I have observed for many years now that any attempt to discuss an issue which has ethnic connotations, in a sane and rational manner in the
media often provokes communally- tinged reactions that have no bearing upon the matter at hand.

The responses to my letter “Too sweeping a comparison” (NST, Nov 11), “Seek what can bring us together” (NST, Nov 12) and “We are all proud to be M a l ay s i a n s ” (NST, Nov 14) testify to this. Chinese education, Bahasa Malaysia, freedom of religion and so on are extraneous to the central question of how relevant the Barack Obama victory is to the situation of non-Malays in Malaysia. All that I tried to show wa s that Obama — unlike most non-Malays in Malaysia — shares the majority community’s mother tongue, relig ion and culture. In fact, in his campaign, he went out of his way to prove that he is acceptable to white America by presenting himself as a candidate that had no special affinity with African- American causes, unlike an earlier black presidential aspirant, Jesse Jackson. His denunciation of his former mentor, the Rev Jeremy Wright, was also aimed at endearing himself to the white major ity. According to media reports, Obama refused to meet Muslim groups for fear that it would jeopardise his standing, especially since he has a tenuous link with Islam through his f ather’s and stepfather’s famil i e s. In Malaysia, on the other hand, most of the leaders of the minorities establish their credentials by standing up to the leaders of the majority on critical ethnic issues. On the special position of the Malays and other indigenous communities, on the New Economic Policy, on the use of non-Malay languages for official purposes, and on the role of Islam in society, they often adopt positions that are diametrically different from what their Malay counterparts subscribe to. The interests and aspirations of their own kind, as they perceive them, take precedence over everything else. Within the Malay majority, too, it should be emphasised, there is an obvious commitment to ethnic causes. It is when there is a non- Malay challenge, whether real or imaginary, that some Malay leaders succumb to communal posturing. The ethnic hero is also part of the Malay political landscape. It is partly because ethnic consciousness is so pronounced within Malaysia that integration has not made as much progress as it should have. Why ethnic consciousness has such power and potency in our society is a complex question, and a short letter like this will not be able to address it. Suffice it to say that knowing one’s mother tongue or practising one’s faith itself does not lead to heightened ethnic consciousness. It is when the obsession with ethnic identity goes beyond legitimate boundaries that it degenerates into stark communalism. Finally, since one of the letter writers, C.Y.F., had asked “Where did Chandra get the idea that 90 per cent of Chinese send their children to Chinese primary schools?”, he may like to know that this is a figure from the Education Ministry. It was published in Sin Chew Daily on April 13 last ye a r , which stated that almost 90 per cent of Chinese children between the ages of 7 and 12 enrol in Chinese primary schools.

DR CHANDRA MUZAFFAR, Kuala Lumpur

Source: NST – November 17, 2008