I’m beginning to think this is a catch-phrase among some of our M’sians – commonfolk or otherwise. Some of the responses to the facts of racism in Malaysia were quite slow, nearly apathatic but it was this that made sparks fly – for me at least:

Person A

justAmalayGuy said…
huh, malaysian government racist? not fair to minority? you want to run to singapore? you want to run to australia? or even the us? please, don’t waste any time and go buy your plane ticket a.s.a.p. Malaysia dont need selfish, unthankful and ass-complaining citizen like you. I’m sorry to say this, but those countries that you might want to migrate stinks 10 times much more than malaysia in human rights records and minority treatments. and after all this while, if you dont know how to speak Bahasa Malaysia properly, then you don’t have the privilage to complain anything about Malaysia. seriously, chinese malaysian like you should learn from Prof. Khoo Khay Kim on how to love Malaysia, its history and its culture. Now thats a man that I can consider true Malaysian, eventhough hes a minority, unlike you.

i like what he wrote. enough said. thanks

…

oh well, it’s malaysia. we breathe the same air you know. and i feel we should be lucky with everything that we have right now. please don’t complain. imagine yourself in indonesia or thailand right now? how would you feel? we should be thankful.

And then…

Person B

I agree, Malaysians complain way too much. For example, Indonesia and Thailand faces some of the worst problems in this day in age. In Thailand, we’ve got a prime minister thats not wanted by the thai people and protests going on 24/7 and islamic rebels fighting for religious freedom in the south. In Indonesia, we’ve got deadly earthquakes happening every year with a struggling economic stabibility program to get back on their feet. You know, Indonesia is actually the largest muslim populated country in the world, right? Do the chinese/indian minorities complain just as much in indonesia? I surely dont think so. Im well aware that the indonesian chinese speak fluent indo and have adopted indonesian names as well, and i frankly think it was a good idea. Even though it was negatively done..

What i see people do in the united states is that they adopt american names, just to adapt. In public schools, if you just moved to the states from a different country and can only speak a limited amount of english, you are put into ESL (English as a second language). You are taught to speak the proper language, in a proper manner.

Now i dont really know where i was going with this, but i just wanted to let you guys know that Malaysia really, really, does NOT have it THAT bad.

I had this to say…

Person A, 

Every country has its pros and cons.

But really, what are you getting at? Are you saying that as citizens, we don’t have the right to feel unappreciated, that we don’t have the right to a better life, better services, better government? That I and my fellow MINORITIES should live in a state of perpetual gratefulness even though we have to pay higher prices for houses, even though we have to struggle to go to school, even though we have to give up our mother tongue, even though our businesses are sidelined, etc?

Lets pretend that those problems don’t even exist. Are you saying that we should live in perpetual gratefulness anyway? Wow. It’s like asking a beggar to be grateful for the shithole he/she is in.

FYI, M’sia already have selfish, unthankful people in the form of corrupt politicans. They get away with all this because people DON’T complain about them.

I mentioned this countless of times before – if there is a problem, you’ll always find complaints (that is how we know it’s a problem). A lot of people don’t complain because they DO NOT care. They live with the perpetual hope that SOMEONE else will pick up the pieces. We don’t need people who don’t give a damn about which direction this country is growing. That is not the path to development and modernity.

I am sick and tired of people who think they are so high and mighty just because they “complain” less than a whole lot of us. I am sick and tired of people who think they have the goddamn right to tell us to get out when they are just fellow citizens. I am sick and tired of people who preach blind patriotism when they don’t even know what patriotism truly means.

Also, by turning this into the age-old argument of “go away if you don’t like this country”, you are ignoring the realities and problems of this nation. Ignoring problems WILL NOT help improve things.

Person B,

Dude, you’re in the States. How often do you come back?

It’s like what one of my friends said “You’re living OVERSEAS, making more money than any of us, possibly enjoying the life there AND you’re telling us that we should be grateful.”

Bollocks.

I AM grateful. I don’t need your approval.

…

What I seriously do not appreciate is being told that I’m ungrateful, unthankful, selfish, whining and unpatriotic whenever I say something negative about this country. I am very well aware of the fact that this country has its plus points and I make no qualms about highlighting those plus points.

But telling me to get out if I don’t like it is the equivalent of telling me to blind myself and accept this country for what it is – warts and all. That is what I will not do. I love this country and I want to see it at the top, hitting its peak as it should be. Blinding myself and accepting it just like that WILL not help this country improve. It will not help change things and it will not help educate people.

There is a difference between living in a dreamworld and living in reality.

Reality is this: yes, people will always complain but honestly, that is their right. You may not like it, that’s your right too. But you have no right to second-guess people on their patriotism and you certainly do not have the fucking right to tell them to get out.