1 Malaysia ... From the Colonialist Eyes.

Are we really united under the 1 Malaysia concept? I do not think so as we are deeply divided by race ....and this was even true years ago in the eyes of the colonialist... I read a book by Farish A Noor entitled "What Your Teacher Didn't Tell You" (Vol 1) - it's a very thought provoking book, try and read it - and came across of what C. G. Warnford-Lock in his "Mining in Malaya for Gold and Tin" (1907) had to say about the three main races in Malaya then and he wrote: "By nature, the Malay is an idler, the China man is a thief and the Indian is a drunkard. Yet each, in his special class of work is both cheap and efficient when properly supervised." The Malays were even compared with the native Americans or Aborigines where the travel writer Isabella Bird was saying in her travelogue "The Golden Chersonese" as below: " Civilised as they are, they (the Malays) do not leave any more impression on a country than a Red Indian would." Quite an interesting observation by these Westerners and from Farish A Noor's, things have not change much since then till now. We are still divided by race and race somehow or rather translated into the profession or strata of each race in the society. Each of the race could easily be "manipulated" by playing the racist sentiments by our dominantly political parties based on communal/race. It is also interesting if we change the words " when properly supervised" in what Warnford-Lord wrote to " ... when properly manipulated." People, we have been manipulated for such a long period and it is time for us to stand up and make things right in 2013!!! This had been happening right from those colonial days till now by different people/political parties but with the same intent and purpose as the Colonialists i.e. divide and rule!!! Happy New Year 2013 to all....