steadyaku47

Tuesday 14 April 2015

Ks Ong - his take on "Chinese Preferred".


steadyaku47 comment : Ks sent me the following comment to the article I posted Quickies : Chinese Preferred!  

I agree with Ks that it is already a fact that Malays/Bumiputras are in the majority in the federal and state cabinets, government services, GLCs, universities etc - but then why is this Umno led BN government still able to use the "Chinese are taking over " scare mongering phrase so effectively to galvanize the Malays into a frenzy or religious and racial outpourings upon the Chinese at will? Why?  

 

 

Ks Ong

27 minutes ago  -  Shared publicly
 
I had been through trying for jobs soon after introduction of NEP, and it was common to see advertisements with 'Only Bumiputeras need apply' and 'Bumiputeras preferred'. Now, it is already a fact that Malays/Bumiputeras are in the majority in the federal and state cabinets, government service, GLCs, universities, and so on.

The advert shown would have been less obvious in a Chinese paper, especially when even a Chinese like myself cannot read Chinese. It would have been better without the offensive 'Chinese preferred' as the preference for those who can speak Mandarin would have shortlisted applicants.

I had a number of times explained how a Chinese family business would prefer someone who can speak their own dialect, especially when the patriarch or matriarch  cannot speak other languages and are more comfortable with those who speak their dialect. Especially in Perak, many Indians and even Malays can speak Chinese dialects which could put some Chinese to shame. They are happily employed in some Chinese businesses. Then we have the demand for foreigners which are mainly exploited to work in jobs which locals would not be inclined to do. So it is not discrimination but more on what the employers expect of the employees.

Recently, I asked a spare parts shop owner about his employees and his comment seems relevant: My Malay employee prefers to work 3 days a week but my Indian employee would get angry if told to take a day off, simply because the job is daily paid! This might be generalisation but it goes deeper. The employer is likely to state his requirements instead of pretending. In UK, because of Race Discrimination Act, discrimination is more discreet.

Often Malays criticised Chinese controlled certain industries, like hardware and so on. If there is a will, especially with lots of government encouragement and help, Malays should have their own cartels in businesses already. Like necessity is the mother of invention, adversity have shown how some Chinese prospered.

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