I have lived in a country where there were
only four percent Muslims. There were no Muslim holidays, Ramadan
(fasting month), mosques, azan (call to prayer), halal restaurants, or
Malay signboards. I just have to adapt. I did not expect the
country to bend backwards to please me. It is the same for other
countries in the world. Go to France, Sweden, the USA, China, and India.
They are all the same.
It is not about being second-class
citizens, it is about living in a country where 70 percent of the
population is different from you. Our forefathers had decided that Malaya would be called the Federation of Malay States. They accepted the reality, and so should we.
On the Other Hand: Did the Malays in Kedah, Perlis,
Kelantan and Terengganu assimilate and take on Siamese names when they
were part of the Kingdom of Siam, where the majority of the population
were Buddhists?
Are you trying to justify racial apartheid, @Pink? In the country that you stayed in, no one banned halal restaurants. You were always free to set one up yourself. In
Malaysia, radical Muslims expect non-Muslims to conform to a Muslim way
of life, against their will. Your comment is full of half-truths and
falsities.
Amadeus: @Pink, you mentioned you
lived in another country, which you were not born in and ‘I adapt’.
Here, we are born, some have been here for generations, not one or two. I'm the fifth generation born in Malaysia. And yet, as non-Malays/ Muslims, we are still called pendatangs (foreigners).
We
are being discriminated and if one starts doing research on immigrants,
90 percent of us are pendatangs. Some Malays are from Jawa and Aceh in
Indonesia or even from Pakistan, aeons ago.
PurpleGopher1703: I concur with assimilation, however, the examples given by @Pink may be slightly flawed, or else everyone including the minority in China will be eating pork.
Having lived abroad, the West is liberal and accepts diversity. I worked in London in healthcare, there are many Pakistanis, Bengalis, and Somalis in the field. The
local council made it a point to have appointed translators and
provided leaflets plus service signages in various languages (to help
others understand) including Urdu.
Yes, they also allow Muslim
ladies to wear headscarves and have laws against discrimination against
minorities. They do a lot to welcome minorities and foster integration. Privileges
are afforded to minorities including quicker access to housing,
healthcare, and social services. Malaysia is the opposite now,
unfortunately.
TTSH: @Pink, the Chinese are a
minority, but many have lived in Malaysia their whole lives, - and we
are not a paltry tiny four percent. We are all Malaysians. As for
the US and the European countries, the migrants have a choice here. Why
run away from your motherland where you are the majority to a foreign
land that does not speak your language?
The fact that you are escaping from your country of origin means you are being oppressed by your own race. So,
you should be appreciative of your adopted countries, and assimilate
into their societies. Do not expect the Western countries to change for
you. Who are we to them?
Don't think the Western countries are not
fed up with the migrants and refugees, who weigh heavily on their
financial system? On top of that, these migrants create problems for
their societies.
Angin Lintang: @Pink, you once lived in a country that had four percent Muslims. Were you unfairly treated? If you were, do let us know how and in what way. No
Ramadan, no Raya, no Malay signboards are unfair treatments? I hope
you're not thinking this. If you are, obviously something is very wrong
with you.
Malaysia was formed as a multi-cultural country. I need
not go further than that. Whatever country that you have lived in is
foreign land, to you. Almost all non-Malays are worried about PAS
coming into power. Almost all Malays who are smart enough share the same
fear. It is about the country's economy. Our livelihoods regardless of
race or religion.
Only those who are so fearful of facing
afterlife judgment for whatever they have committed or going to commit
believe that by supporting PAS, they can give them a support letter in
the afterlife.
So go figure.