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The best thing about United State of America she treat her people equal. When they sing the national anthem they put their hearts to the nation because they know the nation will not let them down.
I can understand people discriminate me but I will never understand why my country do. You tell me how can I put my nation first when the nation take me as seconds. When will my beloved country going call me in where I can get refuge and shelter.

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Excellent article with in-depth analysis and clear presentation. Now we know more about Rocky's Bru and Deminegara.

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America is a melting pot and Malaysia is a mosaic of cultures. In America there is freedom and homogeneity. In Malaysia we still have race and religious discrimination. So we cannot compare both nations.

Thailand has never been a colony and do not share the same history like us. The British experience has changed the landscape of Malaysia permanently. So again we cannot compare.

Malaysia is unique. It is based on multiculturalism rather than homogeneity. Many languages, many races, many religious and many cultures. There is no other country like this. None! That is how we freely chose to live. For, that is how we lived for the past 150 years, and have developed that tradition.

Language is no issue as all malaysians speak the national language. With that we cannot ask any more of malaysians. What we can learn from America are the freedoms sans the discrimination, which is what makes America a nation great.

We are wasting time discussing this issue, for it is not up for discussion. My race (whatever it means), religion, culture, language and my interests is not up for discussion, is outside the public sphere. I will decide all those matters.

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How about TRUST to begin with. Then there are a few other things that come to mind... Ummm... lets see. Ethics. Principles. Open Mindedness. Respect ( I mean true respect, not the asian version) Egalitarianism ( as suggested by talk2stop) I think I should include Honesty too cos that goes hand in hand with Trust

But basically there is no difference between the USA and Malaysia... its just a matter of balance. With Malaysia the balance is all wrong

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Malaysia should learn from the US about being concerned for its citizen through thick and thin.

America is still reeling from an acute economic downturn, yet it is still paying attention to the welfare of its people and residents.

A classic example is my daughter who just graduated two weeks ago from their University, have just been employed by one of its established companies.

What about the graduates from the Malaysian Universities?

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America is no beacon for democracy. In the last 8 years, Bush destroyed what was left of it. They literally ripped their values and their constitution apart. They are in contempt of international codes of ethics, ergo Gitmo etc. They have squandered their moral high ground.
Their Patriots Act is more sinister than our ISA. Gitmo has thrown out habeas corpus altogether. They spy on their own people. etc.
They like us have bigoted people, racial supremacists, religious extremist, full of hatred. Americans are very parochial, xenophobic - very inward looking, very arrogant and very naive. We are similar in these respects.
There is no equality as they say they are. They get very upset if the State helps the poor. They call that socialism or even communism and that is a no-no. The poor have no public safety nets. If you are poor the US is unforgiving. If uninsured, don't get sick!
They are a bad role model. I know, I live here (USA)

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densemy,

This cannot be true or just simply sheer exageration:

It is quite clear that there is NOTHING about the Malay lifestyle that other races think is worth embracing.

How about Malays' "sopan-santun" and being naunced in putting forward our cases? You have seen Melaka Baba and Nyonya, under no polical pressure, adapt some Malay lifestyle at their own pace, right?

bexe,
As bad as Patriots Act, it is not used for incarserating US's own citizens without trial. If you don't see this as glaring difference from ISA, I simply don't believe you live in USA.

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tenang
perhaps you forgot about Jose Padilla. May I refresh you. http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=3208
Whatever it is my friend, I cannot condone having these tools available so that a less than honest politician may use it at his choosing and at our peril. Not under any circumstance and using national security as an excuse is insidious. You are seeing the logic of this with what is being revealed by the likes of Cheny.

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bexe,
I have no qualm on your second posted comment. But are you still stand by your initial assertion that "Their Patriots Act is more sinister than our ISA", after you read the link you have provided yourself?

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Quote:
This is too important a question to let the likes of Deminegara (or his friend Rocky) decide for us.

Pseudo intellectuals like Deminegara and self proclaimed representative of ALL bloggers like Rocky can take a flying F**K at the moon for all I care.

Let me state upfront that I too called for vernacular schools to be abolished over time(not overnight), but not by force, and a one school system based on unity not asymiliation, it must fade out by attrition.
Before this so many reforms need to be undertaken.

I want to ask the likes of Deminegara and Rocky,
are you willing to abolish all Malay rights under article 153 ?
Why is the great Samy Velu silent now ? When Mukhriz suggested something similar he asked for the sedition act to be used against Mukhriz.

A referendum on issues like vernacular schools is a waste of time and a forgone conclusion, lets do referendums on matters of more immediate urgency lets start 2 referendums.

1) Nationwide referendum- keep, revise or totally abolish ISA.
2) State wide referendum - maintain status quo or dissolve Perak state assembly.


Vijay Kumar Murugavell

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@ temenggong,

Thanks for commenting on my article, I have always appreciated your insights (here & elsewhere in MToday) very much.

However, I'd like to share the following:

From Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melting_pot:

"In the United States, where the term melting pot is still commonly used, despite being largely disregarded by modern sociologists as an outdated and diffuse term, the ideas of cultural pluralism and multiculturalism have largely replaced the idea of assimilation."

From "Understanding American Culture - From Melting Pot to Salad Bowl" http://www.culturalsavvy.com/u...ulture.htm:

"The old "melting pot" metaphor is giving way to new metaphors such as "salad bowl" and "mosaic", mixtures of various ingredients that keep their individual characteristics. Immigrant populations within the United States are not being blended together in one "pot", but rather they are transforming American Society into a truly multicultural mosaic."

Based on the above, I'd say that America & Malaysia are both multicultural countries, and some best practices may indeed be relevant & worth applying. However, I agree with you that basic freedoms & human rights have been neglected in Malaysia; all the more reason to make them central to the "Malaysian Dream", (as you yourself have pointed out).

I strongly agree with you that one's religion, culture and language (amongst other things) are not, and must never be, up for discussion. These are matters for the individual and not to be interfered with by government or anyone else.

Let us be clear, however, that whether we acknowledge it or not, certain parties in Malaysia are hell bent on bringing these very issues into the public realm for discussion and re-negotiation, in effect turning back the clock to pre-Merdeka times.

These people perceive race relations in Malaysia as a zero-sum "war"; instead of "defending", what they are doing is "going on the offensive" by "opening a new front": questioning minority human rights, cloaked in the language of "nation-building" and "patriotism". If this tactic succeeds, they will achieve their primary objective which is "ketuanan". Even if it fails to achieve their primary objective, they can still claim a "victory", because:
- it puts civil society & progressive groups on the defensive and inhibits them from questioning corruption, cronyism and the abuse of Malay privileges.
- when minorities object to it, they can be portrayed as hypocritical, ungrateful, selfish & unpatriotic
- in tandem with any insensitive overreaction by minorities (such as is easily found in MToday comments, e.g. calling a community "repressive" and "backward looking"), it will deepen negative racial sentiments in Malaysia, rolling back any progress we have made in race relations leading up to 8/3/08.

Make no mistake, It is part a larger strategy that has been well thought out & planned in the aftermath of 8/3/08, and is being meticulously executed even as we speak, in the media and blogosphere, in the royal palaces and the "sandiwara" of BN politicians.

If we do not want them to succeed, we must do more than stamp our feet & claim that certain areas are "out of bounds". Since civil society & progressive groups have been quite vocal in challenging the corruption & cronyism that thrive in similar "out of bounds" areas, the onus is now on us to show how these two areas are qualitatively different & distinguishable.

We need to counter their poisonous tactics with fair, principled & honest arguments. This will take intense engagement & debate wherever Malaysians discuss & exchange ideas. We may need to link up, coordinate & work together, just as they already are doing quite well.

Our Alternative Vision for Malaysia's future is compelling, but much work remains to be done by us before it can be realised. I would never consider any effort in aid of that noble cause a waste of time.

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Tenang
The answer is yes because it is shrouded in hypocrisy
Just watch as the congress forces BHO's hand to extend detenrion without trial. This is ongoing as we blog. Cheers

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Slight edit on my response to temenggong:

Please change the paragraph:

I strongly agree with you that one's religion, culture and language (amongst other things) are not, and must never be, up for discussion. These are matters for the individual and not to be interfered with by government or anyone else.

to read:

I strongly agree with you that one's right to practice the religion, culture and language of one's choice(amongst other things) must never be interfered with by government or anyone else.

In effect, I'm saying that while we must be able to (& indeed, should) respectfully discuss all topics (even sensitive ones), nobody & no government has the right to infringe on our right to freely adopt & practice our religion, culture and language.

The problem with defining certain areas as "out of bounds" for discussion, is that others may do so too, for the purpose of enjoying corruption, cronyism & nepotism without fear of censure. If we want to be able to challenge theirs, we in turn must be prepared to answer challenges to ours.

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