Compromise works both ways

Compromise works both ways

Posted by Raja Petra
Monday, 17 March 2008, MT


Scream about a 'one-Malaysia' by all means. Demand that all races be considered Malaysian and not Malays, Chinese and Indians, if that makes you happy. But make sure your actions match your words. And if you scream 'no compromise', then expect no compromise in return.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

I was at a party on Saturday night and one Chinese man who sat beside me commented that 'we Chinese are scared of PAS because we don't want Malaysia to be turned into Iran'. I then asked him what exactly is it like in Iran and he was at a loss for words. He could not reply to my question. I then asked him if he had ever gone to Iran and he shook his head. Had he even gone to Kota Bharu? No!

I then commented that if I see dark clouds in the sky and if I hear thunder, I can safely assume that it will rain. “Can I in turn ask you, what are the signs that gives you the impression PAS will turn Malaysia into Iran?” I asked this Chinese man. He muttered below his breath that 'this is just what we Chinese think'.

“Sure, there must be a reason as to why Chinese think this way,” I replied. “What are the reasons?” He did not reply.

“Okay,” I continued. “Why do the Chinese assume that Malaysia will turn into Iran (though this certain Chinese man had no clue as to what it was like in Iran). Why can't you instead assume that Malaysia will be turned into Turkey?”

Again, he did not respond. “Do you know that in Turkey they 'ban' the use of the tudung? One woman Member of Parliament was in fact told to leave the Parliament building when she entered Parliament wearing a tudung. That is even 'better' than Malaysia. In Malaysia, you choose whether to wear it or not. In Turkey, they forbid you from wearing it.”

The Chinese man shook his head and gave me a 'I did not know all that' look. He then 'closed the subject' by saying, “That is what the rural Chinese think. I am from the rural area. Maybe the Chinese in town think differently.” This was actually a no-answer answer but I thought I too would drop the subject because this certain Chinese man had no clue what he was talking about and merely expressed his views based on what he fantasised in his mind. In fact, many Chinese I have met share this same mentality. They make assumptions based on what they imagine to be the truth rather than based on what they have personally experienced. Most times it would be stories they pick up at coffee shops and restaurants related by so-called experts who not only have never visited a Muslim country but have never even been to Kelantan.

Another Chinese man who had been listening to the entire 'debate' stood up and, quite perturbed, said, “You people spend so much money flying all over the world but you never take the trouble to visit Kelantan to see the situation there for yourself. You believe all the government propaganda and yet you say that the mainstream newspapers can't be trusted and print lies.”

Chinese are quick to point out that this country practices racial discrimination and that Malays are racists. They refuse to wear a songkok because they argue that this tantamount to racial discrimination and they refuse to be forced to wear something that they do not wish to wear. Dressing should be voluntary, they will argue, not compulsory. And if the dressing is 'Malay', then certainly they will not want to be forced into wearing it.

When Chinese enter the Parliament building, even just as an observer, they will have to wear a proper suit and tie. A suit and tie is not Chinese dressing (nor Malay), but this appears to be no problem for the Chinese. A suit is not part of Chinese culture at all. It is Kwailo (Mat Salleh) culture. And the Chinese are being forced to wear something 'colonial' or western in Parliament. But never have the Chinese protested about being 'forced' to wear a suit and tie. The Chinese accept this as the mandatory dress code for entering Parliament. But if the suit happens to be Malay dressing or part of Malay culture, then the Chinese will protest like mad and will boycott Parliament until the mandatory dress code ruling is removed.

The bottom line is, the Chinese will protest only if the dress code is Malay. During APEC meetings, Chinese are made ('forced') to wear the costumes of the host country. But as long as it is Australian, New Zealand, Japanese, Vietnamese, Chinese, Thai, Filipino, etc., this poses no problem. Just don't force the Chinese to wear a 'Malay' outfit.

Are the Chinese opposed to being forced into a dress code and opposed to being forced to wear something against their will or are the Chinese just opposed to being forced to wear something 'Malay'? The issue appears to be that the Chinese are not anti-dress code but just anti-Malay dress code.

If you come to the National Press Club (NPC), whether as a guest or member, there is a dress code to observe there too. You can't wear slippers, shorts and slippers, which many of my Chinese friends like to wear. When they come to the NPC as my guest, I am forced to advice my Chinese friends to wear pants, a collared shirt and shoes. Many a time my guests came not properly attired and they were asked to leave. I had to profusely apologise to my guests and explain that the management is very strict about the dress code. It is quite embarrassing when I have to tell my guests to leave because they are not properly dressed. But they understand this and do not hold it against me. Some even go home to change their clothes and come back again.

One chap who came in shoes and pants but was wearing a T-shirt also faced the same problem. His only problem was the T-shirt though, so I asked him to buy a long-sleeve shirt from the club and that solved the problem. He was allowed to stay but the others had to leave because the club only sold shirts, not pants and shoes.

The shoes, pants and long-sleeve shirt is not Chinese. It is not Malay as well. But that is the dress code for the club so everyone complies without protest. No one argues about being 'forced' against their will to dress in a 'colonial' dressing. No one declares that they are boycotting the club because of the 'racist' dress code in spite of all of us having to look like black, brown and yellow Englishmen. However, I can assume, and I have good reason to assume so, that if the National Press Club dress code was a songkok, there would be many who will protest at being 'forced' to wear something that they do not wish to wear. But if the NPC changes that dress code to an American baseball cap then that would be accepted without protest though none of us are white Americans.

Yes, Malays are racists. Umno is racist as well. The Malaysian government is racist too. But the Chinese are no less guilty of being racists. Can I sum up by saying that all Malaysians, irrespective of race, are racists.

If Umno Melaka were to announce that there are ten datukships for sale at RM250,000 per datukship, 300 Chinese will rush forward and in ten minutes all ten will be sold. But datukships are a Malay feudal thing. A datuk has to pay homage to a Malay ruler. You will become the subject of that ruler. Isn't this undignified for a Chinese who now has to kowtow to a Malay just like how the Chinese had to do so in the old days when the British ruled part of China?

Then they receive the invitation cards to come to the palace -- or the governor's residence for states without rulers. And the invitation card stipulate the dress code. The Chinese recipients of these datukships will rush out and spend RM5,000 or so on a new suit so that they can go to the palace or governor's residence to accept their datukships. The dressing is actually very unique and they will proudly have their photograph taken and will hang this giant photograph on the wall so that everyone who comes to their house or office can see them dressed in these very weird clothes while receiving their datukships. And if they have to wear a songkok then they will wear a songkok. After all, what is a RM10 songkok compared to the RM250,000 datukship and RM5,000 monkey suit.

They are being 'forced' to pay RM250,000 for a Malay feudal datukship. They are being 'forced' to wear a 'colonial' Mat Salleh monkey suit to go receive their datukship. If they do not observe the dress code then they cannot go receive their RM250,000 datukship. But they regard it as 'observing' the dress code, not being 'forced' to wear something against their will. But if it is a songkok then it is 'forcing'.

How do you reconcile the mind and 'value system' of the Chinese? When does 'observing the mandatory dress code' become 'forcing'? Only when it involves the songkok?

The Chinese insist that we are all Malaysians. We must not be categorised as Malays, Chinese or Indians. We must be regarded as one race, a Malaysian race. But we still want to be Chinese and not 'forced' into a common identity. And the songkok is Malay, not Malaysian, as far as the Chinese are concerned. What then would the Chinese consider as Malaysian? If you are not supposed to be bare-headed and if your head must be covered, what would be acceptable to the Chinese? Would they rather the cowboy hat be the Malaysian dress code? Or maybe a baseball cap? What would the Chinese accept as the proper uniform to use on one's head? Anything as long as it is not Malay?

The Chinese have to take a long, hard look at themselves and ask whether they are equally racist. Dress codes are common all over the world. Certain restaurants will not allow you in unless you wear a tie and suit. They will even loan you a tie and coat if you walk in not properly dressed. Never have I heard that the Chinese will protest and boycott the restaurant that forces them to observe these dress codes even though this type of dressing is not Chinese but very colonial. Only if the restaurant stipulates that the dress code includes a songkok will the Chinese protest. And this is because the songkok is Malay. So is it the dress code that the Chinese find offensive or is it what they perceive as the Malay part of the dress code that they find offensive?

They defend their resistance by saying that this is not their personal feeling. This resistance is only to please the Chinese population who will feel betrayed if the Chinese they voted into office compromises with the Malays. Finally, they admit the real reason for the resistance. It is so that the Chinese voters will not think they have compromised with the Malays. It is all about not being seen to have compromised with the Malays. Do the Chinese, therefore, have any right to demand that the Malays compromise with the Chinese?

Scream about a 'one-Malaysia' by all means. Demand that all races be considered Malaysian and not Malays, Chinese and Indians, if that makes you happy. But make sure your actions match your words. And if you scream 'no compromise', then expect no compromise in return. And this entire piece is not at all about the songkok. It is about Chinese resistance to what they perceive as Malay and their stand of no compromise. To be honest, even I do not like wearing a songkok. But that is not because I am anti-Malay.