Apparently Muslim Malaysians are now boycotting American products.
This despite the products in question being made locally by Malaysian companies - which, per fiat, have to be minimally 30% bumiputra-owned (as opposed to Malaysian-Chinese), which means that those who will be hit hardest will be Malaysian citizens.
Here is the notorious former prime-minister of Malaysia with a simplistic statement:
"If you stop accepting US currency, the US can't trade and can't make any money, it will become very poor and it will have to stop the production of more and more weapons in order to kill people. People must act... they won't die if they don't drink Coca-Cola"
------Dr Mahathir Mohamad
In one sense, this is an outgrowth of the xenophobia traditional among the kampong-electorate, though this most recent manifestation is because of our foreign policy, especially our support of Israel. Malays have an unhealthy dislike of everyone who is not of their faith, most particularly Chinese, Indian, Jews, and Americans.
Events in Gaza prompted the current boycott.
TRADE
Very well. Let's look at some ideas. The U.S. is Malaysia's largest trading partner, while Malaysia is the tenth largest trading partner of the United States, currently allowed very favourable terms, and bucking for FTA status.
At present, trade amounts to over fifty billion dollars, mostly computers, computer accessories, telecommunication equipment and electronic goods. Nearly half of U.S. exports to Malaysia are semi-conductors.
Companies that use Malaysian manufacturing are General Electric, ConocoPhillips, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard and Oracle, among others.
MALAYSIAN APARTHEID POLICIES
Malaysia is one of the last countries practicing a form of apartheid, namely the Bumiputra policies, which give ethnic Malays (mostly defined as Moslems and Borneo tribal peoples) preferences over the Chinese and Indians. For purposes of discrimination, Chinese who have been there for several centuries are classed as outsiders, while recent carpet-baggers from Java and Sumatra are considered natives. Anybody who converts to Islam almost automatically becomes a native, though conversion from Islam to other religions is forbidden. The gentleman quoted above, though technically a foreigner (being descended from South Indian Muslim stock), is by the peculiar logic of the Bumiputra policies native because of his religion. Yes, Malaysia is also one of those countries where religion is a basis for discrimination.
The term for conversion to Islam is 'jadi melayu' - becoming Malay. Which indicates that the main targets for Bumiputra-policy discrimination are Chinese and Indian - precisely the people whose enterprise and gumption for the past two centuries have made Malaysia a modern nation.
The main beneficiaries of the discriminatory laws are the coastal settlers from Sumatra, Riau, Borneo, and Java, as well as the descendants of Bugis pirates and Minangkabau adventurers, who only since the clearing of jungle during British times have moved inland in substantial numbers.
The Bumiputras who do not benefit from Malaysia's peculiar form of apartheid are the non-Muslim tribal peoples of Borneo, who are systematically robbed by Melayu (Malay) and Melanau (Islamic convert speaker of Malay) settlers. Nor, oddly, are the Tausug and Samal (who are indigenous to certain areas of the Sabah coast) beneficiaries, as admitting them as natives would be disadvantageous to Melayu and Melanau .... settlers.
Ethnic Malays, of course, consider their discrimination perfectly normal. And regard us as less than human.
CONCLUSION
In short, this pestilential piece-of-drek country has utterly no business telling the rest of the world what to do. And would be well advised to shut up, and not try a boycott. Especially not now. Not if they wish continuing talks on a Free Trade Agreement to go anywhere.
It would be worth your while to bring this up with your elected representatives, and with the American companies listed above, as well as others. And I encourage you to let your voice be heard.
===============================================
ADDENDUM
If you wish to tell the Malaysians precisely where to stuff it, contact the nearest Malaysian Trade Commission office.
In California:
Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA)
550 South Hope Street, #400Los Angeles, CA 90071
PH: (213) 955-9183
FX: (213) 955-9878
Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA)
226 Airport Parkway, #480San Jose, CA 95110
PH: (408) 392-0617/8
FX: (408) 392-0619
Here are other useful addresses:
Embassy of Malaysia
2401 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20008.
PH: (202) 328-2700
FX: (202) 483-7661
Consulate General of Malaysia - Los Angeles
550, South Hope Street, Suite 400
Los Angeles, CA 90071.
PH: (213) 892-1238
FX: (213) 892-9031
Consulate General of Malaysia - New York
313 East 43rd Street
New York, NY 10017.
PH: (212) 490-2722, 490-2723
FX: (212) 490-2049
I am sure that they will delighted to hear from you - especially as a frank discussion of the ethnic situation in Malaysia will touch a matter near their hearts. Either as the happy beneficiaries of institutionalized racism, or the resigned and resentful victims.
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THE AIR IS CRUNCHY!
Perhaps it's the weather. There were fewer people than normal about in Chinatown. The chachanteng where I went for lunch had four tables...
18 comments:
fuck you US faggots!!
You DID kill many innocent people.
That is why we Malaysian boycott your fucking products bitch! Go to hell
US is a major terrorist, just ask Iraq people.
Ah, I see that the peanut gallery has woken up.
Literacy does not seem to have thrown off much fruit for you, does it?
And apparently you are still not capable of civilized discourse. Not surprising. Tjakap saperti andjing dengan babi. Biadab.
I expect naught else from you. Your comment betrays precisely what kind of people you come from. And why you are inclined to support Palestinian terrorists.
Get your facts right Mr. before writing. Eg About FTA thing .Malaysian are not that keen. The one that so eager is the Americans who want to wrap it up before Obama takes over.
Mr the back of the hill,
you are pointing at others but four fingers are pointing at yourself.
Mr the back of the hill,
you are pointing at others but four fingers are pointing at yourself.
Yes, that is true. I will frankly admit that I loathe Malays.
I like and admire the Acehnese (see this link: Ah-chooo!!!), as well as the Batak, Menadonese, Orang Betawi, and Tausug. There is much about the Javanese world that I thoroughly appreciate (though by no means their tendency to add gula djowo and trasi in heretical proportion to everything - use more tabe and jahe instead, dammit!), and despite the orgy of bloodletting during 1965 - 1967, I also rather like aspects of Balinese culture.
But Malays? No.
As we say in Tamarao, 'sumbongan na lang malayo ngon djera' - the arrogance of Malays is not to be tolerated. It is rather like Tagalogs, that being another bunch to whom I have a love-hate relation attitude.
Tambao (='habis-lah!).
"..... gula djowo ..... trasi - use more tabe and jahe instead"
Gula djowo = Gula Jawa, Gula Melaka (palm sugar, or jaggery).
Trasi = Belacan (shrimp paste, aka garum).
Tabe = Cabai (chili pepper, capsicum lantaca).
Jahe = Halia (fresh ginger root).
And, persuant both Tausug and Tagalogs, please view this post from several months ago:
Pastable link:
http://atthebackofthehill.blogspot.com/2008/03/minor-bio-data-sulu.html
Clickable link:
SULU.
The Southern Philippines at that time were an interesting place. Educational, too.
Particularly as regards the Tausug who had returned from being refugees in Malaysia; they were almost unanimously less than positive about their faith-kin across the strait.
Apparently the Malaysian authorities had not been quite as welcoming as their encouragement of the Moro irridentists had suggested that they might be.
And, further to Malaysia, a posting about Pong teh - which the Muslim readers might not wish to read, as it deals with meat that is not halal,
Pastable link:
http://atthebackofthehill.blogspot.com/search?q=Pong+teh
Clickable link:
PONG TEH
For a fresh pickle to serve with pong teh, I suggest peeling and seeding a katimon(1), slicing it semi-thin, and dressing it with two tablespoons sugar, an equal part white vinegar, a teaspoon salt, and jigger boiling water. Let it stand for an hour or two, then add minced daon katumbar(2) and bawang idjo(3). Some roasted peanuts can also be served on the side, or perhaps sarundeng(4).
(1) Cucumber.
(2) Cilantro.
(3) Scallion.
(4) Toasted rasped coconut with flavourings. See this post:
http://cookingwithalizard.blogspot.com/2008/07/sarundeng-kadjo.html
Clickably here:
SARUNDENG KADJO. It was originally mentioned here:
http://atthebackofthehill.blogspot.com/2007/09/little-brown-notebook.html
Clickably here:
LITTLE BROWN NOTEBOOK. It is the first recipe in that post.
Salamat makan and sanak mantep, y'all.
The back of the hill said,
"Yes, that is true. I will frankly admit that I loathe Malays."
Hate and stereotyping a certain ethnicity won't do any good to our self and the world. I think we better move up the hill and see the big picture. Than we can be contributor of righteness and goodness to the world.
If we cannot contribute for goodness than better we mute for a while. At least we doesn"t make something bad become worse. After all what a person at the back of the hill knows anyway other than what happen at his side of the hill. What ever info that he get are filtered by western media plus his own state of which are full of hated.
If we cannot contribute for goodness than better we mute for a while. At least we doesn"t make something bad become worse. After all what a person at the back of the hill knows anyway other than what happen at his side of the hill. What ever info that he get are filtered by western media plus his own state of which are full of hated.
Balderdash! Saya tidak seperti kodok di bawah tempurung.
Media all over the world publish in English. Including several newspapers and information sites in Malaysia. Your papers are online (in English and Malay), Indonesian papers are online, and many Arab papers are online. Admittedly I do not read Arabic - so I make-do with their English-language propaganda, tetapi, bahasa melayu dan bahasa bahasa dialect di Indonesia, semua 没事, kuluham be-soal.
As you may have noticed from other posts (if you took the trouble to read them), I also read Dutch, German, and a few other languages.
Add to that the fact that the diplomatic offices and official web-sites of EVERY SINGLE COUNTRY that hates America or Israel publish their own point of view, and usually also the hate-filled texts of political speeches by their leaders, in often-times excellent translation, frequently with explicatory commentary - only someone whose English was limited could still be ill-informed about politics all over the world. Someone such as, for instance, an orang tani dari kampong.
Hate and stereotyping a certain ethnicity won't do any good to our self and the world. I think we better move up the hill and see the big picture. Than we can be contributor of righteness and goodness to the world.
I agree. But as you know, not everyone sees it that way, or even desires such results. One might think, for instance, that Mahathir Muhamad prefers to stereotype the Jews, and lambast the Americans.
My dealings with the average Malay have been fairly pleasant, except for their dislike for my country, and distaste for my religion. Which, alas, inevitably influenced their treatment of me and other Americans.
As for the attitude of the orang melayu towards the Chinese and Indians, that needs to change. There is nothing good about it, naught that is right.
The back of the hill said,:
"I agree. But as you know, not everyone sees it that way, or even desires such results. One might think, for instance, that Mahathir Muhamad prefers to stereotype the Jews, and lambast the Americans."
In the end we are going to be judged on what we did and not what others did. Mahathir too will get what due to him.
The back of the hill said,:
Balderdash! Saya tidak seperti kodok di bawah tempurung.
All the info will come to a naught if we do not have good mind and good heart. Clearing our mind and heart from hate and evil is essential for good mind and heart. Than hopely we might see light at the end of the tunnel.
saya pun selalu ke depan untuk maju
malaysia seo
saya suka membuat perubahan untuk kemajuan
co2 system
I particularly like the very first commenter.
Rude, boorish, unmannered, and well nigh illiterate.
If not a Malay (highly likely), then a Pakistani (als very likely).
Possibly an Arab (not at all unlikely).
Typical pig response. Exactly what one expects from unclean beasts.
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