Personal Experience of Racial Discrimination
I have not actually experienced racial discrimination myself but my mother has experienced it before. My mother grew up in Malaysia. She once shared with me that the Malays in Malaysia are privileged and are provided with more opportunities in education. She explained to me that since there was a majority of Malays, the government often gave the Malay higher opportunities than the Chinese in education such that most of the Malays get into Universities. This is the privilege the Malaysia government provide for the Malays in Malaysia. I believe this is because the government wanted the Malays to have power over the Chinese as it is a Malay country. My mother said that the Malays in her primary school classes are very arrogant. The Malays often receive more educational opportunities then the Chinese even when the Chinese outperform them. I heard from my mother that there is a quota system when the students wish to enter junior colleges or universities. Although most of the Chinese outdone the Malays in their academics, the schools will still allow about 75% of Malays to receive the scholarships before allowing Chinese to receive the scholarships.
This made me realised why some of the Malaysian Chinese scholars in our school are so hardworking. These students actually stand a faint chance to get into top schools and universities in Malaysia due to the privileges given the Malays. Therefore, they studied very hard to achieve the scholarships to study in Singapore where they had more educational opportunities and also higher chances of getting into universities. This explained why the Malaysian Scholars in our school can excel so well in their studies or in their CCAs.
Personally, I feel very sorry for the Chinese in Malaysia who did not receive scholarships to study overseas. They grew up in a society where they are treated unfairly and given less privileges. In Singapore, we have a standardised education for all children and there is no racial discrimination between different social groups. However, I admire the Malaysian scholars strong determination and diligence which allow them to soar to greater heights and excel in society in future.
This is a link which I would like to share about racial discrimination in Malaysia
posted by Gary Lim @ 9:59 PM
2 Comments
2 Comments:
You do not need to feel sorry for those Malaysian Chinese. They will eventually outdo the Malays in the nation, and in fact have already outdone the Malays; 25% of the Chinese own 75% of the Malaysian economy. Thus you do not need to worry about them.
Second, are you sure that there is no racial discrimination in Singapore? Look at HCI, DHS, RV, NYGH, Cat High, and many more top Chinese schools, only accept Chinese. Do you think that is fair? Personally, I think that if the Malays are fine it is okay, but isn't it still a form of discrimination.
Sorry Nathan, can I clarify on your point that many top Chinese schools only accept Chinese? Do you know there are Malays and Indians in Hwa Chong? Do you know there are also Indians in schools such as RI and RGS. And there are many more people from other races in all the top schools. Except that they are the minority of the population in Singapore and you seldom see them. It will be ridiculous if a top school does not accept a student who is not Chinese but is very talented. If top Malay or Indian students do not study in such schools, where else do they study?
I think there is not much racial discrimination in Singapore as compared to Malaysia or some other Western countries. Singapore is a small country with many different races. If there is racial discrimination in Singapore, the society would be in chaos. That is why our government has been trying hard to prevent racial discrimination in Singapore. Unlike Singapore, Malaysia government only hopes that Malay students receive the most privileges because the Malays made up the majority of Malaysia and the government wants Malays in to have higher authorities than Chinese in Malaysia. However in Singapore, we have racial harmony and all races treat each other fair and equal. That is why I feel that Singapore has little racial discrimination.
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