Comments on: Entitlement

By: jennemede

jennemede — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 04:10:40 +0000

I know Malay friends who are ashamed of this entitlement and strive very hard to live up to their heritage. Alas, none of them are among the politicans who are in power.

By: YvonneO

YvonneO — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 03:25:57 +0000

The meritocracy practice at our Malaysian universities is a farce. Students compete for places based on merit BUT within the racial quotas. So, it’s just another way to justify another racist program.
But I suppose if you had all these entitlements and benefits – wouldn’t you cash in on them? Why would you want to rock the boat?
I’ve always wondered to what degree of humiliation a person felt knowing that I know, that you know… whatever you’ve achieved academically and professionally and maybe personally… that it was never your achievement but that of a handout, that the playing field was uneven to start, that the other guy was forced to take a dive.
Why would any person want to handicap themselves like this?

By: jennemede

jennemede — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 17:02:04 +0000

The problem with entitlement is also that it breeds. I became someone who also thought that if I had gotten somewhere or something, it was because I was lucky or talented or that it was just my place and time. Destiny, fate and, heritage all that. It took a while to convince myself that I could rewire myself, believe that I could make a difference in myself and in the world around me not because I was any of those things but because I tried.

By: leishia

leishia — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 07:40:14 +0000

its sad aint it. i for one, went thru the whole non-bumi journey starting from the edu system down to career opportunities, only to find myself growing older, knowing more, drifting further apart, and sadly, getting angrier and more frustrated with the life as a citizen here. ironically, voicing up wont do any good either!

until and unless i plan for my escape, i guess i gotta suck ‘em up and learn to smell the flowers, if theres any. heh.. Lord knows if i’m being contented!

By: Lia

Lia — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 05:42:08 +0000

sometimes it seems like its getting worse. sigh. dunnolah.. a lot of times I think it’s the politicians themselves. for the most part, on a DAILY, average joe in the street, everyone seems to happily get along, ya know?

Waahh never had a history teacher macam tu! geeeez, u should have told her, there’s no way we can go back to china or india, we would stand out as foreign straight away!

there will always be prejudices etc. esp if we have a party system based on racial grounds..

oh well.. Im over here, see how we go..

By: catchychan

catchychan — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 20:17:34 +0000

Thank you for your post Jenn. I live in London and have done so for the last 10 years since I came over for my A-Levels. I’m at a crossroads in my life now, trying to decide if I should stay here or return to Malaysia. Your post smacks of truth and made me think of every step of my teenage life in Malaysia when I had to deal with ‘Entitlement’. To a certain extent, this entitlement syndrome exists everywhere in the world, but at least we (and potentially our kids) have a fairer chance of fighting for our entitlement in countries like the US and UK.

By: jennemede

jennemede — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 19:58:43 +0000

Yea it was lifted three years ago, the quota thingy. But there is talk of reintroducing it again.

I dunno, I grew up under this ‘cloud’ of entitlement and affirmative action that it almost becomes like an expectation for me to NOT expect anything more, which is baaaad.

It’s a hard habit to break because deep inside there is still a disbelief that things can ever change for the better, well just because we’re not the majority, and race is still very much a determinant of our place in society, esp. when you’re stuck in the middle, us average-income folks.

But i think the last few years have shown tremendous progress, esp. when it comes to making our concerns heard. We still have a lot of ground to cover and it’s going to be rather rocky for a good many years but this is an interesting time to be a Malaysian.

By: Kelantan Gal

Kelantan Gal — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 16:46:14 +0000

Is the system still like that? I thought the quota system for uni had been lifted? Now everyone has to compete on his/her own merit.

I feel the odd one out here… I never grew up with entitlement hanging over my head. I was told that if I tried my best, it would happen. The opportunities are there for me to take. I find it peculiar, having grown up in Kelantan, you’d think the differences of opportunities would have slammed me in the face.

By: pelf

pelf — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 10:04:42 +0000

Well, I am one of those people who Karen describes *points up* Taking up something I have never thought of doing in the first place, at a place I never thought of going..

But Jenn, this is very well written. I found myself nodding from the first to the last word. I have such experience too though I was born in the 80s when “life” — in general — was more bearable (let’s see if I have time to blog about it)..

By: Karen

Karen — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 09:54:49 +0000

You know what this makes me think of, Jenn? How non-bumis (in M’sia) work so hard to get into uni, to study a course not-of-their-choice, more like the left over vacancies…..I’m very grateful I never had to do that….so pointless….