Today, Malaysia is looked upon as a model for many African countries and has received accolade from the World Bank and other multilateral agencies for good governance and improving the quality of life of the ordinary people.

HASSAN TALIB,
Gombak, Selangor.

Source: The Star – January 11, 2008