我国前外交官丹尼斯撰文:
马哈迪们对种族的偏执
本文是我国前外交官丹尼斯•伊格内修斯（Dennis Ignatius）2021 年 10 月 9 日（星期六）发表于其个人网站的一篇题为《马哈迪对种族的偏执》的评论的华文译稿(原文转贴于此华文译稿文之后，方便读者对照浏览)。华文含义与原文意思若有差异或抵触，则以原文意思为准。
读者浏览此文之后，就会明白作者在文中所针对的，不仅仅是马哈迪这一个人，还包括“像马哈迪这样的人”。作者曾是我国的前外交官，如今眼看国家领袖们对非马来人的种族歧视政策造成了国民四分五裂感到悲痛不已，而提出尖锐批判，是难能可贵的！而他如此用心表达，也是可以理解的！
丹尼斯的评论全文如下（华文小标题为《人民之友》编者所加）——
前首相敦马哈迪在他最近的一篇博文中，问道：为什么马来西亚的政党是以种族为基础的呢？然后他这么回答：这是因为“马来西亚人坚持保留他们对原籍国的认同。这在其他多种族国家并非如此。来自其他国家的移民在接受公民身份后，完全接受所在国家的语言、文化并对所在国家忠诚。他们经过一两代之后就被完全同化。但在马来西亚，这些移民尽管已成为公民，但他们坚持本身不仅跟原住民有着不同的身份，而且他们的经济职能和政治关系在实际上是分开的……只要我国人民还是保持对原籍国的身份认同，马来西亚的政治和政党将会保留种族（区别）的性质。”
马哈迪对非马来人的"标签"和排斥
换句话说，马来西亚仍然深陷种族主义泥潭，因为非马来人——这些马哈迪口中的“移民”
拒绝与当地居民同化。马哈迪说，事实上，他们（这些移民）故意在经济、政治和实际生活上将自己与原住民分开。他还暗示，甚至他们对国家的效忠也许要受到怀疑。
另一种说法是，只有当非马来人放弃他们各自的身份特性——文化、语言和宗教——并完全认同原住民时，马来西亚的种族主义才会结束。换句话说，马哈迪想要非马来人进行在文化上的“自杀”（“hara-kiri”）（根据网络资料，“hara-kiri”的原义是一种倒在剑上自杀的行为，用来比喻“违背自己利益的行为”——译者注）。这是一个非反驳不可，非常可恶并具有深刻种族主义色彩的断言。
不管马哈迪喜欢与否，我们就是我们自己——华族、印度族或其他血统的马来西亚人。我们无法改变这一点，别人也不能期望我们这样做。正是它让我们与众不同，这就是马来西亚的独特之处。无论如何，它并没有使我们缺少马来西亚人的特色。我要争论的是，非马来人的马来西亚人一直认为他们本身首先是马来西亚人，并为此感到非常骄傲。而像马哈迪和前首相慕尤丁这样的人，却坚持认为他们“首先是马来人，其次是马来西亚人”。两相比较，不就清楚明白了吗?
非马来人的分化，是因为被边缘化
如果非马来人越来越多地走不同方向，甚至分裂，那是因为像马哈迪这样的领导人已经将他们边缘化，并将他们排除在国民生活的许多领域之外，包括公务员、武装部队、大学、官联公司等。过去，非马来人曾在所有这些部门中都有很好的代表，但他们已被系统地清除了。甚至他们对国家建设的贡献也被尽量地贬低了。种族隔离墙不是由非马来人所建设的，而是由像马哈迪这样的人安置在那里的。
当我国的政客（包括马哈迪在内）坚持经常妖魔化非马来人，总是把他们（非马来人）贴上了贬义标签，如“外来者”（“pendatang”）或“移民”（“migrants”）时，怎么会推动我国各族之间的融合？他们的宗教信仰被贬损，他们的膜拜场所被拆除或限制。甚至他们付出了几十年的辛劳和牺牲所建立起来的商业，不断被掠夺（最近出台的轰动全国的“土著必须占有货运代理公司的51%股权”的政策，就是显著的实例）。你不能像对待狗屎一样对待人民，还期望他们心存感激。
马哈迪双重标准和虚伪令人震惊
马哈迪表现出的双重标准和虚伪也令人震惊。例如，为什么某些像阿末扎希这样的人，他（们）可以为自己的种族血统（印度尼西亚人）感到自豪而庆祝？为什么马来西亚华人或印度人，却无法受到像阿末扎希一样的对待呢？为什么马哈迪竭尽全力保护一名从印度逃亡到我国的穆斯林传教士，却在他的心中找不到对像他一样可以寻根到印度的马来西亚人（意指印度族人）表示哪怕一丁点尊重？
同样，马哈迪相当狡猾地提到了其他国家的移民社群，来证明他的同化论说。而事实上，在许多国家，移民社群可以自由地保留他们的血统、文化甚至语言。美国总统拜登（原籍爱尔兰人）和副总统卡马拉哈里斯（原籍印度人）都为自己的血统（爱尔兰/印度）感到自豪。说他们必须放弃自己的文化和传统才能成为美国人，这绝对是无稽之谈。他们的文化和传统就是他们的身份的表示，而美国是他们效忠的国家。马来西亚华人和印度人的情况也是一样的：尽管保留华人和印度人的文化和传统，马来西亚是他们效忠的国家。
更重要的是，当西方国家实施旨在迫使移民社群同化的统治，马哈迪本人也是反对西方政府的。例如，他对想要限制使用头巾或限制建造清真寺的欧洲政府提出尖锐批评。他在国际上反对这种种族主义是正确的，但他应该在国内实践他在国外鼓吹的言论。
马哈迪们把民族融合变成单行道
归根结底，如果他们所要的同化失败了，那是因为像马哈迪这样的政客为这个同化过程制造了不能克服的困难。他们把民族融合变成一条单行道；他们把过失的责任完全推到非马来人身上，同时拒绝谈论他们自己的偏执和不容忍问题。他们几乎每天都在毁谤非马来人，他们对所谓的“移民”的蔑视以及他们建造的种族隔离墙对我们国家的结构造成的损害比其他任何事情都大。
我国的政客（包括马哈迪）需要了解非马来人对国家失望、他们受害以及他们愤懑的深度。我们的国家正在逐渐分裂，因为像马哈迪这样的人无法接受我国由多个民族组成的历史协议以及我们现在都是马来西亚人的事实。
当我担任大使时，我总是强调会见马来西亚侨民。我可以告诉你，他们不得不离开祖国的内心深处的痛苦是真实的。他们离开不是因为他们不爱自己的国家，而是因为他们的国家不爱他们或不欣赏他们。除非你是非马来人，否则你永远不会理解仅仅因为你的种族或宗教而被绕过、忽视或感觉像二等公民的感受。我敢说，无论身在何处，这是一种非马来人作为一个整体都会铭记在心的痛苦。像马哈迪这样的人的事业成就，便是建立在这些非马来人的痛苦之上。
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Mahathir's abiding obsession with race
BY Dennis Ignatius
Source: DennisIgnatius.com/2021/10/09
In a recent blog post, former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad asked:
Why is it that political parties in Malaysia are race-based? He then went on
to answer his own question by saying that it is because “Malaysians insist on
retaining their identification with their countries of origin. This is not so
in other multiracial countries. The migrants from other countries, upon
accepting citizenship adopt the language, culture and loyalties to their
adopted countries completely. They get fully assimilated after one or two
generations. But in Malaysia the migrants, despite being citizens insist not
only on being recognised as of different origins from the indigenous people
but are physically separated through their economic functions and their
political affiliations…. As long as we retain our identification with our
countries of origin, politics and political parties in Malaysia will remain
racial.”
In other words, Malaysia remains mired in racism because the non-Malays – “the
migrants” as he calls them – have refused to assimilate with the local
population. Indeed, they have, he says, deliberately separated themselves
economically, politically and physically from the indigenous people. He also
hints that even their loyalty might be suspect.
It’s another way of saying that racism in Malaysia will only end when
non-Malays abandon their respective identities – cultural, linguistic and
religious – and identify themselves completely with the indigenous people. In
other words, he wants non-Malays to commit cultural hara-kiri before they can
be fully accepted. It is an outrageous and profoundly racist assertion that
cannot go unchallenged.
Whether Mahathir likes it or not, we are who we are – Malaysians of Chinese,
Indian or other descent. We can’t change that and neither should we be
expected to. It is what makes us unique; it is what makes Malaysia unique. It
does not, however, make us any less Malaysian. I would argue that non-Malay
Malaysians have always considered themselves Malaysian first and are very
proud of it. Compare that to people like Mahathir and former prime minister
Muhyiddin Yassin who insist that they are Malay first and Malaysian second.
If non-Malays are increasingly moving in different directions, pulling apart
even, it is because leaders like Mahathir have marginalised them and shut them
out of many areas of national life including the civil service, the armed
forces, the universities, GLCs, etc. At one time non-Malays were well
represented in all these sectors but they were systematically purged. Even
their contribution to nation-building was minimised. The walls of separation
were not built by non-Malays; they were put there by men like Mahathir.
And how does it help the assimilation process when our politicians – Mahathir
included – insist on demonising non-Malays at every turn. They’ve been tagged
with derogatory terms like “pendatang” or “migrants”. Their religious beliefs
have been demeaned, their places of worship demolished or restricted. Even
their businesses – built up over many decades of hard work and sacrifice –
continue to be taken from them (reference the recent furore over equity
ownership of freight forwarding companies). You can’t treat people like dirt
and expect them to be grateful.
The double standards and hypocrisy that Mahathir displays are also stunning.
Why is someone like Zahid Hamidi, for example, allowed to celebrate and take
pride in his ethnic origins (Indonesian) but not Malaysian Chinese or Indians?
Why does Mahathir go out of his way to protect a fugitive Muslim preacher from
India but cannot find it in his heart to show even a little bit of respect for
Malaysians, who like him, can trace their roots back to India?
As well, Mahathir rather disingenuously references migrant communities in
other countries to make his case for assimilation. The fact is that in many
countries migrant communities are free to hold on to their ancestry, their
culture and even their language. US President Joe Biden is proud of his
heritage (Irish) as is Vice-President Kamala Harris (Indian). It is
absolute nonsense to suggest that they have had to abandon their culture and
heritage in order to become American. Their culture and heritage is who they
are; America is where their loyalties lie. The same can be said of Malaysian
Chinese and Indians.
What’s more, Mahathir himself has rallied against western governments when
they have imposed rules that seek to force migrant communities to assimilate.
He was, for example, very critical of European governments that sought to
restrict the use of the hijab or limit the construction of mosques. He is
right to speak out against such racism but he ought to practise at home what
he preaches abroad.
At the end of the day, if there has been a failure to assimilate, it’s because
politicians like Mahathir have made it impossibly difficult. They have made
national integration a one-way street; they’ve put the onus entirely on
non-Malays to compromise while refusing to address their own bigotry and
intolerance. Their almost daily disparagement of non-Malays, the disdain they
harbour towards the so-called “migrants” and the walls they have created have
done more to damage the fabric of our nation than anything else.
Our politicians – Mahathir included – need to understand the depth of
non-Malay disappointment, hurt and indignation that’s building up. Our nation
is being slowly torn asunder because men like Mahathir are unable to come to
terms with history and the fact that we are all Malaysians now.
When I served as ambassador, I always made it a point to meet with the
Malaysian diaspora. I can tell you that the pain they feel in their
hearts at having to leave their homeland is real. They left not because they
did not love their country but because their country did not love them or
appreciate them. Unless you are a non-Malay, you will never understand what it
feels like to be bypassed, overlooked or made to feel like a second-class
citizen simply because of your race or religion. I dare say it’s a pain that
non-Malays as a whole carry in their hearts wherever they may be. It’s a pain
that men like Mahathir have built their careers upon.
Dennis Ignatius | Kuala Lumpur | 9th October 2021
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