I think you have a warped flawed irrational view when it comes to race relations in Singapore, in particular with respect to the Singapore Malays. Ironically you assert that you speak candidly and the truth disavowing PC but when I examine your statements this does not appear to be the case, I mean when it comes to the "truth".
Why can't local ethnic minorities voice their concerns so long as it is done in a genuine sincere and constructive manner? Is there is something wrong with that? Do you want them to keep quiet, paper over the 'cracks' comestically and allow things to fester foment and eventually boil over?
You want real annecdotal evidence, let me give it to you straight then, apart from the NS issue which has already been touched upon at length.
1. The well intended yet misguided HDB ethnic quota policy that at times causes real unfair and inequitable financial pain to ethnic minorities.
2. The well intended yet misguided Speak Mandarin Campaign.
3. The SAP Schools.
4. The apparent insidious manner in which some private sector companies recruit employees apparently discriminating in favour of ethnic chinese at the expense of ethnic minorities even when the ethnic minority is conversant in mandarin and dialects.
As for the States, I wonder whether you have seen Spike Lee's film
"Do the right thing"? If not I suggest you go rent the dvd when you have the time. Oh and while you are at it I also suggest you read
"Race: What Blacks and Whites Think and Feel About the American Obsession (1992)" by Studs Terkel
Pray tell in what way do i have a warped and irriational view of it???????
I have voiced my opinions and these are facts. This is one of the most peaceful nations in the world. One of the few places where being a minority and u will not get harrassed. Many of the shop sellers for eg are older generation and do not know how to speak english that well but will cater not only to minorities but foreigners as well in english. One of the many many examples.
This is rather ironic. The malays in malaysia for eg are the majority. They have polices in place that protect them from minorities. U are almost guranteed success for being a bumi over a non bumi in malaysia. Yet for all this they are jealous of the malays here. Why is this so? Aren't the malays here always getting bullied by the chinese? Always stereotyped by them as lazy, lowly paid blue collar workers for eg?So why the jealousy??
Doesn's this bode that the malays here do not really have it that bad?? Yet non of you have voiced this out. You all have come along one line. Instead of looking at both sides of the picture, everyone makes generalized statements like see malays are nice ppl, they are not ambitious so they will not steal ur high playing job. This does not mean they won't, they do not because they are not interested in doing it does not mean that it makes them better humans. ANyway back to what some of you have written. They are nice, friendly as if to denote there are no rude, unfriendly malays and all chinese are rude and unfriendly?
Btw why do you put words into my mouth? I did not say they are not allowed to voice out whatever grouses they have. Since when? They are allowed to do so, yet once they do it deserves to be scrutinized and looked to see if it they are reasonable and if they are allowed to voice it out why am i not allowed to voice out my own opinions? Another biased view again.
Btw if things were about to fester and boil over like you so ambicably put it why have they not? In the last GE it was stated by some forummers that the malay vote allowed the PAP to secure a majority win in some constiuencies. Obviously many of the polices are put in place by the PAP and many malays are happy with them.
Anyway let's go through your examples of racial discrmination here,
1. The quota is to prevent racial enclaves. Like i mentioned in one of my earlier posts. This is to prevent some areas from becoming predominantly one race. I gave an example which is France where a white French man risks getting harrassed by minorities in his own country. Obviously from the past where the racial riots occured it was a good move by PAP to prevent any area from becoming a racial enclave. The chinese have also been good by treating minorities fairly despite being the majority in some areas.
2. What exactly is wrong with the speak mandarin campaign???? You didn not even give any reaons behind it. Obviously the govt felt many sinkee chinese were not learning their mother tongue so they created this campaign to try and encourage them. Why u want a speak malay and speak tamil campaign along with the speak mandarin campaign? Or was the speak mandarin campaign targetted at non chinese too to force them to speak mandarin? Obviously riddiculous anyone knows that was not the case.
3. The formation of SAP schools is to help further those showing prospects in their mother tongue or mandarin. Now what does a school need to keep it running?? Students. What is the majority race in SG? So which language should be given more resources and attention to since the majority race speaks that language?? Now say they wanted to have tamil SAP schools for eg. Would the enrollment be large enough for even 1 school to be formed?
4. These companies are their own seperate entities which are not under the control of the government.
Right now this is like enroaching on the individual thoughts and likes or dislikes of the people. I believe that in SG everyone is at least entitled to his own opinion even if some of them cannot be publicly voiced out. Btw how about the 'apparent insidious manner" in which some companies only employ malays or indians???? Why no mention of them? So it is okay to be racist to chinese? Like how a certain bank or some banks seem to be filled only with indians or how delivery, fast food places only seem to be filled with malays. Seems like they discriminate against chinese over there.
About the states now it seems u have changed the context. Remember what you asked me initially? You asked me if i have stayed in a country where i was a minority. I said yes i have. I described my experiences over there and what conclusions i have come to which tallies with the situation over there in the States but sadly was not the sort of reaction u were hoping to get from me. So now u want me to read a book and watch a film probably to show me what the REAL US is like. Cause my experience of staying in the USA is not what the REAL US is like, since somehow my experience in living there is not what you were hoping for. Yes a flim and a book does explain what every single black and white person feels over there. In fact it beats my own interaction and staying with actual real flesh and blood living black and white people. I have lived and interacted with real blacks and whites and experienced racism over there despite being a student. The blacks and whites i know are not your cookie cutter angry, loud mouth, ghetto fabulous black or corny talking, straight laced, uncool white dude most people would assume.
