I know, the title of this post just doesn’t make sense to most of you, but I was stunned to hear racist statements coming from fellow Malaysians who are shallow in their thinking. Why? We all know the outbreak of swine flu in Mexico and now spreading fast to other parts of the world, especially in North America. The thing is swine flu caused by H1N1 virus (almost similar to H5N1, Avian Flu) is not something new. Most animals can be infected with respiratory disease just like human. Similarly, swine flu is a respiratory disease normally found in pigs and caused by type A influenza viruses.
Prior to the sudden outbreak in Mexico, reports on swine flu infection on human were documented but they were very rare just like avian flu. What causes the major outbreak is still under investigation, though some experts have suggested that pig farmers in Mexico are trying to cut cost by not using influenza vaccine to prevent swine flu on their pigs.
Now, what pisses me off is that in Malaysia, some people are trying to link swine flu with pork eaters (to be exact, non-Muslims) by spreading racist statements. I personally heard a mid-30 woman said (translated) "Never mind, we won’t get swine flu because we don’t eat pork. Let them die with their pork!" And another guy supported her by saying "Yeah, who ask them to open so many pig farms, now they deserve it!". The most annoying statement followed after that (which I don’t want to translate) "Babi betul lah babi ni, sama juga orang babi! Bagi mampos semua!" I was very very angry yet I just keep quiet because I was not in the mood to confront them at that time, was busy with some urgent matters.
But tell me, don’t you think those statements are racist? And coming from two people who are supposed to be educated, reflect just how far our nation has grown into. First and foremost, swine flu virus is airborne, meaning it can spread through air and not transmitted by food. Just because you don’t take pork, doesn’t mean you’re safe from swine flu! Second, why are those people so happy when other people are suffering from the disease? You think they want it to happen? My goodness…. Maybe they are just among the very few who have such shallow thoughts, but hearing it just hurt your ears especially in a nation that promotes racial harmony and tolerance. At the very least, we show some sympathy towards those are infected and not diverting it to some petty issues like pork eaters or pig farmers. Sad, but it’s perhaps a reality that we need to face.
You can refer to CDC website on Swine Flu or Mnistry of Health Malaysia for more info.
(Pictures courtesy of AFP)
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Dear Alif,
First of all, I cannot understand why you can take what I have posted completely out of context. If you have read it carefully, I have stated very clearly that I'm disappointed by those people who can make a disease as an racist issue and I stated accurately that it doesn't represent the Malays as a whole. But for a University lecturer to say such things openly cannot be accepted.
Secondly, I feel very sad because you prejudge me without even getting to know me. You claimed everything about Chinese (though in my post, I didn't say anything about Chinese being not racist, etc as per your claim). Let me clear things for you:
1. I am educated in a Chinese primary school but pursue my secondary education in sekolah kebangsaan, which 90% of my friends are Malay (even until now).
2. I speak and write fluent Malay or Bahasa Melayu. You said we (the non-Malay) should learn Bahasa Melayu, but did you ever thought of learning Mandarin or Tamil? For your information, I learnt Thai, Tamil and Arab in school just to get to know other races better. (I'm from Kelantan by the way). I have a lot of Malay friends in my chinese school who can speak and write Mandarin. The way they see things are totally different.
3. You talk about lack of Chinese people in the armed forces and police. I totally agree with you. But if you learn Chinese culture, you would know that it's not because we're not patriotic, it's a taboo in our culture to be in armed forces due to China's long history of war since the dynasty years. If you look at China, most of them who are in the army and police are forced to do so, if not they will be executed. And politically, you should know why the government wouldn't allow more non-Malays in. (Nanti takut kita memberontak pulak bak kata bekas Menteri Pertahanan).
And by the way, my cousin, my 2 uncles are in the army. Two of them are Sergeants and one is Major.
4. I feel pity that you try to befriend with the Chinese but they ignore you. Perhaps, they couldn't find a common topic of interest. Well, why not befriend with me? I'm more than happy to get to know you. You can add me on my Facebook.
Akhir kalam, jangan cepat membuat kesimpulan tanpa belajar memahami semua perkara. Kadang-kadang, kalau kita buka pintu hati untuk pelajari benda atau budaya orang lain, kita akan lebih mudah untuk bersatu hati seperti Nabi Muhammad memahami puak-puak bukan Islam zamanNya.
well said KeeMan!
So heart warming to see the olive branch! Viva your friendship, Keeman & Alif!
if we look at the brits, the language is what unites them. Purely English. This is purely language use. The theory of language politeness argues tt we should always include people in our discussions. eg. a group of Kelantanese should refrain to talk in their thick dialect when they see a non-kelantanese in the group. Respecting the other person is more important so the language to be used in this situation shud jes be plain malay. biar semua faham and not get excluded. hence, peace and understnding.
to be honest i really have no idea why people have free times to insult people==...
why can't be like 40 years ago... people play together footballs fishing and etc
haiz... now a days i really cant be fuck of people insulting me... or something
the only things that pissed me off is when the goverment is trying to take every single things away from us
Jonas, well said, forget the government, the people need to lead the way. Go make a friend of another community, bring them home, invite them for a meal, listen to their story, and give a shoulder...that's all it takes...be a leader!