The past week or so i have heard many ramblings about this book.. have received numerous emails and sms as well.. First I wanted to take the neutral approach.. but that is going to be a wee bit difficult in this sense.. The author states that he wrote this book after much research about the community in India.. I have nothing against him.. the society in India is dated to at least 5,000 years ago.. they were far more civilized than the west, look out for the Lost City of Dwarka.. there are evidences proving that..
The word in question 'p****h' is a term used to define a person’s occupation. As time evolved, just the way we tell our children if you don’t study you will need to sweep the drains.. the word evolved into a derogatory term. Even here, in Malaysia we have ‘hush’ words that all of us were allowed to use freely now is forbidden to use because the word/name belongs to the supposed ‘superior’ race..
A close friend, Dr Ganesh Ramachandran’s take on the usage of the 'p****h' term..
"The caste system as a matter of fact in Indian society is true but it must also take into account the efforts of the community to rid itself of this blight. The problem is perspective..... if this book is introduced into the curriculum, would it legitimize the usage of the p word when referring to Indians? Would it legitimize the racial abuse of teachers and other civil servants in the recent past? Is the caste system a part of the Hindu religion? In the first place people must realize that the so called Hindu religion never started out as a religion, it was a code of behaviour and a system that spelled out a particular way of life."
"The caste system as it started out was a method of dividing society according to their trade or occupations. No one was born into a particular caste. If you look objectively a subtle form of cast or class system exists in all societies."
We need to look at this objectively? Not with emotions, but with logic.. We want to expose our children, the future of our generation to negative or the positive aspect of history. My friend Dr Ganesh also highlighted the following:
“We should not allow a book that presents Indians in a negative light to become part of the national curriculum especially in Malaysia where racial undertones colour almost every sphere of activity, it's not like the so called ‘p****hs’ who migrated to Malaysia did good, many are still caught in the web of poverty that brought them here because we have a subtle caste system of our own in this country that resolutely prevents them from ridding themselves of that yoke of poverty. At the same time you also have to recognize the efforts in India to overcome the caste system.”
Coming back to the book, the author Datuk Abdullah Hussain comments can be viewed here.. http://thestar.com.my/news
The question is not about the intention of the book, or person who authored it – please get that straight? Its about the government who in the form of Ministry of Education that decided that this book was suitable for our children.. This is the same government that preaches 1Malaysia.. Do you not think that in realising the dream you need to look at what you feed the young minds as well? Personally I do know the sales of this book has sky rocketed.. the author and of course the distributor will be pleased.. but the team that approved this book to be included in the national syllabus has to answer.. whose making the bucks here is my next question..
Please stop pussy footing and start with putting your money where your mouth is.
wise or otherwise,
dhena
p/s some interesting articles on Interlok
