[Isu 'Melayu Singapura Lebih Berjaya' nampaknya belum lagi reda. Tulisan Pak Samad Said di Berita Harian menarik perhatian tetapi Utusan Meloya dan TV3 memang mencari berita murahan.

Orang melayu boleh hidup dan maju di mana sahaja, malah Pak Samad pun banyak kenalan di sana. Soalnya banyak orang melayu yang berguna dijadikan tidak berguna di negara yang dipimpin sendiri oleh parti yang memperjuangkan martabat orang melayu kununnya. Malah Pak Samad sendiri mengarang novel mengikut teknik 'realisma magis' yang dipelopori oleh penulis terkemuka Gabriel García Márquez di Amerika Latin. Tetapi Gabriel menghabiskan begitu banyak masa untuk bersama rakyat marhain dan berkarya untuk mereka, bukan untuk akhbar perdana. Akhirnya dia dianugerah hadiah bukan oleh diktator Pinochet, tetapi oleh dunia sastera sehingga Pak Samad sendiri terpukau oleh kehebatannya. Bukankah 'Hujan Pagi' (1987) karya Pak Samad itu mengandungi unsur 'realisma magis' itu? Malangnya ia tidak terbuka kerana ada sesuatu yang tidak kena. Salah siapa Pak Samad sendiri sudah tahu jawapannya... - Editor]

Source: The Singapore Straits Times

6th February 2001

Media still focuses on PM Goh's remarks

Not meant to put down Malaysians, says journalist

By Wan Hamidi Hamid

IN KUALA LUMPUR

MALAYSIAN papers have kept the issue of ''marginalised'' Malay Singaporeans burning with journalist Tan Sri A. Samad Ismail saying that Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong's statement was not intended to put down Malay Malaysians.

'We should understand that Malay Singaporeans have their own political, economic and social aspirations.' -- Malay journalist Tan Sri A. Samad Ismail

In his column Bila Sauh Dilabuh (When The Anchor Is Dropped), published in Malaysia's Berita Harian on Saturday, he said this was because Malay Malaysians fared much better than their counterparts in Singapore.

''It is foolish of anyone to remark that we in Malaysia do not fare as well as Malay Singaporeans because Malays in Malaysia are the dominant political group in this country.''

He said PM Goh made the remarks at a gathering with Malay Singaporeans in a bid to convince them that ''championing their own fate'' did not run counter to the aspirations of other races.

This meant that Malay Singaporeans should champion their lot in the context of a multi-racial society in the republic, he added.

''Other than touching on Malays in Malaysia, Chok Tong's remarks...were actually an exhortation to Malay Singaporeans and were not a threat to Malaysia.

''However, his remarks are uncalled for as they appear as meddling into the affairs of a neighbouring country.''

He did not think that PM Goh's remarks would affect bilateral relations, believing that misunderstandings could always be resolved amicably.

''We should understand that Malay Singaporeans have their own political, economic and social aspirations.''

He concluded that Malay Singaporeans might have achieved material progress but had not performed well culturally.

Utusan Malaysia on the same day published a letter by one Mazlan Damak of Singapore, who said the Singapore Government was unfair to the Malays.

Claiming to be a Singaporean in his 30s, the writer alleged that Malay Singaporeans were being marginalised in their own country while foreign nationals from China and India had big houses and luxury cars.

TV3 yesterday also carried the first of a two-part special report on Malay Singaporeans. It interviewed Malay-based associations saying that Malays were marginalised in Singapore. Today, it will continue to examine ''the real political agenda of PM Goh's statement''.