Of late, the mainstream media seem to be bragging of how in two instances, two multilingual cops saved the day. One helped a senior citizen to write a police report (conversing in Hockkein) whilst the other helped to negotiate 2 warring factions who were at logger-heads via his skill in Hockkein. Big deal, kudos to the police for being community friendly, bullocks!
The mediator ruled that the Indian family could only cook curry when the Chinese family was not at home
It might work in the 50s and 60s, but in 2011, 54 years after independence? Two bona fide Blue I/C holders and Malaysian citizens communicating like a chicken talking to a toad? You cannot blame the education system as Malaysia boasts of 98% literacy rate.
I remember a friend of mine relating the following true story in the 1960s in the interior of Kelantan (Kuala Krai) where and when literacy was low and many births were recorded by policemen for birth certificate notification purpose as home deliver was norm. This old farmer went to the police station proudly to register his first born son. Being illiterate that he was, he engaged the policemen to do the paper-work...
Cop: Pakcik, nah bagi nama gapa? (What name would you like to give?)
Farmer: Bagilah nama mudah-mudah. (Give a simple name! -in Kelantanese dialect)
And so the newborn was registered as 'Mudah Mudah bin Awang' and to his horror, friends and teachers called his name with full of glee for the rest of his life.
And in the late 80s when an elderly Malaysian Chinese lady complained complained to the attending doctor that they are many dogs in the tummy, nobody laughed. Everybody knew that she meant to say 'angin' (wind) when she said 'anjing' (dog)!
It was okay years ago but now after 40 years of introduction of National Education Policy, which single-handed murdered the mastery of the English Language in this country, there is little reason to substantiate the lack of competence in the National Language.
The reason of this discord is the non amalgamation, jealousy and distrust that occur between the various communities propagated by the self-centered politicians in the country. Maybe we need an Anna Hazare type of politician to be here to set things right.
Maybe, when the living becomes more difficult, when the pie becomes smaller, when they have a common enemy, various ethnic communities may congregate to fight together the common offender like in the case of Singaporeans who are up in arms against mainland Chinese immigrants who find the pungent odour of fellow Singaporeans' (who were there since the inception of Singapore in 1965) curry offensive. The internet is also rife with photos of mainland Chinese acting in an unacceptable fashion - bathing by the road-side, urinating in the park, drying laundry in the children's playground and even adults defecating in public drains!
I remember a friend of mine relating the following true story in the 1960s in the interior of Kelantan (Kuala Krai) where and when literacy was low and many births were recorded by policemen for birth certificate notification purpose as home deliver was norm. This old farmer went to the police station proudly to register his first born son. Being illiterate that he was, he engaged the policemen to do the paper-work...
Cop: Pakcik, nah bagi nama gapa? (What name would you like to give?)
Farmer: Bagilah nama mudah-mudah. (Give a simple name! -in Kelantanese dialect)
And so the newborn was registered as 'Mudah Mudah bin Awang' and to his horror, friends and teachers called his name with full of glee for the rest of his life.
And in the late 80s when an elderly Malaysian Chinese lady complained complained to the attending doctor that they are many dogs in the tummy, nobody laughed. Everybody knew that she meant to say 'angin' (wind) when she said 'anjing' (dog)!
It was okay years ago but now after 40 years of introduction of National Education Policy, which single-handed murdered the mastery of the English Language in this country, there is little reason to substantiate the lack of competence in the National Language.
The reason of this discord is the non amalgamation, jealousy and distrust that occur between the various communities propagated by the self-centered politicians in the country. Maybe we need an Anna Hazare type of politician to be here to set things right.
Maybe, when the living becomes more difficult, when the pie becomes smaller, when they have a common enemy, various ethnic communities may congregate to fight together the common offender like in the case of Singaporeans who are up in arms against mainland Chinese immigrants who find the pungent odour of fellow Singaporeans' (who were there since the inception of Singapore in 1965) curry offensive. The internet is also rife with photos of mainland Chinese acting in an unacceptable fashion - bathing by the road-side, urinating in the park, drying laundry in the children's playground and even adults defecating in public drains!
In years to come, I envisage, if things do not change for better, in Malaysia, there would a further divide between the haves and have-nots as well as bumiputras and non bumiputras. This demarcation would be made more precarious when the newly immigrated Indonesians are easily accepted as bumiputras and the rest is best left to each other's imaginations and 'Nightmare at Elm Street' and 'Freddy Kruger' experience!
Singapore's 'anti-Chinese curry war'
What began as a quarrel over the pungent aromas wafting from one family's kitchen has bubbled up into Singapore's spiciest protest movement, with 40,000 people set to express their national pride this weekend by cooking curry.The mediator ruled that the Indian family could only cook curry when the Chinese family was not at home
AFP/GETTY IMAGES
By Malcolm Moore, Shanghai
16 Aug 2011
Curry is one of Singapore's national dishes, a dish that is equally loved, although in different forms, by the island's British, Chinese, Indian and Malay populations.
So there was an instant uproar when a local newspaper reported that one Chinese family, recently arrived from the mainland, had taken offence at their Indian neighbours' dining habits.
"The family resorted to mediation because they could not stand the smell of curry," reported the Today newspaper. "The Indian family, who were mindful of their neighbours' aversion, had already taken to closing their doors and windows whenever they cooked the dish, but this was not enough," it added.
Instead, the unnamed Chinese family took their neighbours to Singapore's Community Mediation Centre for a ruling on the matter.
Marcellina Giam, the mediator, eventually ruled that the Indian family could only cook curry when the Chinese family was not at home. In return, the Chinese family promised to try the dish.
The judgment incensed Singaporeans, many of whom have eyed a recent flood of mainland Chinese immigrants with some disdain.
Almost a million mainland Chinese have arrived in recent years, making up a fifth of the island's population. Singapore's native Chinese population have been particularly upset by the newcomers, many of whom do not come from the provinces of Fujian and Guangdong that provided the original wave of immigrants before the Second World War. Most also do not speak English, which remains Singapore's national language.
"I am incensed with a People's Republic of China family telling my fellowmen not to cook curry," wrote Rosalind Lee, one of hundreds of commencers on the Today newspaper's website. "Almost all Singaporean homes cook curry. The mediator should tell the PRC family to adjust and adapt to Singapore's way of life and not tell the locals to adjust to the foreigner's way of life!" she added.
By Malcolm Moore, Shanghai
16 Aug 2011
Curry is one of Singapore's national dishes, a dish that is equally loved, although in different forms, by the island's British, Chinese, Indian and Malay populations.
So there was an instant uproar when a local newspaper reported that one Chinese family, recently arrived from the mainland, had taken offence at their Indian neighbours' dining habits.
"The family resorted to mediation because they could not stand the smell of curry," reported the Today newspaper. "The Indian family, who were mindful of their neighbours' aversion, had already taken to closing their doors and windows whenever they cooked the dish, but this was not enough," it added.
Instead, the unnamed Chinese family took their neighbours to Singapore's Community Mediation Centre for a ruling on the matter.
Marcellina Giam, the mediator, eventually ruled that the Indian family could only cook curry when the Chinese family was not at home. In return, the Chinese family promised to try the dish.
The judgment incensed Singaporeans, many of whom have eyed a recent flood of mainland Chinese immigrants with some disdain.
Almost a million mainland Chinese have arrived in recent years, making up a fifth of the island's population. Singapore's native Chinese population have been particularly upset by the newcomers, many of whom do not come from the provinces of Fujian and Guangdong that provided the original wave of immigrants before the Second World War. Most also do not speak English, which remains Singapore's national language.
"I am incensed with a People's Republic of China family telling my fellowmen not to cook curry," wrote Rosalind Lee, one of hundreds of commencers on the Today newspaper's website. "Almost all Singaporean homes cook curry. The mediator should tell the PRC family to adjust and adapt to Singapore's way of life and not tell the locals to adjust to the foreigner's way of life!" she added.
Good and interesting story. More blog posts like this should be highlighted by the Government and seen.
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