Two Singapore Malays, one Malaysian Malay, and one Malaysian Chinese having dinner in Melbourne.

Last night, Lawrence and I had dinner with two Singapore Malays at the Old School Pizza and Stone Grill in Coburg. The company was pleasant, the food satisfying and the conversation flowed back and forth with ease...though if truth be told....the Old School Pizza and Stone Grill ambiance is a tad too loud for the likes of those who want to listen and be heard when discussing matters of mutual interests, but all in all, a pleasant evening was had by all.

We Malaysians, Lawrence and me, learned a few truths, as they would say, from the horse's mouth, about the Malays in Singapore from them. These two were successful businessmen who had their business done anywhere else but in Singapore. They both had sought Malaysian citizenship, but were rebuffed by the authorities in Malaysia!

Why would two successful Malay businessmen be refused Malaysian citizenship ...we asked?

Their answer surprised us.

The Malaysian government is not keen to give Singapore Malays Malaysian citizenship because if they did, it would mean there would be one more Malay, less in Singapore. One more Malay less in Singapore where the Malay population is already down to 13.6% from a high of 60.9 percent when the first census was taken in 1824. And soon, they said, even the Indians will outnumber the Malays. So the Malaysian government wants the Singapore Malays to remain in Singapore! Interesting logic, is it not?

And how, we asked them, are the Malays treated in Singapore?

They told us that during Colonial times, the colonial perspective on race and ethnicity saw the Malays as the natives of Singapore, and the Malays were given special privileges. Upon independence/separation from Malaysia, the politics of inventing a Singapore Identity meant that everyone is equal in Singapore. No more special privileges for the Malays. And the Singapore government went about making that a reality with a vengeance all in the name of making Singapore truly Singapore!

In the beginning, the Malays held large tracts of land in the Kampongs and in other parts of Singapore. The Singapore government insisted that the buildings/houses on these lands be upgraded. Without the financial means to do so, much Malay land was bought over by the Chinese.

Today the population of the Malays in Singapore is down to 13.6% and in every other sector of Singapore society and in every aspect of the Singapore government - in the civil service and armed forces - the Malay presence reflects that 13.6% or less. What is happening to the other races in Malaysia, is happening to the Malays in Singapore.....a sad but real fact of life, in both nations.

That is why, these two successful Singapore Malay businessmen, seek their fortunes and do business anywhere, but in Singapore.

We asked them if there really is discrimination against the Malays in Singapore.

They gave us an example of the questions often asked by many Singaporean Chinese of the Singapore Malays.

If there was a war between Malaysia and Singapore, which side would the Singapore Malays take?

And while I was thinking in my mind...."surely the Singapore Malays would side with the Malays in Malaysia in a war with Singapore"...they came up with another question. "What if China and Singapore went to war...would not the Singapore Chinese support China?"....and again as I was thinking that would also be logical....they came up with another outlook that they thought was more positive. Why ask these sorts of questions in the first place? These sorts of questions were divisive and toxic and serves only to divide people. Why not ask questions that would promote togetherness and harmony amongst all races - not divide them?

So really, the Singapore that we think is the Singapore that insists on meritocracy and insists that everyone will be treated equally and fairly, is really, in fact, not much different from the Malaysia that we all rue about today! The Malaysia that champions Ketuanan Melayu. The Malaysia that has a civil service and armed forces that is, to all intents and purposes, totally Malay, and a Malaysia that overtly and covertly promotes the dominance of one race, the Malays, over the others. Them are the truths!

As I said earlier on, the company was pleasant, the food satisfying and the conversation flowed back and forth with ease. At the evening's end, we said good night with a promise to meet again on Sunday morning at Tullamarine Airport where we will have breakfast with them to continue our conversation, and seal, for life, our friendship....one Malaysian Chinese, one Malaysian Malay, and two Singapore Malays. ...and we will then wish them both a safe journey back to Singapore. The Singapore these two Singapore Malays call home....while we two Malaysian go back to our homes in Melbourne. The Melbourne, we two Malaysians, now call home.

Enough said.