SOME CHINESE ARE CLUELESS

‘Be Way’ also said Malays are lazy because they eat in Indian Muslim (Mamak) shops instead of opening their own restaurants. If you were to tour Kuala Lumpur you will see many Chinese eating in Mamak shops as well. How many Mamak shops are owned and operated by Chinese? Does this mean Chinese are also lazy because there are no Chinese-owned Mamak shops in Kuala Lumpur?

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Respectfully Malays can be considered lazy as there is no country in this world where the sons of the land can’t even open, operate and own their own restaurant in their own country. They eat in Mamak India restaurants, hid themselves either in kampong or working in no risk Government service or GLC. — Be Way

That was a comment posted by a reader who goes by the name of ‘Be Way’. There are no details as to the identity of this person. There is no real name or photograph on this person’s Facebook but it appears like this person is a Malaysian who is either studying or working in Taiwan.

Normally I would not bother to approve anonymous comments posted by people who just want to throw ‘racial’ stones and hide their hands. You can scream freedom of speech and all that but you need to be accountable for what you say. Hence if you are too cowardly to reveal your identity then you do not deserve freedom of speech.

What is the purpose of comments such as the above anyway? Is this meant to start an intellectual debate as to why the Malays are by nature lazy? If so then I would be very happy to engage you in a discourse. But you need to be brave enough to reveal yourself and not throw stones while hiding your hands.

‘Be Way’ said Malays hid(e) themselves either in kampung(s) or (by) working in no risk government service or GLC(s). What does this mean? How do you hide yourself by remaining in kampungs or by working for the government or government-linked companies?

‘Be Way’ also said Malays are lazy because they eat in Indian Muslim (Mamak) shops instead of opening their own restaurants. If you were to tour Kuala Lumpur you will see many Chinese eating in Mamak shops as well. How many Mamak shops are owned and operated by Chinese? Does this mean Chinese are also lazy because there are no Chinese-owned Mamak shops in Kuala Lumpur?

And if a Chinese does open a Mamak shop will it be called a Mamak shop or will it be called a Chinese shop? It is called a Mamak shop because the shop is owned and run by Mamaks. If it is owned and run by Chinese you would not call it a Mamak shop. You would call it a Chinese shop even if that shop does have roti canai on its menu.

In fact, some Chinese shops do have roti canai, nasi lemak, rendang, and so on, on its menu. But you do not call these shops Mamak shops. You call them kopitiams. And kopitiams offer Indian (Mamak), Baba/Nonya (Straits Chinese), and Malay cuisine as well.

‘Be Way’, who I suspect is in Taiwan, may not have travelled to Terengganu or Kelantan. If he (or she) had, then he/she would have seen many (and I do mean many) Hainanese Chicken Rice shops owned and run by Malays. They sell only chicken rice and nothing else. And some of these chicken rice shops are so popular that the customers are non-stop from breakfast to midnight, every day of the week, Fridays included.

Why are there no Chinese owned and run Hainanese Chicken Rice shops in Terengganu and Kelantan? There are many Chinese living in Terengganu and Kelantan. But they own and run furniture shops, supermarkets, pharmacies, car dealerships, motorcycle dealerships, finance companies (many which are actually loan sharks or money lenders), hotels, and so on. But none own and run Hainanese Chicken Rice shops. The Malays control that market.

Some Chinese salesmen who need to travel to Terengganu and Kelantan at least once or twice a month complain that during the fasting month of Ramadhan they find it very difficult because most eating shops would be closed during the day and only open around tea-time. Hence they cannot find a place to eat.

Why is this so? Well, it is because most of the shops are owned and run by Malays so they close during the day during Ramadhan and only open in the evenings. Does this not mean the Malays practically monopolise the restaurant business in Terengganu and Kelantan?

So people like ‘Be Way’ need to be more sensible in their comments. Just because Malays do not own and run Mamak shops in Kuala Lumpur does not mean Malays are lazy. Go to Terengganu and Kelantan and see how industrious and resourceful the Malays there are.

Many Malays who migrated to the cities such as Kuala Lumpur did so in search of work, not to open restaurants (although some Malays do in some parts of Kuala Lumpur). Many Chinese migrate to other countries for the same reason as well, such as those Chinese who go to Singapore or come to the UK. You cannot expect 18 million Malays to all open and run eating shops.

In that same spirit, why do Malaysian Chinese migrate to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and many European countries to look for work? Why are these Chinese too lazy to stay in Malaysia and open a restaurant?

In fact, Malaysian Chinese do not need to leave Malaysia in search of work — estimated at about one million overseas Malaysians. They can join the army or police or become prison guards. Of course, just like the Malays, these Chinese would earn a mere few hundred Ringgit a month and you can earn more than that just selling pirated DVDs.

The problem is Malays do not mind earning RM700 or RM800 a month to do ‘dirty’ work while this type of career is too beneath the Chinese. But for RM3,000 a month or more Chinese would probably be quite prepared to do such work but then they will have to migrate to Singapore to earn that type of salary.

There are times, however, when even Malays will not want to do the dirty work at very low pay. So the Chinese businessmen need to employ immigrant labour. But even immigrant labour can be expensive if done the legal way so they prefer to employ the illegal immigrants, which is far cheaper since they are illegal. We even have that problem in Manchester’s Chinatown, not only in Sungai Buloh. Did you know that even Hong Leong’s housing project employs illegal Indonesian labourers (or at least Hong Leong’s contractors do)?

Why does Hong Leong not insist that all their contractors employ only Malaysians, not immigrants, legal or otherwise? There are many Malaysian Chinese working overseas. Can’t they go back to Malaysia and work with Hong Leong building houses for a few Ringgit a day?

We should look at this issue not from the lenses of race. Just because Indian Muslims own and run Mamak shops and Malays do not own and run Mamak shops does not make Malays lazy. And just because Malays are prepared to work for the government at a few hundred Ringgit a month when the Chinese will not do that does not mean the Malays are ‘hiding’. After all, the Malays are doing the jobs that are not good enough for the Chinese anyway. And if the Malays will not do that work then you would need to employ foreign labour.

And is this not another issue, too much foreign labour in Malaysia? So be grateful that there are at least some Malays who are prepared to work for less than RM1,000 a month. And don’t call them lazy because they work for pittance. Would the ‘hardworking’ Chinese do these jobs if the Malays will not?