The Chinese poor - Koon Yew Yin

The best thing we can do for ourselves, is to constantly seek the truth. To our children, teach and nurture them to seek knowledge throughout their lives, which will empower them to find truth.

Anyway, this article by Koon Yew Yin is worth highlighting because of the points he raised which are true. There are actually poor Chinese Malaysians. Gasp! Unbelievable? Just as there are poor Malays, poor Indians, generally poor Malaysians!

But in this country, we just love to look at everything from a racial or religious context don't we? Poverty doesn't discriminate. Many people have also highlighted the poor Indians but it is actually sad that many fellow Malaysians, especially those so-called "educated", "middle-class" ones especially who often have scant interest or worse, showed disdain.

But what if I were to highlight the poor Malaysians, the poor-class of all races, Malays, Indians, Chinese, Orang Asli, etc. The urban poor. Mind you, these are the ones whom, everyday, sees you in your luxury cars everyday, your expensive houses & your expensive clothes. things that they will never be able to afford. What do you think is their perception of you? That the world is fair?

In years to come, the gap between the rich and poor will increase. The numbers of the poor will also increase. Many from the so-called "middle class" will join the "poor class". There will ba a class struggle, but politicians will turn it into a racial or religious conflict so that they will stay in power.

Anyway, I would like to add a few comments on some points.

One of the biggest handicaps of the Chinese poor and their children is their inability to communicate effectively in other languages than their own dialects.

This is very true. Isn't it similar to what we hear about Malay youths lacking in English proficiency? I bet everyone thinks that only Malays face this problem because of the standard of our National schools. Well, it's the same in vernacular schools. The difference is, because of the worldwide Chinese diaspora, the Chinese will/can find work overseas (sometimes illegally) while the Malays here have no choice or prefer to remain in Malaysia. It's cultural also I suppose, because Indonesians (belonging to the same Malay stock) are more adventurous and industrious hence venturing out to all corners of the world to make a living. Although we always read about negative reports of Indonesian maids or construction workers overseas, I've always admired their courage to work in a foreign land. It is something that the Chinese have in common with Indonesians.

The Chinese poor are almost completely excluded from all government schemes providing skills training, income generation or educational and housing support. 

Actually, many Chinese come from small towns or villages or the new villages. Some were farmers, hawkers, trishaw pullers, factory workers, etc. Of course, some bigotted Malays online are just so fixated on the idea that the ancenstors of the Chinese here are all prostitutes and coolies.

The Chinese, especially the younger generation, should not resort to doing the same and mock the ancestors of the Malays nor other races. We should never be ashamed of our roots, and our ancestors. We should instead be grateful and honour them for their sacrifice.

It's just too bad that the Malaysian government choose to racialise poverty. But in practise, all races do get help from the government, although there may be some racial biased.

.... they are exploited by their employers, especially in the small and medium-scale enterprises and workshops where they work in dirty jobs for little pay.

This is the reason why I am always perplexed when these Malay NGOs and politicians keep harping on the low percentage of Malays employees in the private sector, especially in these Chinese-run companies. And those ignorant Malay masses, who have never worked a day in these companies, will often parrot that point like they are being discriminated and missing out of untold riches. The fact is, most of them will leave within a year (which is considered good already if they last that long), unable to take the pressure and stress. Their first choice has always been the civil service.

.... they are exploited by money lenders who many have to turn to in view of their frequent need for cash advances to meet emergencies, etc.

A good number of them actually join the underworld or involve in illegal activities. In fact, I noticed that the numbers have not decreased and they do earn good money. Of course, they are not as visible as the Indians, who have taken over the street levels.

The Chinese community also have to deal with bad habits, such as gambling, drugs and alcoholism, which also contributes to the problems with "Alongs".

.... they are exploited by the government which fails to provide them and their children with equal opportunities and regards them as “pendatang”.

This is perhaps the reality the Chinese will have to accept if they want to live peacefully in this country. It's a fact that the civil service, for example, is heavily biased towards Malays. Well, the government have to provide jobs for the Malays. This is the easiest solution to the problem of unemployment among the Malay graduates. I don't think this policy will change anytime soon.


However, I'm quite disappointed when it comes to education because I believe everyone should be entitled to it, regardless of race. Any student who qualifies should be allowed and provided with a place to further their studies. It's a basic human rights that should not be denied. And it should be free. I would rather build one bridge less in order to build 5 more schools. And don't get me started on the quality of education...

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The less visible Chinese poor – Koon Yew Yin

April 23, 2014

Perkasa and other Malay right-wing organisations are always complaining about how the Chinese have taken over the country's economy. They use this simplistic observation to frighten Malays to unite under a “ketuanan Melayu” and “ketuanan Islam” banner against so­called Chinese domination of the economy.

But how much of truth is there in this allegation? In earlier analysis, I had pointed out that owing to the New Economic Policy (NEP), the Malays have made tremendous strides since the 1970s in the economic sphere. 

For example, they control Bank Negara and all the major banks (except for Public Bank); all the government-linked companies (GLCs); Petronas; as well as comprise the majority in the top professional and best-paying occupations in the private sector. They, in fact, control what can be called “the commanding heights” of the economy.

What about the Chinese? Firstly, we should realise that not all Chinese are successful in business. In fact, only a tiny minority of Chinese belong to the class of the super­rich or billionaires – perhaps no more than a hundred or even less throughout the country. There is a fairly large Chinese middle class though so that generally, the Chinese are on the average more well off compared to non­Chinese in terms of average household income.

But let's also not forget that income inequality is also highest among the Chinese. What this means is that much of Chinese wealth is concentrated in the hands of the Chinese super­rich and that we have a very large number of Chinese who either fall well below the urban poverty line or are only slightly above the poverty line. Unfortunately, there are few recent studies on the Chinese poor.

The government's statistical department ignores the presence of this group and the academics in the public and private universities have avoided studying them.

Although I am not an academic and have not studied the group of Chinese poor, let me share these observations accumulated through the scholarship programme that I have run for the last five years during which I have received at least one or two applications every week – mostly from the children of poor Chinese. I offer scholarships to help the poor because I was from a poor family before and I know how difficult it is to be poor.

1. The Chinese poor mainly come from Chinese school backgrounds.

2. Many are dropouts and work as unskilled or semi­skilled labour in poorly paid agricultural or urban jobs with little potential for upward mobility.

3. The Chinese poor also come from self-employed backgrounds with businesses such as hawking, food stalls, etc. unable to succeed or grow because of competition and other factors.

4. They are most vulnerable when they are unable to work due to ill health or old age as they do not have access to EPF savings or government pension safety net.

5. Because they are poor, they are unable to provide the proper environment for their children to do well in their studies. This often leads to the reproduction of poverty in the family rather than socio­economic advancement for the younger generation.

6. One of the biggest handicaps of the Chinese poor and their children is their inability to communicate effectively in other languages than their own dialects. This can be seen in the broken English or Bahasa Malaysia letters written to me.

7. The Chinese poor are almost completely excluded from all government schemes providing skills training, income generation or educational and housing support.  

The Chinese poor suffer from exploitation in several ways. Firstly, they are exploited by their employers, especially in the small and medium-scale enterprises and workshops where they work in dirty jobs for little pay.

Secondly, they are exploited by money lenders who many have to turn to in view of their frequent need for cash advances to meet emergencies, etc.

Finally they are exploited by the government which fails to provide them and their children with equal opportunities and regards them as “pendatang”.

Many of the Chinese poor have been citizens of the country for more than one generation – in some cases, several generations. They have lived and contributed their blood and sweat to the country's development far longer than many newly arrived “pendatang” from Indonesia and other Muslim countries.

Malaysia is the only homeland they know but the government continues to treat them as if they are second-class citizens. Is it surprising that they are not loyal to the MCA and the Barisan Nasional when they are treated worse than newly arrived immigrants? Is it surprising that the attitude of the Chinese poor towards the government is so different from that of the Chinese super and very rich? 

– http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/sideviews/article/the-less-visible-chinese-poor-koon-yew-yin