| Author | Message |
|---|---|
| Derek Lawrence |
Subject: Your articles on Malaysia and Pulau Pangkor If you are as well travelled as you like to tell us all that you are you most go round with your ruddy eyes shut. I am married to a chinese malaysian, and I can tell you that none of the stupid comments you make about Malaysia and the country are valid true or accurate. It is a wonderful country with goodg values of family and the like but as a part of the chinese community in the country I can tell you that there is no pressure not to drink, your so called anti western feelings do not exist amongst the Bumi malays, and that the chinese women in the country are amongst the best dressed I have seen anywhere. You really do talk a load of crap, and I can only assume you go with your preconceived ideas never learning the reality. People like you cause racial hatred and problems. You do nothing to further the cause of understanding ones fellow human beings. |
| Mark Moxon |
Subject: My response Hi Derek. I've obviously managed to annoy you with my writing, and I apologise for any offence I've caused, so perhaps you'll permit me to counter your arguments with my own viewpoint. I'm always particularly hurt by accusations of racism, as I'm about as far from racist as I can imagine; I do hope you take the time to check out the rest of my site, as it's clearly full of writings that decry racism and wish for more harmony. Just because I'm a satirist, it doesn't mean I'm nasty! "If you are as well travelled as you like to tell us all that you are you most go round with your ruddy eyes shut. I am married to a chinese malaysian, and I can tell you that none of the stupid comments you make about Malaysia and the country are valid true or accurate." I'm happy to discuss anything specific I say, but it's surely hyperbole to claim that none of my comments are true. In fact, this is provably not the case. To take just one example, it is a fact that until very recently, a quota system severely restricted the entry of non-Malays into state-funded universities. When I visited Malaysia this law was still very much in force, though I'm delighted to report that in the last couple of years, the law has been reformed. Happily, Malaysia is (as I write) a good country that is healthy, happy and developing, and luckily laws like this are disappearing. It is, however, undeniable that this law existed when I visited, and as someone who abhors racism, I criticised it in my article entitled 'Malaysian Politics'. You can find out more about this and other racist issues in Malaysia here: http://www.bebeyond.com/LearnEnglish/BeAD/Readings/DiasporaMalaysia.html I can't vouch for all the facts on that website, but the fact that the law was discriminatory at the time of my visit is an undisputable fact. Hence, I'm afraid I can't agree with you when you say that "none of the... comments [I] make about Malaysia and the country are valid true or accurate", because this one, for example, is a undeniable fact. If you have any specific comments of mine that you'd like to disagree with, do point them out, and I'll happily enter into a (polite) debate about them. "It is a wonderful country with good values of family and the like but as a part of the chinese community in the country I can tell you that there is no pressure not to drink, your so called anti western feelings do not exist amongst the Bumi malays, and that the chinese women in the country are amongst the best dressed I have seen anywhere." I think you must be referring to my piece on Malaysian Politics, where I say that there were calls from the Muslim fundamentalists to "ban alcohol, gambling, snappy dressing and having a good time". This was being debated at the time of my visit (1997) in the north-east of the country, where they were genuinely considering banning alcohol, and the local non-Muslim populations were none too pleased about it. However, if you read what I write, I'm only talking about fundamentalists here, whether Muslim or neo-Confucianist. I'm not saying that all Bumi Malays hate Westerners, I'm just saying that the fundamentalists on both sides had a common bond, that of hating America. I'm delighted that this feeling isn't common; it's a relief for everyone. But it doesn't change the facts that, back then, anti-Western feeling was not uncommon, particularly among fundamentalists, and that's all I say in my piece. "You really do talk a load of crap, and I can only assume you go with your preconceived ideas never learning the reality." No, that's really not the case (and it's not a very fair comment, either). I recommend you check out the rest of my site - it's full of pieces about discovering new cultures and finding the experience wonderful. Sure, I'm critical in places, but I'm just as critical of my own culture (see my article 'Beach Bums of Thailand' for an example). "People like you cause racial hatred and problems. You do nothing to further the cause of understanding ones fellow human beings." I'm amazed you think this! Do I really come across as someone who causes racial hatred? I can't believe it! I'm really rather hurt by your accusation... Seriously, please do read more of my writing. I'm one of the most even-handed and open-minded people I know, and I try to get that across in my writing. I describe what I see and what I read about, and I do it with as much honesty as I can muster. All the references in my Malaysian articles are based on articles I've read, newspapers I've bought, locals I've talked to and books I've read. I try to remain balanced and impartial in what I write, and I genuinely think that shines through. As I said, if you'd like to pick on any specific things I've said, I'd be only to happy to have a civilised debate about them. I'm not pretending to be perfect, but I really think you've got the wrong end of the stick. If I am, in your eyes, a cause of racial hatred, then I suggest you take a look at the rest of the Web. You might be surprised at how incredibly mild my satire is when compared to genuine racists. I do hope to hear from you again, and thanks for taking the time to post. Best wishes, Mark |