Politics, economics and religion are to blame for a growing trend in Indonesia and Malaysia, writes Hew Wai Weng.
Lately, Indonesia and Malaysia have been treading the same despicable and dangerous path.
In Indonesia we have witnessed the racially-linked attack at a Transjakarta bus stop, the attack on Buddhist temples in Tanjung Bilai, and racially-framed attacks on Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (best known as Ahok) by some of his opponents.
Malaysia has seen a ‘pro-Malay’ red shirt rally in Kuala Lumpur, racist statements made by leaders in right wing groups such as ISMA (Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia) and Perkasa, and the allegation by some UMNO (United Malays National Organisation) leaders that the largely Chinese DAP (Democratic Action Party) will undermine the political position of ethnic Malays.
Such incidents have left some asking whether there is a rise of ‘anti-Chinese’ politics in both countries.
There is no simple answer, and many different ways of viewing the recent increase of expressions against ethnic Chinese among some segments in Indonesian and Malaysian societies.
Malaysia and Indonesia share similar demographics – Muslim majority countries with a sizeable Chinese minority who are mostly non-Muslims. Yet they also went through different political, social and economic changes. Therefore, while parallel patterns do exist, we must also remember to situate ‘anti-Chinese’ politics in broader contexts, and not overlook different trajectories and contingencies of this development in each country.
However, for me, three features and their intersection are common to both countries and underpin the rise of anti-Chinese rhetoric. These are political contestation, economic disparity and religious differences.
First, political contestation.
There has always been suspicion about the growing political influence of ethnic Chinese and concerns that they will take power among some segments of non-Chinese Malaysians and Indonesians. Yet, while such rhetoric remains influential, political contestation today is much more complicated.
In Malaysia, the fragmentation of Malay-Muslim politics, together with the weakening dominance of UMNO has led to the popularisation of ‘anti-DAP’ sentiment, which unfortunately has been conflated with ‘anti-Chinese’ language among some UMNO leaders and supporters.
Similarly, in Indonesia, traditional political elites and their fear of losing power to rising and popular Chinese figures such as Ahok stir ‘anti-Ahok’ sentiment. This has also unfortunately led to some ‘anti-Chinese’ statements.
Second, economic disparity.
Even though there are increasing numbers of non-Chinese business elites and members of the middle class, the perception that ethnic Chinese are economically better off is still quite prevalent.
However, what drives anti-Ahok and anti-DAP attitudes today has more to do with their perceived pro-middle class, pro-developer and pro-meritocracy policies – in which some old villages or informal settlements have been demolished for urban redevelopment and poor people might have been marginalised. Dissatisfaction with Ahok’s and DAP’s economic policies, respectively in Jakarta and in Penang, has transformed into ‘anti-Chinese’ sentiments among some people.
Third, religious differences.
Religion has complicated political contestation and economic disparity in both Indonesia and Malaysia. Religious differences not only exist between Muslims and non-Muslims, but also among Muslims who have different attitudes towards the role of Islam in the public and political spheres.
Yet, non-Muslims — often linked (yet not exclusively) to ethnic Chinese — have been perceived by some Muslims as a threat to Muslim solidarity.
For example, progressive leaders in Malaysia’s Islamic-based party Amanah have been labelled as ‘DAP’s agent’, while some progressive leaders in Indonesia’s Nahdlatul Ulama have been seen as too ‘Chinese-friendly’. There are even some baseless accusations that DAP wants to establish a ‘Christian state’ and Ahok aims to ‘Christianise’ Jakarta.
The suspected growing political power of ethnic Chinese camouflages the polarisation of Malay politics and the insecurity of political elites in Indonesia. Meanwhile, the alleged Chinese dominance in the economic field conceals rising intra-ethnic inequality, especially in Malaysia. At the same time, the purported ‘Christianisation’ effort disguises the internal dynamic among Muslims.
Yet, the intersection of political contestation, economic disparity and religious differences underpin the recent ‘anti-Chinese’ remarks and incidents in both Malaysia and Indonesia.
Hew Wai Weng is Visiting Fellow at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.
There is no “rise” in anti-Chinese bigotry in Malaysia; it never went away. It may be worse in some circumstances were groups like PERKASA and ISMA, along with their UMNO patrons, fan the flames of anti-Chinese bigotry and they indeed do so, and have for some time, catalyzed by mutant freaks like Abdullah Tee, a Chinese Muslim convert and self-hating Chinese. That portion of the Chinese community that clings to MCA or other UMNO hacks must ask themselves how valuable their individual identity is, and most egregiously, I would ask new found lovers of Mahathir, the archetypal Malay racist who not long ago fanned the flames of bigotry against Chinese and continues to peddle anti-Semitic bull, why some Chinese so readily forget what Mahathir said about them, in the interests in the totally false, naïve and arrogant belief that Mahathir likes Chinese now and will help them dump Najib. Really ? Are some Malaysia-Chinese that dull-headed to think Mukhriz Mahathir could ever beat Zahid Hamidi in a head-to-head contest ? One is not compelled to be proud of a nation that has used them and then spat them out, unless one lacks any pride in oneself to begin with.
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Cosying up to Mahathir by the Chinese Malaysian politicians and NGOs sends chills up my spine. I can’t believe for the life of me the reasons they gave. TDM is the guy who planted the seeds of Malay racism and Islamisation in Malaysia… I have given up, now just trying to improve my golf handicap…
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Stick to golf, Neptunian, Malaysia is about done for.
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Thai-Chinese had ever experienced the anti-Chinese agenda from 1910s to 1970s also. However, it is very difficult to find the religious drive behind them.. Rather the economic disparity weighted more. The Chinese in both Malaysia and Indonesia had been settled down almost separately from the local muslims. This had inevitably caused the lack of understanding between Chinese and majority muslims culturally and religiously. The growing economic disparities between them had undoubtedly fueled the already ethnic conflicts there.
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In fact, Nyonya Chinese who had arrived 200 years ago to Malaya, lived with Malays and spoke Malay and took on Malay characteristics. It is not Malay adat in itself that brought about anti-Chinese bigotry, but the increasing Islamization of Malaysia and accompanying Arabization, which led Malays away from their own traditions. Now most politicized Malays have become obsessed with Islam, except the liberal urban class, and they are taught by parents and Imams that Chinese are “haram”. This is fostered by UMNO, PAS, PERKASA and for 22 years by Mahathir, who’s know found love for both Chinese and Anwar, would be laughable if it wasn’t so sickening.
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It is easier for Chinese to assimilate with Thais because of religious affinity. However, Thailand has failed pathetically to integrate the Malay-speaking communities in the south. Also, Chinese Malaysians are able to maintain their distinct identity, have their own schooling system and even autonomous business circle. The same cannot be said with Thailand, where perhaps 90% of the nationals of Chinese descent have lost their connection with Chinese culture. Hence, there is always a price to pay. If you want to be fully embraced and enjoy equal status with the native populations, ditch your language and culture. Then again, it works in the case of the Chinese in Thailand, but not the Malays, due to religious affinity between Buddhism and Taoism. In Indonesia, forced assimilation is a failure because Islam and Buddhism/Taoism simply do not see eye to eye.
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Fei Tai Hua: It seems more than a bit far-fetched to suggest that “perhaps 90%” of Thais of Chinese descent have lost their connection with Chinese culture.
It is more the case that like the Sino-Thais themselves, Chinese culture has been incorporated rather smoothly into Thai culture to the point where many young people in Thailand wouldn’t be sure whether a particular cultural expression was originally Thai or Chinese.
Of course, there will always be those whose cultural essentialism and/or inability to comprehend how multicultural cultures actually work (as opposed to how government programs and academics muck in) who will insist that without full fluency in a Chinese dialect and strict adherence to every detail of the rituals of ancestor worship there can be no “connection with Chinese culture”.
It hasn’t always been this way in Thailand of course. During the fascist thirties, the Chinese were treated as the “Jews of Thailand”, and, of course, as anti-communism became the ne plus ultra of Thainess in the 60s and 70s, there was always the suspicion that a “jek” was a Maoist in the pay of Peking.
But things eased up and Sino-Thais were eventually admitted to Chulachomklao so that they too could find their way to the PM’s chair without ever having to make a political pitch.
TV soaps started dramatizing the “mat and pillow” crowd’s descendants in gaudy materialist ascendance, and Joey Boy flaunted his pigtail and that was it.
There are those who would go so far as to suggest that it is the Thais who have lost connection with their culture, due to interference from the wealthy, domineering Sino-Thais who more or less run the country.
Funny that.
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Being relatively new immigrants in Southeast Asia, the Chinese can’t really expect the best of both worlds. In Malaysia, the Chinese speak their own various languages even in front of the non-Chinese, and the parents readily send their children to Chinese schools, ostensibly to maintain their ‘cultural roots’ although the actual reasons for it are varied (which may include a certain degree of contempt for the Malay language/culture). But the rights to vernacular education and cultural practices are enshrined in the Constitution and one cannot accuse the Chinese of being treacherous purely on the basis of their not using the national language on a daily basis as is the case in Thailand and Indonesia. Of course, the Chinese do pay a price in that any ambitious and irresponsible politicians can stir up ethnic sentiment by arguing the Chinese do not deserve full political power on account of their ‘refusal to assimilate’.
The question for the Chinese in Malaysia is therefore: would you sacrifice your rights to vernacular education and be fully assimilated into Malay society (including embracing Islam) so that you may one day control 90% of the economy and even produce a PM from among you?
Thailand used to have among the best Chinese schools in the region, but they had to be forcibly closed down for the sake of assimilation. Most Thai Chinese, the younger generation especially, no longer know their surnames, and find it embarrassing when asked by Chinese from other countries. Such is the price to pay in order to enjoy economic prosperity and full political rights. Worst, I have met a good number of Thai Chinese who pretended to be more Thai than Thais by denying Chinese ancestry so as to cover up the fact of not knowing anything about Chinese language or culture. Ironically, it is not uncommon to see Thai Chinese in southern Thailand sending their children to Penang for Chinese education.
And how the Thai state deals with the Chinese within its own territory is subject to the whims and fancies of the monarchy and the powers-that-be. It is fortunate that the current king is one who is benign and generous towards the Chinese, but it is hard to predict what would come after him.
It would also be interesting to study why the Malays in the south and, to a considerable extent, the Issan folks (who made up a significant portion of the Red-shirters) have consistently resisted Bangkok-centric hegemony. In other words, the so-called successful assimilation as engineered by the ruling elites may remain an illusion to many who are denied fair treatment.
And isn’t it paradoxical that a multilingual/cultural/religious Malaysia has not seen any military conflict among the various communities, whereas the supposedly monolingual/unitary Thailand has gone to war with its own peoples?
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Whether recent or old immigrants, the Chinese can be expected to be treated with respect and according to all UN Convention of Human Rights. That is not negotiable.
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I would not be sanguine with a former Secretary of Defence (Zahid Hamidi) who know effectively runs Malaysia, stating that Chinese and Indians “weren’t loyal enough” to join the Malaysian Armed Forces. There already has been a coup, Jibby is window dressing, and Zahid runs the show and he will for at least ten years. I do not expect the condition for non-Malays and non-Muslims to either stabilize or become more integrated within Malaysian society. You can forget that nonsense, UMNO and PAS don’t want them, DAP has become as weak as MCA and PKR is a collection of self-absorbed twits who each want power and none can defeat the bullying Zahid. Malaysia is already effectively an Arab nation in outlook and Islamic autocracy. The position of the Chinese has become like the Copts or Assyrians or other affluent non-Muslim minorities. Comparisons with Indonesia are useful, but there are many differences, one being that President Jokowi does not (overtly anyway) advocate racism and he hasn’t “borrowed” 1 trillion Rp to buy apartments and houses overseas, using Chinese middlemen (like Jho Low and Robert Kuok). The Indonesian NGOs that promote tolerance are far more influential than their Malaysian counterparts. Bersih x.o has had no impact on UMNO and there are even more extremist Malay “NGOs” that promote Malay and Islamic racism and bigotry, which have greater impact than the Islamic Parties in Indonesia on a demographic basis. In point of fact, Malaysia has been highly Arabized with many religious Malays abandoning adat and looking to Makah as their gold standard; this is less the case for Indonesians who are more secure in their respective cultures, whether Javanese, Minangkabau, Batak, Iban, Bugis, Indonesian ‘Malay’, Toraja, etc.
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It is ok to maintain the continuity of ones culture while establishing a new national identity. Malaysia should allow different religions and ethnic groups to maintain their separate identity and at the same time trying to foster a national identity. In Canada or USA, they achieve that.
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Herr Cohen erupted: “Whether recent or old immigrants, the Chinese can be expected to be treated with respect and according to all UN Convention of Human Rights. That is not negotiable.”
I could have sworn you thought the UNCHR and all that brainwashing twaddle was never applicable in a “whether or not” sort of way, because surely “whether or not” the Rohingya are illegal, autochthones, or just grown up anchor babies they can be expected to be treated with respect and according to all UN Convention of Human Rights. That is not negotiable.
Right?
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Mr Wilson,
Don’t prevaricate. I could have sworn that you abide by the UN flimsy. I said that the treatment of Malaysian-Chinese should MEET UN human rights conditions, not that it actually happens in reality. The selectivity of the UN is not an excuse for racism against Malaysian Chinese. Despite the nonsense of you and Beale, it is not I that has to live up to the Geneva Conventions and UN human rights statutes, arguments long made by Malaysian activists themselves.
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One of the sane comments here. People always blame Malays but these critics fail to see that some Malaysian Chinese intentionally refuse to assimilate with the dominant culture and speak proper Malay. I know some Chinese parents who scold their kids if their kids speak Malay.
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The best Malay is spoken by Chinese-Malaysians. I hardly think Abdullah Tee is an example of Chinese failing to assimilate and the Lims in DAP bend over backwards to indicate that there dispute is with UMNO and not Malaysia. Lim senior is practically obsequious in his devotion to Malaysia. Such comments that Chinese fail to adapt are rubbish. There are always people who fail to adapt, even Malays and Indians. Adapt to what, when you have an openly racist and felonious government ?
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It doesn’t matter the languages, Zack. You see Chinese Americans such an example. Many american Chinese don’t even understand English but they still feel they are Americans. Chinese is everywhere in the world. They can easily assimilate to the rest of the world ( go to check some Polynesian remote islands or small African countries and check if there are Chinese populations), trust me EVERYWHERE. But not Malay? why? Simple answer it is not the Chinese who cannot adjust. It is Malays.
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Then again, I must caution against full assimilation in the case of Malaysia. Greater use of the Malay language should be encouraged and promoted, but not at the expense of vernacular education. Non Malay Malaysians must do more to improve their Malay proficiency and stop regarding it as an inferior language. On the other hand, Malay Malaysians must ditch the idea of one language, one nation. If the non Malays naively think they can gain full acceptance by the indigenous population by giving up their own language and culture, they have only to look at Indonesia where Chinese Indonesian loyalty is frequently questioned even when they already speak bahasa as mother tongue. No sooner would Umno and Pas in Malaysia start to call for embrace of Islam to prove one’s loyalty to the country. Just beware.
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Get rid of the contitutionalised policy that is legally biased to Malays, then we can talk so called assimilation.
If the Malays can’t give up the Bumi policy then why should the CHinese and others give up their cultures ?
Don’t forget this policy was created by the Malays themselves, so if you are looking for a scapegoat – look in the mirror
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In Cambodia the Chinese have intermarried with the Khmer for generations yet still preserved their Chinese culture and identity. Thailand’s Chinese population are also, despite a change of surname and temple, entirely Chinese.
What is true is that 90% of businesses in Thailand are owned by Thai-Chinese and they therefore tend to look down on native Thais as rustics and mercantile lightweights. Apart from this minor prejudice, the Chinese have no issues with either Thais or Malays. Islam is also not an issue. The only problem is Malay racism.
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That is incorrect, as usual, Mr Smith. Not all Malays are racists, but all zealous Muslims in Malaysia have an issue with Chinese. When Malays were less zealous about Islam 200 years ago, and indeed, when Malays weren’t even Muslim but Hindu-Buddhists, they interacted with Chinese with little problem. Islam is driving Malay racism. Malay adat is not driving Islamic racism. I am not aware of any Malay racist that does not invoke Islam and I am aware of Muslim converts to Islam, like “Dr” Tee that can only pretend to be Malay. One cannot separate out Ketuanan Melayu from Islam today, and those Malays who are tolerant and accept multiculturalism tend not to be ardent Muslims.
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“non-Muslim converts to Islam”. My typo
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Cohen,
The Malays were Muslims longer than 200 years ago. You’ve been harping the assimilation between Chinese and Malays (the Nyonyas) while failing to realize that the initial Chinese migration to the straits was relatively few in numbers, 400 – 600 years ago mind you. Making it advantageous and easier for them to assimilate into the broader Malay culture especially since Islam was just taking root among the Malays.
The current Chinese and Indians population in Malaysia mainly stems from the migration in the 19th century onward. Their number was also far bigger than the initial Peranakan and in the 1430’s, the Chinese population were roughly the same as the Malays in Malaya. Why should they then “assimilate” when in some areas, they are the majority. https://faculty.washington.edu/charles/new%20PUBS/A26.pdf
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when you answer sometime you need to know more the detail about Thailand, if you tried to pretend that you know Thai. If you don’t know please don’t write, otherwise, I will know that you know nothing.
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I just wonder do you have a TV or the internet before you posted this. Your comments are very inaccurate. I don’t know do you even google before you posted any comments. Thailand is not only Buddhism. Even Muslims from the rest of the country ( except deep southern part ) can assimilate with Thai culture. Only problem in Thailand that cannot adjust themselves is Malay and Muslim in Pattani , Yala, Narathiwat ( deep south ) of Thailand which majority are Malay ethic. Nothing about Chinese nothing about Indian, nothing about Religion but when you combine Malay PLUS Muslim. This is a problem
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While it is true that one can speak of predominantly “Chinese areas” and the colonial root to such segregation in Indonesia, I think you will find that the interaction/socialisation between the so-called Chinese Indonesian (which in itself is far from being a homogenous group) and the “local Muslims” is a lot more nuanced than you seem to be suggesting. Apart from the business elites such as the likes of Budi Hartono, most average Chinese Indonesians are not “settled down almost separately from the local Muslims” (especially true to those from a merchant class background). Besides, I’m not sure how much of the exclusivism of the business elites can be attributed to ethnicity since most rich people live a fairly exclusive lifestyle.
Furthermore, while there is indeed a widespread perception that Chinese-Indonesians are “wealthier” than “pribumi,” a lot of that can be traced to the myth that Chinese Indonesians are somehow a homogenous group of Soeharto-era tycoons. I’ve yet to seen any compelling empirical evidence which substantiates the notion of a “growing economic disparities” between the “Chinese” and the “Muslim.” Not to mention the fact that both of these categories are so general that I doubt if there’s much analytical utility to them.
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The idea that Thai-Chinese face persecution in Thailand and through forced assimilation have lost their Chinese culture is part of Peninsular Chinese mythology and prejudice.
The only real difference is that Thai-Chinese often adopt Thai Buddhism. Apart from occasional intermarriage, Thai-Chinese are completely separate from the Thais, and totally Chinese.
The only discrimination they have ever faced is from Thai government efforts to make them appear Thai, which amount to little more than a change of surname. Ordinary Thais do not discriminate against Thai-Chinese because they speak Thai and anyway amount to one sixth of the country’s population. They may have issues with individual Thai-Chinese businessmen, but it never becomes a matter of race as it does in Malaysia.
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Thailand is the only country in SE Asia which has not become a colony of a European nation. Its historical and cultural background is different from Malaysia or Indonesia.
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Which is why it is bittersweet that it has been colonised by immigrant Chinese!
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Being forced to appear and speak Thai is in and of itself a form of persecution, albeit a mild one at that. As I said, the Chinese cannot expect to be treated like a native to any of the Southeast Asian countries until and unless they gain full political power and relegate the native populations to a subsidiary position, as what happened to Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. Before that, they would invariably have no option but to assimilate like Thai Chinese, or maintain their distinct Chinese identity but live with limited political power as in Malaysia.
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It is quite common for Peninsula Chinese to discriminate against Thai-Chinese on the grounds that they have ‘gone native’ and are no longer proper Chinese.
Peninsula Chinese have reacted to often unfavourable circumstances in Malaysia by reinforcing their cultural identity and ‘putting it on a pedestal’. The Thai-Chinese approach is different but it is not in any sense inferior.
As for ‘…Thai Chinese who pretended to be more Thai than Thais by denying Chinese ancestry so as to cover up the fact of not knowing anything about Chinese language or culture…’ it is worth remembering that, notwithstanding the cultural contribution of the Mon-Khmer, the Thais are a Yunnanese minority, so it is actually more the case that the Thai-Chinese have absorbed the Thais than the other way around.
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How to assimilate without losing one’s foreign identity is a struggle as long as human history. Don’t expect a quick and ready answer.
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I was in Kuala Lumpur in the summer 1970 as an exchange student from Hong Kong. There was a law prohibiting public assembly which meant more than three people ( I was told) and we could not talk about racial issues in public. What happened was that Malaysian Chinese took me on motorcycle rides and only two of us and we talked about racial issues.
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Your rather bleak either/or prescription for Chinese-descended people living in Southeast Asian countries seems based in a heavily racialized approach to just about everything.
You are, of course, welcome to such a viewpoint, but it does seem to make it impossible for you to either recognize or understand the situation and history of the Chinese in Thailand.
Have you ever heard of Pridi Banomyong?
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When the Thai Chinese were ordered to close down their schools and stop speaking their own languages (be it Teochew, Hailam, Cantonese or else) or face expulsion, their fate was sealed. Period.
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And when Sino-Thais were once again free to open Chinese schools in Thailand they regained control and unsealed their fate.
The history of Chinese immigration going back hundreds of years in Thailand makes for fascinating reading.
I suggest you try some.
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There was an English historian who wrote about Chinese in Malaysia. In fact, if you look at the history of Chinese emigration to SE Asian countries, like Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines, Indonesia or even Australia, there is a pattern and also diversities according to the acceptance and political climate of each points of entry. I decidedly choose do not use the word country because at that time they were still colonies.
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Looking forward to Chinese education being allowed again in Thailand but quite unlikely given the rapid process of democratic regression over the past few years. Even Yingluck Shinawatra once bitterly complained if she was considered less Thai than others, shopping just short of saying her Chinese origin should not have mattered. On the other hand, even the most diehard Malay nationalists such as Mahathir concede the right vernacular education in Malaysia should not be questioned.
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It is not about Chinese nor Thai nor Indian. It is about Malay muslim. You don’t even have to analyze Thailand and historical policies. Just check Lao, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippine and see whether they have race problem with Chinese immigrants. Then check Malay and Indonesia and see do they have a problem with Religion and race? It is obvious! Thai government is not clever(obviously stupid) or know how to manage to the problem than other countries. The problem is Malay and Muslim.
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You severely underestimate the importance of demographics when talking about the “Chinese” issues. All the country you list down while they do have quite a number of Chinese citizens in them, they are only a small minority in a largely homogenous majority population country. Not so in Malaysia where the Malays only make about 51% of the population while the Chinese make about 22-25% of the population.
Malaysia majority race is not really big compared to Vietnam or Thailand and that is why it was important to include Sabah and Sarawak during the formation of Malaysia because with the inclusion of Singapore, the natives would be the minority. And this would then feed into the low self esteem issue that Malay have.
Of course, religion also comes to play regarding the difficulties of assimilation in Malaysia.
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Chinese should participate in politics like my friend Tony Pua.
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Tony Pua is, with all due respect, an apple-polisher. Teo would be a better example of a more honest DAP or opposition politician. She is honest and not full of hubris like Tony. I know both somewhat.
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Very interesting update, written from the perspective of Singapore’s dominant Chinese. Cohen is fuming on his latest anti-Malaysia rant. But I’m surprised by Hew Wai Weng’s narrow perspective. If he’s going to bring in socio-political aspects – as distinct from religious – then doesn’t China’s rising warrant at least brief mention ? This would give wider perspective.
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Many Chinese Malaysians are voting with their feet and emigrate. Cry My Beloved Country.
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Lumping Indonesia and Malaysia together may have some advantage but it also leads to statements that possibly apply well to one of the countries and not to the other. For example, ‘the suspected growing political power of ethnic Chinese’ hardly applies to Indonesia beyond the case of Ahok.
Similarly, to compare the ‘demographics’ of two countries which have such vastly different populations is asking for trouble. ‘Muslim majority countries with a sizeable Chinese minority’ in any case hardly fits as a description for Indonesia since many other ethnic groups are non-Muslim, not just the Chinese. And how large is the ‘sizeable Chinese minority’ in Indonesia, 5%? If that.
Focus on Ahok, irrespective of how representative of growing Chinese power he really is, is going to intensify over the next few months as the Jakarta elections approach. It is interesting that the Muslim parties, which one might have expected to unite behind a single candidate opposing Ahok, are not going to do that. At least not for the time being.
PKS remains locked into its marriage with Prabowo Subianto and thus supports the candidacy of former Education Minister Anies Baswedan, so recently a liberal pin-up figure who has now forgotten any reservations he once had about Prabowo. Jakarta may not be ‘worth a mass’, as Henry IV once said Paris was before converting to Catholicism to secure the French throne, but Jakarta may well be worth tossing away some old principles or hang-ups.
PPP, PAN and PKB are backing another candidate, SBY’s elder son, Agus Harimurti. Agus dramatically emerged last week from behind the curtain with which king-maker Ibu Ani was screening him to achieve maximum surprise. He then took his place centre-stage as her husband’s preferred successor, despite only having reached the rank of major in TNI. Not in even the worst days of dwi-fungsi did a mere army major ever seek to govern a giant city.
Ahok, the Chinese incumbent governor, has the support of his former chief, Jokowi, and the PDIP, Golkar, NasDem and Hanura, the latter named so appropriately, we should not forget, the Party of the People’s Conscience. One of the redeeming features Jokowi has shown since winning office has been an apparently completely lack of anti-Chinese prejudice.
If Ahok wins the first round in February, the Muslim parties will have a new opportunity to fall together behind an anti-Ahok candidate, be it Agus Harimurti or Anies Baswedan. Whatever happens in Malaysia, however, one should be careful about predicting that this confluence will lead to a strongly anti-Chinese environment in Indonesia. It may do but it is too early to be sure.
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[…] trổi dậy của chính trị “chống Trung Quốc” ở Malaysia và Indonesia: The rise of ‘anti-Chinese’ politics in Malaysia and Indonesia(New Mandala […]
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There’s too little mention of INTERMARRIAGE here. Thailand’s King is part Chinese. The very high rate of inter-marriage, throughout Thailand (except Patani) is both cause and effect of higher tolerance than elsewhere. This point needs to be made more explicit.
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Chris, you don’t seem to know Malaysia very well! Inter-marriage? If you marrry a Buddhist, you are not required to become a buddhist and give up your up bringing and culture. If you marry a Christian, you are not required to do so either.
In Malaysia, if you marry a Muslim, you MUST convert to Islam and follow all the practices – no pork etc etc.
Given the way Islamisation (talibanism rather) is going in Malaysia at this moment, the chances of inter-marriage with Muslim malays are getting less and less. One have to be sick in the head to consider surrendering all of one’s freedom, including having dinner with one’s non-muslim relatives at their homes….
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The vast majority of Malaysian Muslims will view this Jew Cohen as simply an imperialist Zionist, trying to control them, trying to divide them.
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No, in fact, I have thousands of Malaysians friends, mostly Malay in fact, and I am quite sure of about 40 of them that would laugh at your comment and call you “kurang ajar”. If you are trying to win Islamic friends with your uncouth anti-Semitism, I suggest you tweet Mahathir, as NM as not the appropriate venue for your filthy mouth and twisted mind.
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It is ridiculous for Cohen to call me “anti-Semitic” when I am proudly part Jewish, and a strongly support the Zionist State. My comment was simply about the way the vast majority of Malaysian Muslims would undoubtedly – by his own admissions – view his comments. You can not have it both ways Cohen – and then resort to canards if you want to avoid looking ridiculous.
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“THOUSANDS of Malaysian friends” Peter Cohen ? No doubt they call you Datuk Cohen !
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This article misses the point made by one of the commenters; anti-Chinese bigotry never went away. The perception of a Chinese-Indonesian foray into Indonesia’s political arena (the #2 elected position no less) is, however, a new development. The article should have made the huge differences between the two contexts a lot clearer. For starters, the demographics are really different. Urban Chinese Malaysians in/around KL and Penang make up around half the population. Chinese Indonesians make up less than 3% of Indonesia’s population – even in urban settings like Surabaya and Jakarta they are a small minority (i.e. less than 7%). Whereas in business and industry, across the full spectrum of Indonesia’s two-track economy, powerful Chinese families comprehensively dominate. Ahok’s phenomenal rise notwithstanding, the voter sweet spot usually lies lies somewhere between TNI/POLRI, the Muslim lobby, political elites and what the market dominant minority (i.e. ethnic-Chinese) will pay for. Typically, Chinese Indonesians pay and the other three cohorts play (albeit ministerial slots for ethnic-Chinese appear to be less controversial). One wonders if upsetting the balance – such as it is – could bring a lot of barely concealed ethnic tension to the surface. In over 30+ years living in Indonesia, I have consistently observed deeply held animosities towards ethnic-Chinese – animosities that are reinforced every day as the ‘have-nots’ bear witness to the obscene wealth and dominance of Chinese Indonesian business elites and their pribumi cronies.
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Neptunian – what you say about about Buddhism compared to Islam is EXACTLY WHY I thought inter-marriage should be explicitly mentioned.
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Not at all Neptunian. I know Malaysia quite well. I’ve just been re-reading the brilliant autobiography of that great British journalist Jon Snow. He reported the murderous hostility by ethnic Malays to predominantly ethnic Chinese Vietnamese boat people landing on the beach of a Malay village. He himself was severely beaten. The ethnic Malay fear of invasion has a very long history. And from their point of view, Islam has given them both the ideological and organisational strength to resist the devastation visited upon, eg., Australia’s Aborigines through FORCED INTER-MARRIAGE, alcohol, etc.
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Beale,
You know nothing about Malaysia. You are an armchair dilettante, and an awful one. Your comments have been erratic and bizarre. As you are not native to Malaysia, doubtfully native to Earth, please leave analysis of Malaysia to Malaysians, past and present.
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Why only natives to Malaysia can comment? You are not a schizophrenic, can you talk about mental illness? This kind of ethnocentrism is despicable. Speech is open to all, natives or aliens.
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Cohen how come your “thousands” of Malaysian friends, never taught you to be more “halus” (refined), and less “keras” (coarse) in your hyperbole ?
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“Keras” is hard. Kasar is coarse. – Your Google needs updating!
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Any discussion should not be predicted on the speaker’s ethnicity or religion or gender.
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I am Thai with Chinese decent. I have read this article and I found a lot of people misunderstand about Thai with Chinese ancestors here. First of all, we do not consider ourselves as Chinese Thai. We just called ourselves Thai, that’s all. Secondly, it is very hard to distinguish who is Thai or who is Chinese, because most of Thais mixed with Chinese in some parts of their family line. Thirdly, most of Thai culture are mixed between India (Hindu) and Chinese sometime I don’t even know which one is real Thai, Hindu or Chinese. Even food that we eat everyday.
Thailand has pure Chinese nation about 15-20% and 40% are there decent ( 2 or 3rd generation), Also there are many other ethics ( Lao, Mon, Khmere, Indian ) that are completely mix with Thais. Only problem in Thailand is Southern Malay Muslims which are rejected to assimilate to Thai or other races and always make troubles. I think the problem is not RACE but it is MALAY MUSLIM cultures, that are hard to mix with others.
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So what do you want the Malay Muslim south to do? It is part of their religion and culture not to eat pork, consume alcohol and allow prostitution. They are being denied for their right to speak their mother tongue. These people used to be from a different kingdom but due to some sort of colonial arrangement, they become part of Siam until now. The best way is to grant them autonomy.
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Yep keep shooting innocents and want autonomy. Noone in Thailand force them to eat pork. Similary to noone in Thailand force Hindi to eat beef. No one bother other about their religion except. Malay muslims in deep south of Thailand. This is a trouble. If you track back more than Pattani Kingdom 400 years, It is buddist kingdom. So what is your claim to kill innocents? I dont want to eat pork, then I have to kill innocents? nice arguments.. haha muslims always muslims
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In addition, Kratom and Cannabis consumption is rampant in southern Thailand. Hallucinogens are forbidden in Islam (supposedly).
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separation of church and state. Live in harmony. Respect for each other.
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Also I would like to comment about other countries than Thai. Like Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia. There countries are also mixed with Chinese immigrants and even though they have different political policies or Government styles to manage Chinese people than Thai. There are very few problems about racism. Only people is only Muslims in southern Thailand, Southern Philippine, Indonesian and Malaysian. So the point here is not ethics problem but it is muslim problem.
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Another thing I want to say here is there is no THAI THAI. Thailand is mixed with many ethics Northern part of Thailand used to be other kingdom ( Lanna Kingdom ). Northeast are Lanchang Kingdom. Also Middle part are Ayutthaya, Chinese, Mon, Khmer people. Southern part is Lavo kingdom and Pattani Kingdom. These people have different facial features. It is very easy to distinguish which part of Thailand that they are from. It will be hard for me to tell the real meaning of who is Thai Thai.
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Thai-Thai? This is getting absurd. You are winding yourself up in knots trying to evade the fact that (a) “Thai” is one of several nations or peoples within the modern state that is Thailand; (b) The Thai state is unable to admit that there are other nations because the powers that be are sprung on an outmoded nation-building (or nation-destroying) modality; and (c) Taochew, and other ethnic-Chinese groups in Thailand, traded in their separate ethnic status for expediency. The fact that a people or ‘nation’ with a shared sense of history, kinship, language, and other cultural attributes once existed, or combined, and/or changed in some way, is really only just saying that they are human – our history is full of such occurrences.
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TEOCHEW not “Taochew”…
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@PeterCohen, oops! Quite right, thanks.
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The problem of racism in Malay or Indonesia is not about Chinese – Malay ethics. It is all about every races and Malay. or more specific. every race or every religion vs Muslim. This problem occurs every where in the world. Europe ( Christian), India( Hindu), Thailand( Buddism ), US( whatever ). The problem is the Muslims and not adjust themselves to the world.However they try to force or coerce others to accept their religion. It is not Malay Goverment false nor any historical things. It is Muslim problem.
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Very interesting analysis by Chasiu which is nothing more than just a piece of chasiu. The Kingdom of Siam has for centuries been forcing assimilation down the throats of others, whereas Muslims in Malaysia co-exist with the Chinese and Indians for many decades without going to war. There is a lot of tension in Malaysia, no doubt, but the differences are mostly handled through peaceful means. Last time I checked, Bangkok has launched one war after another with the Isaan people and the Malays in the south, not to mention the civil unrest in Bangkok that escalated into military conflicts. How many military coups did it take for the Thai state to compel others to submit to its authority? And how many lives have been lost along the way? By the way, does Chasiu know what happened in Bangkok exactly 40 years ago today? Still wanna lecture others on peace?
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Your sense of what the kingdom of Thailand has been doing “for centuries” is based in the purest of pure ignorance. The Thai tendency has most often been to simply welcome foreigners and put them to whatever use seems most beneficial to themselves.
You seem to believe that all assimilation can only ever be “forced”. You are simply mistaken. There isn’t much else to say.
You also want to somehow conflate political conflicts which correlate somewhat to ethnic difference with the kind of ugly racism that countries like Malaysia and Indonesia have indulged in the recent past. Again, you are mistaken.
But coming from a vasty plain of historical ignorance as you most surely are, a little error now and again is only to be expected.
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Read this to enlighten your good self: http://www.icwa.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/ADB-73.pdf
If being compelled to close down their own schools by a dictatorial government is not considered ‘forced’, I don’t know what is. Perhaps native Americans and aborigines too willingly assimilated themselves as modern Americans and Australians?
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I’m not sure how you think a document from the Cold War that looks at the actions of Thailand’s on-again off-again military/authoritarian government can possibly enlighten anyone to the present reality of Sino-Thai culture and society in Thailand or how things have been for the “centuries” that you so pointlessly mention above.
Enjoy your ignorance! I hear it’s bliss.
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Cold War or not, it gives the current generation of Thai Chinese a glimpse into the cruel reality of how their forefathers were made to feel inferior to the “Thai Thai”. So historical records are not relevant to the modern era? This is as good as saying all the official documentation on the brutal and bloody elimination of the native American and aboriginal communities in the US and Down Under is nothing more than piles of worthless papers 🙂
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Chinese in countries where they immigrated and sank root should participate in their respective communities besides being financially successful.
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Could you have a reference for war with Isaan people? If you mean redshirt. I think you need to do more homework. LOL… The coup is really about Thaksin and the monarchy. Seems you dont know anything. Waste of my time.
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Thailand problem has never related to RACE or RELIGION. This is what the point I want to say here. even 40 years ago. Please read more. what happen in 1969 in Malaysia instead.
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wait. only RACE or RELIGION problem is southern problem related to MALAY MUSLIM. sorry my typo.
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If Malaysia is not Muslim country. There is no problem related to whatever RACE. This is the most important point that Malay cannot handle this. The current situation is peaceful because your RACISM policy that try to help native Malays(which mainly poor compare to Chinese). However one day if the Malaysians economics is dead. The Chinese will be the first scapegoats that will be hanged like what happened in Jakarta 1997. It is not what you want to hide but the TRUTH that divides Chinese is not RACE but it is Muslim, RELIGION.
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Fei Tai Hua for trouble in Bangkok. The red shirt leader, yellow shirt leader, ,government officers, King, Queen, Judges, main Police officers, main politicians from both sides are all Chinese descents. It is nothing to do with races. Arhh… PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE study more before you started to say I want to lecture other people. Also please read Malaysian Histories too, seems you don’t know anything about Malays neither. Your many comments that bring me here to answer since there are so incorrect until I cannot handle to see people who don’t know anything try to act cool and think he knows about Thai.
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Chasiu has got so worked up that he or she can no longer think rationally.
When the Bangkok ruling elites send Buddhist teachers to the south to influence the Malay kids, when Thai soldiers mercilessly kill the Malay youth, you cannot blame the Malays for the uprising. Remember Tak Bai? And the violence continues. It takes two to tango, no?
Chasiu may want the whole world to think Thailand is a success story in terms of assimilation whereas Malaysia is a failed multiracial country. The fact is it is Thailand that is considered far more dangerous according to the latest Global Peace Index at 125, while Malaysia is far more peaceful with virtually no threat of a civil war at 30. Even Indonesia, at 42, is waymore politically stable than Thailand!!!
Check it out: https://www.google.co.th/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://static.visionofhumanity.org/sites/default/files/GPI%25202016%2520Report_2.pdf%3F&ved=0ahUKEwi0v77VwMbPAhUIso8KHSLKCSkQFggaMAA&usg=AFQjCNFHvbnr2lT6MIVklbvthKWGIteh2A
Moreover, many Thai Chinese and Malays in the south send their children to Penang or other states in Malaysia for Chinese or Malay education. What does it tell you?
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Actually I think Penang is a popular destination for not-so wealthy Thais to send their kids for English education as well.
As far as I know, there are well over 100 Chinese schools in Thailand, most in Bangkok.
I doubt that they teach the “real” Chinese curriculum– with the worship of the Party and the 70/30 judgement on Mao, or eliding the Great Leap Forward and incidents of cannibalism from the Cultural Revolution– so kids who study in these schools miss out on the cultural indoctrination you seem to find so essential.
Or do real “vernacular schools” now find a way to present modern Chinese culture as a variant form of Confucianism?
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I have met quite a few Thais who went to the so-called Chinese schools in Bangkok. The fact is, they were only offered extra hours for the Chinese language, with the rest of the syllabus being taught in Thai. Their command of Chinese may be better than others but way below that of a Chinese Malaysian who was taught Chinese, Malay and English, an important factor why some Thai parents continue to send their kids to attend schools in Penang 🙂
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Also, the syllabus used by Chinese schools in Malaysia is no longer based on that of China. Students who attend these schools are taught Chinese as well as Malaysian culture and history, in addition to cultures and histories of other continents. Of course, Chinese culture and history are not just about Confucianism and the cultural revolution, just as Western culture and history are far more than Christianity and slavery/colonialism/imperialism 🙂
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“Of course, Chinese culture and history are not just about Confucianism and the cultural revolution, just as Western culture and history are far more than Christianity and slavery/colonialism/imperialism ”
Interesting that you grasp the complexity and abundance of “histories” where some issues are concerned and yet somehow think one policy from one particular period of time can overwhelm the reality of centuries of time and millions upon millions of people’s lives to demonstrate the “forced assimilation” of Sino-Thais as the meaning of the history of Chinese immigration into Thailand. 🙂
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In simple terms: Thai Chinese became who they are today because their forefathers had been compelled to ditch their Chinese identity in order to be accepted as Thai citizens; the alternatives then would be either death or expulsion. There was no willing assimilation to speak of. Pure and simple. One can’t overlook this dark chapter in Thai history when it comes to discussing Thai Chinese identity of today, just as one must not dismiss the horrible history of the Stolen Generations when discussing the plight of the indigenous communities in Australia. 🙂
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Seems like nonsense to me, but then perhaps if I had a better feel for how Malaysian Chinese today are who they are because they’ve been murdered for their ethnicity in the lifetimes of many and they have chosen to live in an ethno-nationalist state that tolerates and makes use of them but never lets them think of themselves as Malaysian?
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“because they’ve been murdered for their ethnicity in the lifetimes of many …”
Care to provide some concrete evidence of Chinese Malaysians having been systematically murdered by the Malaysian state? Like how the Malays in southern Thailand were murdered by the Bangkok-based ruling elite, or how the native American tribes were virtually eliminated through forced removals, killings, and callous disregard?
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I suspect that if I had been so silly as to claim that Chinese Malaysians had been “systematically murdered by the Malaysian state” I wouldn’t be able to provide “concrete evidence” or any other kind.
Fortunately though, I didn’t claim that and so hardly think I should be expected to provide evidence.
On the other hand, anyone who wants to pretend that Chinese Malaysians have not been killed because of their ethnicity in Malaysia and would prefer instead to cast all varieties of political conflict in Thailand as somehow based in ethnicities is probably not seriously interested in “evidence” of any kind.
It would appear that the “political” from your perspective is nothing more than ethnic conflict writ large. I wonder if that is somehow down to a uniquely Malaysian viewpoint.
Things may be chaotic in Thailand, but at least politics tend to be about power and serious questioning of “who rules” rather than where your grannie was born.
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Really, Mr. Wilson, I am sure Thailand is brimming with ultranationalist Thai NGOs calling Sino-Thais the Thai version of “Pendatang” and threatening their heads. But then, how would you know if such ultras were pure Thai or had Chinese blood ? Get a grip. Thailand is NOT Malaysia and ethnic Chinese are treated far better in Bangkok where they predominate anyway. There is no comparison. Even in Indonesia, ethnic Chinese today are generally more free than in wealthier Malaysia. I know few NM readers can read Malay and thus do not read Utusan and Harakah and all the vitriol and garbage printed there.
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I quote again: “how Malaysian Chinese today are who they are because they’ve been murdered for their ethnicity in the lifetimes of many…”
So black Americans, aborigines, Southern Thai Malays and black south Africans too have been killed for their ethnicity and all this represents a unique historical experience that has shaped their understanding of ethnicity today, no?
No one denies race or ethnicity plays an important role in Malaysia; it certainly does. But to portray Thailand as being free of ethnic religious issues is as good as saying Australia and the US are ‘post-racial’. Just go to the south and talk to the local Malays, as I have done on numerous occasions 🙂
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At no point in this exchange have I attempted to “portray Thailand as being free of ethnic religious issues”. Once again you feel the need to whip together a little straw man in order to distract from what is actually being talked about here.
You have insisted that Sino Thais have been oppressed and victimized by the Thai state “for centuries” of “forced assimilation”. Anyone with a glancing familiarity with the “historical record” (which goes beyond the few decades when the Thai state did deliberately target Chinese Thais) knows that this is exaggeration and nonsense.
And mein Herr Cohen: As usual you seem to misunderstand what I was saying since your “disagreement” is just a reinforcement of what I have been saying in this drawn-out debate. It looks bad for bigots when one of their lot can’t read for comprehension.
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I still would like Wilson to provide some concrete evidence of Chinese Malaysians being murdered for their ethnicity in Malaysia so that a more meaningful and substantive discussion can ensue. If one thinks of the May 13 Incident, please bear in mind that it was a riot most probably engineered by the highest echelons of Umno, a reason why the ruling party has been refusing to launch a proper investigation but using it for political gains. I happened to visit the graveyard where many of those killed in the riot were buried and, guess what? There were Chinese, Indians and Malays among them, indicating that it was nothing like what happened to the Jews in Europe or native Americans or aborigines or southern Thai Malays, all of whom have been systematically targeted for killing by the powers-that-be.
Other than May 13, I can’t really think of any murder based on ethnicity in Malaysia, although deaths in custody involving ethnic Indians are often reported, just as the blacks in America are far more likely to be shot dead than the whites.
Last time I checked, several race-based massacres that occurred in Malaya/Malaysia over the past century were committed by either the Japanese or the British, ie. during WWII occupation and Batang Kali.
And Malaysia has witnessed nothing like what has been happening in southern Thailand, where the death toll continues to rise and the Malays there continue to live in fear on account of their ethnicity and religion. Remember: don’t just look at the assimilation issue from a Thai Chinese perspective, but from a Thai Malay perspective as well, just like whether October 10 is the Columbus Day or Indigenous Day would depend on whom one talks to, no?
Of course, the political climate in Malaysia is toxic, as it has been for decades. But many Chinese having been ‘murdered for ethnicity’? This is news to me. 🙂
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No, just Mongolian models. All the Chinese that might have been murdered since 1969, moved (wisely) to Australia. You are as naïve as Emperor Wilson. A 1965 Indonesia-like episode is hardly out of the question in Malaysia. The absence of concentration camps does not mean Malaysia is tranquil and tolerant.
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I quote:
“… the problems began just after 1900, when the government began to extend the power of the state into the peripheral regions of the kingdom. These regions, such as Pattani in the south and Isaan in the northeast, had long been autonomous regions where local affairs were managed by local elites, according to local customs. These regions were also home to non-Thai speaking ethnic groups, who were closely related to populations across international borders. As the Thai state penetrated these regions, local affairs came under the control of officials sent from Bangkok who did not understand local customs or speak the local language. The situation in both regions deteriorated during the military-dominated regimes of the 1940s through the 1970s. These governments imposed heavy-handed assimilation policies that forced minorities to adopt central Thai language and customs, further centralized political authority, and suppressed political dissent. It was during this period that the ethnic Malay groups in the south, and leftist factions in Isaan, were beginning to separately organize their resistance movements.
The origins of these two conflicts can be found in the history of centralized authority, forced assimilation of ethnic minorities, and the failure of the government to address the political grievances of the local population.”
http://asiafoundation.org/2008/04/30/in-thailand-violent-conflict-past-and-present/
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You are just going to have to carry on without me, Fei Tai Hua.
I agree 100% with that quote and its indictment of the Thai state ramming an assimilationist fist right down the throats of southern Malay Muslims.
Nothing remotely similar has ever taken place in Thai-Chinese-SinoThai relations.
You have to wonder though why it is that the conflict has intensified since Sino-Thais more or less took over the state that is doing the assimilationist fisting.
It’s been a pleasure, but your agenda is your agenda and of little interest to me.
Whatever you think you are proving about the state and status of Thais of Chinese descent by referencing the conflict in the south, Australian aborigines and Amerindian genocide is a bit of a mystery to me. I mean, of course I recognize all the strategies of a dyed-in-the-wool “internet troll”, but you keep mentioning that this is NM as if that should keep us free of such lowball nonsense.
Enjoy!
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My point has always been very simple: there were state hegemony, an ugly nationalist ideology and even violence behind the ostensibly smooth assimilation of various ethnic groups in Thailand today (and you can see I am not just talking about Thai Chinese). Despite that, the ultra-strong Thai state continues to meet resistance here and there, as can be seen in the volatile situation in the south and, to some extent, in the northeast.
If requesting Wilson to substantiate his statements constitutes ‘internet trolls’, then perhaps I have overestimated his intellectual capability 🙂
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Do Chinese who emigrate present more problems than say Irish who also emigrate to different parts of the world? I wonder.
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It is better not to go to Chinese schools to avoid propaganda from China.
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75 responses. I would be so proud if I provoked such a debate. Well done!
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Well said Fei Tai Hua. This is why I raise objections to Peter Cohen’s biblical apocalyptic anti-Malaysia hysterical ravings – eg. his “Malaysia is finished”. No it’s not. And to me it seems largely a success story.
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http://www.moe.gov.my/en/pelajaran-rendah
Straight from Malaysia’s MOE website. Please do some research before you comment just to maintain the quality of discussion. This is New Mandala, not some cheap tabloid forum.
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