(Alt title: “How can S’pore be creative and prosperous when the PAP clings to discredited. outdated theories?”)
But first, this well argued, reasoned piece appeared as a letter to TRE. It also provides the background to the explanation that the “Malay race” is a Western, colonial creation to better subjectate natives. One could argue that the PAP keeps the concept in order to play the British game of “divide and rule”.
It feels like the next Presidential Election is a failure at all levels. The government have given their reasons for reserving this next election for the Malays, following changes to the Constitution to ensure the highest office of the land reflects Singapore’s multiracial society.
While the government sees this as a way to reflect multiracial society, this have backfired on them. Where once Singaporeans don’t really see race as an issue, as this generation accepts Singapore’s diverse races living and working together, this very decision to ensure a Malay representative get the Presidency role seems to have given rise to racism.
Now, we have online netizens questioning in what constitutes of being a Malay. Three person are almost certain to be the candidates for the Presidency Election, one allegedly an Indian Muslim, one is of a Pakistani descent and one cannot even speak Malay properly. Now, everyone is questioning on what the government sees as Malay! The issue with this is that race was once not part of this political process, where people vote according to who they think will do a good job. It just so happened that no Malay candidate would run.
Now they have opened to Malays only. Isn’t this going against their open arms policy?And by having only Malays, isn’t this also a racist thing to do? Now everyone is questioning whether this Malay candidate is Malay enough, not some mixed heritage. Just because they speak Malay, does not mean one is a Malay. LKY spoke impeccable Malay, but he is not a Malay! Furthermore, one candidate cannot even speak Malay properly.
So you see? Government wants to reserve the President for a Malay, cos we have not had one for a long time. But by doing this, you are saying Malays cannot contest on their own merits. Govt must hand hold them, and let Malays challenge the not so Malays, and the winner would be a Malay. What kind of logic is that?
Fadly Yusoff
Well said Fadly Yusoff.
Coming back to blaming the Europeans for the problem where “Indians” and “Pakistanis” can be Malays in an election where only Malays can stand, blame in particular the British and an 18th century German.
In 1824, the British introduced the concept of the “Malay” race into S’pore’s psyche and political governance, when they classified the residents of S’pore into “Chinese”, “Indians”, “Malays” and “Others”.
Raffles’ views must have played a part in this classification even though by 1824 he had retired and was living in England:
The popularisation of Malay as a racial category was in essence a colonial product, the significant role of which played by the Spanish since the 17th century and that of the British since the 18th century in identifying the Archipelago as the Malay world. The view held by Thomas Stamford Raffles for example, had a significant influence on English-speakers, lasting to the present day. He should probably be regarded as the most important voice in projecting the idea of a ‘Malay’ race or nation, not limited to the traditional Raja-Raja Melayu or even their supporters, but embracing a large if unspecified part of the Archipelago.[23]William Marsden, another British “merchant-scientist,” classified the inhabitants of the Archipelago as Malays, based on religion (Islam), language (Malay) and origin.[24]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malay_world#Malay_as_a_racial_category
In the previous century, it was a German who proposed the idea of a “Malay race”:
The concept of a Malay race was originally proposed by the German scientist Johann Friedrich Blumenbach(1752–1840), and classified as a brown race.[1]Malay is a loose term used in the late 19th century and early 20th century to describe theAustronesian peoples[2] / categorize Austronesian speakers into a race.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malay_race
The people of the Malay archipelago* (the British name for the region) were not consulted about this theory nor about the British classification of races in S’pore.
The Real Malays
Yes there really are “Malays” (not just Indian Muslims and Pakistanis and other Muslims who say they are Malays, to get the goodies, one assumes):
Malays (Malay: Orang Melayu,Jawi: اورڠ ملايو) are an ethnic group of Austronesian peoples predominantly inhabiting theMalay Peninsula, eastern Sumatra and coastal Borneo, as well as the smaller islands which lie between these locations — areas that are collectively known as the Malay world …
There is considerable genetic, linguistic, cultural, and social diversity among the many Malay subgroups, mainly due to hundreds of years of immigration and assimilation of various regional ethnicity and tribes within Maritime Southeast Asia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malays_(ethnic_group)
And yes there is a place in south east Sumatra call Malayu (or Melayu).
But there is no Malay race. Malays are an ethnic group.
Read this to understand the difference between race and ethnicity.
http://www.diffen.com/difference/Ethnicity_vs_Race
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Coming back to the German and his theory,
Since Blumenbach, many anthropologists have rejected his theory of five races, citing the enormous complexity of classifying races*.
So the PAP is adhering to an outdated and discredited theory in creating a “Malay” presidency? And where only “Indians” and “Pakistanis” want to become a “Malay” president?
Given that a fifth of marriages are between people of different “races”, surely we should be moving away from thinking in terms of “race”? And then there’s this aspiration:
We, the citizens of Singapore, pledge ourselves as one united people, regardless of race, language or religion, to build a democratic society, based on justice and equality, so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress for our nation.
But then maybe the PAP is using the issue of race to play a modern day version of the British game of “divide and rule” the natives?
What do u think?
Whatever, how can S’pore be creative, let alone progress if the ruling party in a defacto one-party state refuses to change its mind on policies that no longer work or never worked in the first place?
Take the economy where the PAP
— continues to see welfare** as a bad thing except when it needs to buy votes, and
— believes that FTs are needed to keep the economy growing.
No wonder we have had restructuring plans galore (Once every decade it seems),
Practical men who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist. Madmen in authority, who hear voices in the air, are distilling their frenzy from some academic scribbler of a few years back
John Maynard Keynes
Maybe time listen to the views of this guy on how to fix S’pore’s problems? Lawyer with LLM from Cambridge who was a senior partner in the law firm where the CJ and other judges and two AGs came from.
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*And nowadays called Maritime Southeast Asia (the maritime region of Southeast Asia as opposed to mainland Southeast Asia and comprises what is now Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, and Timor Leste. An alternate term for the region is “the Indonesian Archpielgo and the Malay Peninsula”.
**To be fair to the PAP, “A shift to a welfare state is a daunting challenge that cannot be realised without raising taxes comprehensively,” says a S Korean economist taking of the Korean govt’s plans. But as Chris K and Yeoh Lam Keong keep pointing out, there’s a lot more that can be done within the present framework.
Thoughts of a Cynical Investor 