Malaysia fury at EU envoy remarks

[tinybear]

Europe's top diplomat in Malaysia has been summoned by the foreign ministry to discuss criticisms he made about policies favouring ethnic Malays.

Thierry Rommel, head of the European Commission delegation in the country, was accused of meddling in Malaysia's internal affairs.

In a speech last week, Mr Rommel said that the policies amounted to discrimination and protectionism.

Malaysian politicians reacted furiously to his remarks.

Mr Rommel described his 45-minute meeting with a senior foreign ministry official as "a useful exchange of views", and he hoped that it had resolved any misunderstanding.

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Malaysia fury at EU envoy remarks

Discrimination? In Malaysia? Noooo. Surely not.

But seriously folks, if western countries practise affirmative action, they can hardly complain when Asian countries do the same. This is not to say I agree with affirmative action. I think it should be abolished. What do you think?

[rmnunez]

I think most countries are monoethnic or include a limited number of related communities, all the ones named after their language are good examples. In such places and others (usually ones whose boundaries were not drafted in Imperial drawing-rooms) the people are genuinely "rooted to the land". In most of the world national and cultural identity are the same thing. In Japan they have their own distinct language, characters, history, religion, atire, diet and arts. In these places the mechanisms adopted in the US and other countries with populations largely made up of transplanted colonists, immigrants and refugees, make no sense.

But to favour one community over others is problematic, it makes sense to help your own, but not to the point where the others are enslaved. Someplace between servitude in slavery and Affirmative Action is a blance where the government can help the smaller communities gain the specific weight to deal as a peer with the dominant group.

[tinybear]

But the Malays are the dominant group in Malaysia. The other major groups are the Chinese and Indians, but they are the minorities in the community and yet they are discriminated against.

[rmnunez]

Right, and like I said "it makes sense to help your own". You can take that to an extreme and say therefore the US, long a country populated predominantly by white people of European origins therefore ought to favour whites over all these others who are minorities.

But as I also noted, favouring ones own ought not lead to such extremes as slavery (as was the case some places like the US). At different times certain standards for how to deal with strangers have developed in different societies which are more or less inclusive of those others. The discriminated against groups have different historical experiences and relationships with those harming them.

Affluent societies (like the US) devise schemes (like Affirmative Action) to make adjustments for past excesses to the degree they appreciate their wrongfulness and have the capacity to provide redress.

The Malaysian situation is very particular and has nothing to do with this Affirmative Action, a topic which is specifically related to the US and has its detractors and difficulties -not at all related to what we see in Malaysia. The only relationship between that country and this policy is the governmental involvement (which has not even been detailed in the Malaysian case).

I think the Affirmative Action issue ought to be discussed separately and that this policy is a justifiable "unconstitutional exception" to prevailing laws, but beyond that its just a matter to espouse latent racism for many.

[Nono]

Affirmative action is for victims of discrimination so strong that it prevents the victims from gaining their fair share in society. In Malaysia, of course, it's just a means of keeping the pampered Malays at the top of the heap.

[rmnunez]

Yes, but the pampered Malays are not the minority in Malaysia, they are part of the majority. Thus this analogy with Affirmative Action is off. Its wrong for governments to 'pamper' any segment of the population. Affirmative Action is about redress for past misdeeds, whatever Malaysia is doing to favour its majority is about discrimination against lesser groups.

[Nono]

Then you and I agree, rum.

[rmnunez]

As is noted in the cited article:

The veteran leader of Malaysia's parliamentary opposition, Lim Kit Siang, said that the government should justify giving state aid according to race, rather than accusing Mr Rommel of not having the facts right. Malaysia's continued use of race as a test for business and social welfare has proved an obstacle in trade talks with the US, and is likely to be no less controversial in Europe, the BBC's Jonathan Kent in Kuala Lumpur says.