[h=2]SPH journalist compares condemnation of PRC Ma Chi with Myanmar’s
ethnic & religious strife[/h]
May 11th, 2013 |
Author: Editorial
SPH journalist, Corrie Tan, went to Myanmar to report on
the racial and religious conflicts there and compared what she saw with what
happened to PRC Ma Chi in Singapore (‘Racial fault lines… and a cocoon of
confidence’, Apr 28, 2013).
She reported that ethnic and sectarian strife is not new to Myanmar, whose
borders have long been home to minority groups, such as the Kachin, who are
fighting for independence or at least a say in the running of the country.
Now that Myanmar has started on the path to reform, such ethnic and sectarian
violence can no longer be easily kept hidden from international scrutiny.
Ms Tan went to Yangon in March this year with a Burmese partner to visit
friends and family.
While driving through Yangon one night, she said that her group was stopped
at roadblocks several times as armed officers shone flashlights into the car.
The driver then told the soldiers his name and they were let through.
Apparently, the soldiers just wanted to make sure that the driver’s name was
Bamar, the major ethnic group in Myanmar.
She wrote, “Racial profiling was just the tip of the iceberg. Our friends
pointed out the colourful 969 stickers plastered on the windows of just about
every other taxi, as well as some establishments and homes. They were selling at
street corners for 100 kyat apiece – about 15 Singapore cents.”
“These innocuous stickers have become something of a symbol of a Buddhist
movement aimed at Muslims. The “9″ stands for the nine special attributes of
Buddha, the “6″ for the six special attributes of his teachings, and the last
“9″ for the nine special attributes of the Buddhist Sangha, or order.”
Violence has been breaking out between the Muslim Rohingya minority and
radical Buddhists who are Bamar, in the western Rakhine state of Myanmar.
The 969 stickers are seen as a reaction to the 786 signs that Muslim owners
have placed on their storefronts for decades to signal that they sell halal food
(the Arabic letters of the opening phrase of the Quran add up to 786 – a
numerical abbreviation for the phrase “Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim” – in the
name of Allah, the compassionate, the merciful).
But some Buddhist radicals see this as some sort of conspiracy or a sign of
solidarity by the Muslims.
Then Ms Corrie Tan made an incredible juxtaposition and linked what she saw
in Myanmar to the Ma Chi incident in Singapore:
“My encounters in Myanmar make me think about the situation in Singapore.
Given the strict laws regulating protest, assembly and speech, do Singaporeans
truly embrace racial and religious tolerance or are we living in a cocoon of
false confidence?
When Chinese national Ma Chi died after crashing his Ferrari in Bugis last
May in a three-vehicle collision that claimed the lives of two others, there was
an almost immediate outpouring of vitriol online. The condemnation that Mr Ma
received because he was a foreigner from mainland China was sharp and
shocking.
The fact that this sort of casual racism and xenophobia still exist is hugely
disturbing.”
She concluded her article by saying, “If we are to be a partner in Myanmar’s
journey back to democracy, I think we should be setting a better example than
this (i.e. Singaporeans’ xenophobia towards PRCs like Ma Chi).”
Speaking of Singapore setting a good example for Myanmar to “learn” from, Ms
Corrie Tan may be interested to know that Myanmar has relaxed its control of the
press. Privately owned daily newspapers have returned to Myanmar’s news stands
after an absence of almost 50 years. Four new private dailies – The Voice, The
Golden Fresh Land, The Union and The Standard Time – went on sale last month (1
Apr), becoming the first papers to be published since 1964 not controlled by the
state. Twelve more private newspapers are due to follow.
Myanmar’s once vibrant, multilingual press was effectively shut down by the
Myanmar junta that seized power in 1962, with newspapers either forced to close
or put under state control by 1964. Meanwhile, in Singapore, newspaper
publications are still controlled by the state through 2 Govt linked companies,
one of which Ms Corrie Tan works for.
In any case, do you think it’s fair for SPH’s Ms Corrie Tan to compare
Singaporeans’ condemnation of PRC Ma Chi with Myanmar’s ethnic and religious
strife?
.
Join our TRE facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/TREmeritus
.
ethnic & religious strife[/h]
the racial and religious conflicts there and compared what she saw with what
happened to PRC Ma Chi in Singapore (‘Racial fault lines… and a cocoon of
confidence’, Apr 28, 2013).
She reported that ethnic and sectarian strife is not new to Myanmar, whose
borders have long been home to minority groups, such as the Kachin, who are
fighting for independence or at least a say in the running of the country.
Now that Myanmar has started on the path to reform, such ethnic and sectarian
violence can no longer be easily kept hidden from international scrutiny.
Ms Tan went to Yangon in March this year with a Burmese partner to visit
friends and family.
While driving through Yangon one night, she said that her group was stopped
at roadblocks several times as armed officers shone flashlights into the car.
The driver then told the soldiers his name and they were let through.
Apparently, the soldiers just wanted to make sure that the driver’s name was
Bamar, the major ethnic group in Myanmar.
She wrote, “Racial profiling was just the tip of the iceberg. Our friends
pointed out the colourful 969 stickers plastered on the windows of just about
every other taxi, as well as some establishments and homes. They were selling at
street corners for 100 kyat apiece – about 15 Singapore cents.”
“These innocuous stickers have become something of a symbol of a Buddhist
movement aimed at Muslims. The “9″ stands for the nine special attributes of
Buddha, the “6″ for the six special attributes of his teachings, and the last
“9″ for the nine special attributes of the Buddhist Sangha, or order.”
Violence has been breaking out between the Muslim Rohingya minority and
radical Buddhists who are Bamar, in the western Rakhine state of Myanmar.
The 969 stickers are seen as a reaction to the 786 signs that Muslim owners
have placed on their storefronts for decades to signal that they sell halal food
(the Arabic letters of the opening phrase of the Quran add up to 786 – a
numerical abbreviation for the phrase “Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim” – in the
name of Allah, the compassionate, the merciful).
But some Buddhist radicals see this as some sort of conspiracy or a sign of
solidarity by the Muslims.
Then Ms Corrie Tan made an incredible juxtaposition and linked what she saw
in Myanmar to the Ma Chi incident in Singapore:
“My encounters in Myanmar make me think about the situation in Singapore.
Given the strict laws regulating protest, assembly and speech, do Singaporeans
truly embrace racial and religious tolerance or are we living in a cocoon of
false confidence?
When Chinese national Ma Chi died after crashing his Ferrari in Bugis last
May in a three-vehicle collision that claimed the lives of two others, there was
an almost immediate outpouring of vitriol online. The condemnation that Mr Ma
received because he was a foreigner from mainland China was sharp and
shocking.
The fact that this sort of casual racism and xenophobia still exist is hugely
disturbing.”
journey back to democracy, I think we should be setting a better example than
this (i.e. Singaporeans’ xenophobia towards PRCs like Ma Chi).”
Speaking of Singapore setting a good example for Myanmar to “learn” from, Ms
Corrie Tan may be interested to know that Myanmar has relaxed its control of the
press. Privately owned daily newspapers have returned to Myanmar’s news stands
after an absence of almost 50 years. Four new private dailies – The Voice, The
Golden Fresh Land, The Union and The Standard Time – went on sale last month (1
Apr), becoming the first papers to be published since 1964 not controlled by the
state. Twelve more private newspapers are due to follow.
Myanmar’s once vibrant, multilingual press was effectively shut down by the
Myanmar junta that seized power in 1962, with newspapers either forced to close
or put under state control by 1964. Meanwhile, in Singapore, newspaper
publications are still controlled by the state through 2 Govt linked companies,
one of which Ms Corrie Tan works for.
In any case, do you think it’s fair for SPH’s Ms Corrie Tan to compare
Singaporeans’ condemnation of PRC Ma Chi with Myanmar’s ethnic and religious
strife?
.
Join our TRE facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/TREmeritus
.
)
