Basket.
Angry little men, going about their angry little lives.The honour is mine.
Friday, November 28, 2003
I say this because today in the New Paper I see again a large headline going "PSLE: Malays deprove in Maths and English" (or something to that effect). I mean, who has ever seen "O Levels: Chinese improve in languages" or "A Levels: Indians do better in science". No one, I am willing to wager. But when it is Malays, they get headlines and a report and lots of attention.
I read on with some amusement and find that even though they give the breakdowns for all four major races, the Malay graph is extra big and highlighted. Um, what the hell?
What is so special about Malays that they get headline news and a report centering about then whenever, say, a Malay opens a successful business (OMG FIRST MALAY ENTREPRENEUR TO WIN AWARD OMG LOL!!!1!!1), a Malay becomes an airforce pilot (OMG PERCENTAGE OF MALAY AIRFORCE PILOTS UP BY X % OMG LOL!!!1!!1) or an army officer (OMG FIRST MALAY SAF OFFICER OMG OMG OMG!!!!!1!!1!). You get the idea.
As above, you never, ever have the newspapers make a big fuss when the other races do anything of the sort.
What is the reason for this double standard? Singapore is supposed to be a meritocratic society. Which means everyone is treated equally and has equal opportunities (unlike across a certain bridge ^_^). This isa good thing, and I applaud it. It is also the reason why no one race ought to get the spotlight over another, or the others, in this case. Malays are human and Singaporean like any of us, and their achievements should not be magnified or trumpeted this way if the same is not done to any of the other races.
What is the reason for this double standard anyway? I see no tangible benefits in it. And unlike what TIME magazine once suggested (and even dared support with figures), Singapore Malays are not an oppressed minority. They get the same opportunities as us all. It is true they have a smaller percentage of university graduates and a higher percentage of drug addicts (as TIME magazine kindly provided), but this is not the result of any discriminatory policies of any sort.
The media should stop coddling one race over another. Period.
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