Khairulanwar Zaini / Current Affairs Department
From 1st July, Colonel Ishak bin Ismail caps his 28 years with the Singapore Armed Forces by being the first Malay to attain the rank of brigadier-general. The first Malay one-star general is clearly one for the history books, but the question remains whether it will be the only star shining for the foreseeable future.
The Straits Times lauded the promotion of the current Commander of 6th Division as “a milestone in Malays’ efforts to be fully accepted in the military”; it was only in 1987 that another brigadier-general doubted the loyalty of Malay soldiers by virtue of their religion: “If there is a conflict, we don’t want to put any of our soldiers in a difficult position where his emotions for the nation may be in conflict with his emotions for his religion … We don’t want to put anybody in that position where he feels he is not fighting a just cause, and perhaps worse, maybe his side is not the right side.” (Then-BG (Res) Lee Hsien Loong, who was also then Second Minister for defence.)
BG Ishak: Trailblazer or token?
There are many unresolved issues in the prickly relationship between the government and the largest minority race, particularly about its role in the military. Member of Parliament Zaqy Mohamad acknowledged in TODAY that COL Ishak’s promotion “dispels some talk” of “Malays (not) serving in the upper echelons of the SAF”. However, is COL Ishak a trailblazer or, in Mr Zaqy’s own words, the “token”?
Citing sui generis examples like COL Ishak as testament of progress has its limitations. That it required 44 years post-independence to see a Malay general indicate progress long overdue; meanwhile, the single Malay general reflects another somber truth: while Malays are arguably more integrated into the rank-and-file of the SAF, their representation in the officer and staff ranks remains lamentable.
The harsh reality is that COL Ishak, foisted to be the standard bearer for Malay achievement in the military, is also the exception. Furthermore, it is an open secret that certain vocations are made inaccessible to Malays for security considerations. Gradual steps have been taken to open hitherto sensitive vocations to Malays, but most remain tight-shut.
More work, and numbers, needed
Measuring the progress of Malays in the military requires more than the promotion of one man. The selective interpretation of the first but singular Malay general, or that the infantry has a high proportion of Malay specialists, misses germane concerns.
For a more accurate assessment to determine whether Malays are “fully accepted” in the military, more numbers could be made transparent by MINDEF without much risk to security: the racial breakdown of the officer corps by rank structure, and also the racial profile of every cohort that gains entry into the prestigious Officer Cadet School and the School of Infantry Specialists. Furthermore, a racial breakdown of manpower strength by vocation will be useful in confirming (or debunking) the veracity of anecdata that purports overrepresentation of Malays in combat service support such as transport, medical and logistics while being virtually absent in the more technical and sensitive combat arms like artillery, armour and combat engineers as well as the other two armed services, the navy and air force.
The Value of Citizenship over Race
Underlying this backslapping of “Malay progress” is the deeper issue of racial identities vis-a-vis a national one.
Ironically, efforts at racial integration has been impeded by the government’s own CMIO (Chinese, Malay, Indian and Others) policy that typecasts a racial profile for every citizen. The policy presupposes that every Chinese is a Confucianist, that every Indian is a cultural traditionalist, and that every Malay is a strict Islamic practitioner who prioritizes adherence to faith over country.
With a single stroke of an alphabet, every Singaporean is automatically embedded with a culture at birth; a child inherits the father’s ‘race’ – with all its associated trappings – while all possible ambiguities of racial identities are dismissed. Other than failing to identify with the dilemma of ‘mixed’ parentage, the government’s predilection with hyphenated-citizens undermines national identity for a more parochial racial one.
Not only does this policy results in the partition self-help groups along ethnic lines which can conceivably encumber social work efforts, it is also partly responsible for perpetuating the impression of the enigmatic Malay Singaporean whose loyalty is always mired in doubt. In the words of then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, “It would be a very tricky business for the SAF to put a Malay officer who was very religious and who had family ties in Malaysia, in charge of a machine-gun unit.”
As long as the government holds onto this perspective, the promise of Minister for Environment and Water Resources Yaacob Ibrahim as mentioned in TODAY that “hard work and playing by the rules would bring its rewards in a meritocratic society” remains a distant dream.
Progress: Community and National Pride
Considering that Malay youths were not conscripted in the initial decade after the inception of National Service, Brigadier-General Ishak is undoubtedly a watershed, albeit much belated. While not depriving the man of his deserving success, it may be more prudent to dampen the carousel and examine whether the promotion has any effective and lasting significance on the notion of meritocracy and race relations not only in the military, but in the general public sphere as well.
1st July will be a proud day for one Malay man and his family, and the Malay community will collectively bask in shared glory. It will be a much prouder day for the nation if PM Lee Hsien Loong rescinds the policy statement that he made in 1987 and the government abandons the CMIO scheme.
The long-lasting hope to nurture and develop a full-fledged nation out of this city-state is laudable. That can be realized if Singaporeans, of varying racial affiliations and religious persuasions, can be identified for whom they fundamentally are, first and foremost: Singaporean citizens.
With contributions by: Ravi Philemon
Pictures from Mindef website.
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This general looks more like an Indian to me,judging by his features. Is he a Mamak?
Some have pointed out “facts” that show Muslims betraying their side.
However, a Muslim American soldier might have done so in the event that his platoon was not carrying out missions according to plan. There have been several cases of ill disciplined conduct amongst US soldiers in Iraq.
So can be the case everywhere else. The full story is important, and not just a part of it.
Anyways, did the government, being their usual hypocrtical self, not realise that by not entrusting the Malays about their loyalty to nation, it fuels even more ill feelings and can possibly erode their sense of patriotism to Singapore?
And also, if we go to war with Malaysia, does their military not have soldiers of other races or religions? So why was the Malay-Muslim community judged?
After MM Lee went to Malaysia……”things look different”.
To keep our neighbours happy & quiet…..hopefully for next few months.
No dramas for “One Star General”. Just a title.
Just like teachers, it has different grading from junior to senior categories.
By the time, he reaches to mid junior general……he will retire or join parliament.
Anyway, he is Not in a sensitive dept (Air Force, Navy, Commando, Intelligence, etc).
Just a only a title, take it easy…….just like President Nathan. The So-call President but more like a puppet.
Shhiisshhhh what’s so kaypoh about the Malay General? Is the predominantly Chinese officer corps in SAF helps ends the National Slavery which many Sg Chinese desipised so much? NO! All we need now is 100% professional army whch helps a lot if some poor elite infantryman drowned in water-dunking training. Look at MAF, does their people ran amok when ever year their army paratrooper and commandos kiled in parachuting accident?
BG Ishak, when you retire just stay at home lor, don’t join the FT-loving, ang mor-kow-towing PAP. Lots of SAF senior officer did and they just add to our misery!
why did MY withdraw from singapore held AYG? sorry, i digressed.
A newly minted Malay brig-gen brings pride to Malay community? Sure? How much pride will he bring a Malay family of 6 living hand-to-mouth on welfare? On that matter, we’ve have a Eurasian president, Chinese one, Indian two, but heck, how much pride have they brought Eurasian, Chinese and Indian families who are struggling day to day in S’pore?
Let’s not delude ourselves that a minority President or the 1st Malay general will bring improvements by leaps and bounds for that ethnic group. What we should be more concerned about is not ethnic classification, but ‘economic stratification. A poor family living in a tiny rental apartment while relying on a sole-breadwinner and welfare REMAINS poor, regardless of what ‘race’ it says they are on their S’pore ICs.
Having a single Malay BG does not make life better for the Malay Community immediately. But to say that is the reason to qualify COL Ishak’s promotion as wayang is just far-fetched. What matters is that his promotion is a testimonial to our Malay soldiers in the SAF that there may be no glass ceiling for them in future. I wish all the best for the Malay regular soldiers serving the SAF.
Obviously this is a timed trick to satiate the Malay community because old man Lee might be dying soon and he is afraid of his own paranoia of ‘instability’ after his passing.
Any ‘instability’ though is brought about by the very system and social mentality that he designed.
Read through Lee Kuan Yew: Race, Culture, Genes for more info – http://www3.ntu.edu.sg/lib/ne/lky/raceculturegenes.pdf
A deepest congratulation to our First BG Malay. To tink about it…. The first in how many decades….. How pathetic could that be… Somehow I still felt that Malay are purely discriminated in certain post in SAF especially the RSAF and Navy. Like MM Lee stated before tat what if we go war with malaysian…. would our malay back off and join the other side… I felt this kind of answer is bull****. I as a Singaporean…. in term of national emergency such as WAR… Priorty is my family and my country…. I protect them with my life….. I dont need to side with my enemy just because I am a muslim or a malay…. That got nothin to do with it…. I still face the bullet if I go war with Malaysia… U think Malaysian side would care if we are a muslim and malay and dont shoot us because of that…. No matter wat…. i still get shoot…because in war….. one rule onli….. my country and your country….nothing to do with religion…. I just would like to post this question…… What if a chinese soldier(singapore) saw his brother or best fren(Enemy Side: Malaysian) in the battlefield… Will he shoot the enemy????? Obviously.. .there is a conflict of interest and feeling in that kind of situation…. Lastly, I believe…. Every singaporean regardless of race language or religion have their chance to fight along side with their comrades who is either CMIO,…..In watever vocation….. Intelligence….. commando….. airforce or navy…. Tink about our chinese brother feeling…. why they have to fight this war alone not as a country but as a race and religion….
#47
thanks for enlightening me. It seems our northern neighbours are more ahead of us in dealing with minorities in the armed forces than us. Wonder why our leaders are so paranoid?
The first Black general was Benjamin O. Davis Sr., who was appointed on October 16, 1940 in 174th year of the birth of the nation.
The first Black general in the U.S. Air Force-and the second Black general-was B.O. Davis Jr., the son of the first Black general, who was appointed on October 27, 1954. He retired in 1970 with the rank of lieutenant general.
The first Black four-star general was Daniel (Chappie) James, who was promoted to that rank and named Commander-in-Chief of the North American Air Defense Command on September 1, 1975.
The first Black Admiral in the U.S. Navy was Samuel Lee-Gravely Jr., who was appointed on April 28, 1971.
The first Black to head an armed forces base in the United States was B.O. Davis Jr., who was named commander of Godman Field (Ky.) on June 21, 1945.
The first Black to command an army division was Major General Frederic E. Davidson, who assumed command of the Eighth Infantry Division in Germany on April 19, 1972.
The first Black general in the Marine Corps was Frank E. Peterson Jr., who achieved the rank on February 23, 1979.
The first Black Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was General Colin Powell who was confirmed by the Senate on 21st September 1989.
From the start to the pinnacle of the military hierarchy, a total of 49 years. But of course, bought by humiliation, patience, endurance, courage, blood and African American lives.
Not to too bad for a Malay BG in comparison.
posts 49 and 52. was told that he is an indian as indian could be. he is not a malay as we understand a malay to be! so, back to square one.
but really the gahmen should just drop their discriminatory practice and wlak their talk about meritocracy!
In this country, as long as you are a successful Muslim, you are considered a Malay-Muslim even though you might be Indian, Chinese or whatever.
Does anyone here know why the term Malay-Muslim is being used so widely? What about the rest of the Muslim population?
this is marketing and getting people to think they are EQUAL opportunity employer and Malays would appreciate.
Why they ask when would they allow this race to hold PM or Vice PM position?
He is a muslim alright but that doesn’t make him Malay. This is just a propaganda. The Malays are still discriminated. Theres always loyalty issue when Meritocracy is not working in certain govt hierachy. Can we trust the Malays?
To the Malays , its like asking where is your loyalty, to your father or mother?
This is a crap a chauvanist always excuses himself with when merit is not given it place.
Someone say if we go to war with malaysia or indonesia , malays loyalty will be judge. History has shown , Spanish,Dutch,British,Portugish and Japan have invaded us(our region). IS IT ODD TO BE INVADED BY ANYONE? So why Malays are judge?
China spratly is just at the corner. If Chine decide to go into war with ASEAN, will Singapore army fight CHINA army?
Can ASEAN member suspect Singapore loyalty base on RACE!!!!
China is accumulating oil reserve right now and Spratly islands (claimed by a few ASEAN countries) have untap oil reserve. This is a potential hot spot.
At time, we will face this kind of situation. If we going to predict on how others behave we will open ourself to the same.
But in Singapore case, unwritten policy is already applied base on IF. Base on prediction, base on one’s party view, base on one race view on other.
Our leaders are paranoid because THEIR leader is paranoid. Follow the leader mah.. :)
aiyoyo
cant keep thinking, is there something boiling?
eg. to ‘join’ into our neighbour country…
another dinner topic with kakis.
aiyoyo
Eeee, i thought the uniform changed liao?
is that picture old one or recent one?
by the by, what is your views on the new digital pixel camou uniform?
which you prefer ? the old one or new one? why?
To anakin comment #61,
Why are they paranoid? Well, this is a just a guess, and i could be wrong.
1. Singapore broke away from Malaysia due to racial issues. Thus our senior leaders, as well as the senior leaders in Malaysia, are still hung up over this “race” issue. MM Lee’s visit to Malaysia, and Dr M’s response, clearly highlighted the “tension” that still exists between us.
2. The racial riots of the 60s in Singapore, according to the press and historians (Singapore-based press and historians, mind you), were the result of instigation from chauvinist Malaysian politicians. So, it is believed, Malays in Singapore were provoked due to Malaysia’s politicians.
3. Indonesia could bring up the fact that Singapore (as well as Johor) was part of ancient Srivijaya and Majapahit kingdoms. The riots when Suharto fell showed the resentment that could be nascent between races.
4. Jemaah Islamiyah talked about the unification of the Nusantara – the Malay archipelago, from south Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and South Philippines.
5. SAF doctrine was initially assisted by Israel Defence Forces. and they had a deep mistrust of the surrounding Arab countries. Possibly they set forth the idea not to give senior positions in the army to a “race” that surrounds Singapore.
But in my mind, the average Malay/Muslim singaporean just wants to “get along”, get into the mainstream, allowed to practice his/her religion without prejudice, have a house over their heads, food to eat, and rise up in careers, like anybody else. What i can tell you is that if one talks about loyalty, once you’ve won our trust and loyalty, we are arguably the most loyal of people. anyway, i have no empirical proof so its open for discussion.
#57
No sgporeans of any races got any benefit from Lion City’s progress. Its the foreign talent that took away our jobs, scholarships and even women! One Malay friend of mine during our NSF days cynically told me “If I can have secure future including job, and not loosing my girlfriend to some Ang Mor, having no Malay General in SAF is no big deal to me!”
I share the same opinion. SAF flag ranks are predominantly Chinese bastion since independence but why the conscription continue to torture Sg males today esp Chinese like me who hates soldiering?
actually the statement back in 1987 is actually a fact..depends on the individual..i am a malay and any human being can be swayed by emotions if he must shoot someone of the same race/religion…
But not everybody can agree to that definitely..so what if there is a malay general..it does not make any difference..
ppl intends to migrate rather than staying forever in singapore..
i think that is to show the whole world..
#66
Meritocracy works in admission to universities, teaching vacancies and few things in this country for Malay (and also Muslim Indian/Mamak). But in HDB flats, the right to use loudspeakers for mu’azzin in mosques to call for prayer, and also for the RSN – it’s zero. Malay and Muslim communities are not allowed to be in huge numbers in all HDB flats for some ridicolous reasons. So why I had to think that one recently appointed Malay BG in SAF would make me forget ’bout all that paranoid policies?
@ 39) pugdragon
I am Chinese also and I know of many dishonest Chinese businessmen and politicians who are corrupted and dishonest. They have no remorse in enslaving and scamming their own race. That’s why you see incidents of contaminated milk, fish and other food. Profit and power is the bottom line of these corrupt Chinese leaders, ethnics and human rights is not important to them.
I cant believe the totalitarian PAP goverment allowed this .
yes, finally there is one.
The first Malay general. Big deal. The first Malay pilot. Big deal. The first Malay Hollywood actor. Big deal. Wow! The number of Malay leftenans growing in SAF. Amazing! Then again, Big deal. More Malays in NUS. Impressive. Oh ya, Big deal…
Let’s forget about race politics for a second. Let’s forget about SAF, NUS racial quota, racial division when buying HDB flats, speak Mandarin campaign, job opportunities etc etc etc.
Let me entertain you with a nice Hollywood movie. I like to recommend this to everyone. It’s the dialogue that’s interesting. Then you’ll begin to understand how things really are.
Here’s my favourite part of this particular Hollywood movie. It’s call, The Good Shepherd. It stars Matt Damon. In this intance, read the bit of dialogue embedded below, which I cut and paste from somewhere in the Hollywood websites. Here it comes:
Joseph Palmi: Let me ask you something… we Italians, we got our families, and we got the church; the Irish, they have the homeland, Jews their tradition; even the niggers, they got their music. What about you people, Mr. Wilson, what do you have?
Edward Wilson: The United States of America. The rest of you are just visiting.
Get it? Don’t get it? Ok, all you have to do is replace the dialogue into your local context.
Problem with alot of people on this island is that they mistake opinions for thoughts.
Fellow Singaporeans, let us unite as one people, one nation, one Singapore. That’s the way that we should be forever more. Every creed and every race has its role and has its place.
Yeah, right.
This is bullshit, he is not a malay muslim, he is an indian muslim. Singapore government would not mind putting an indian as president or any senior appointments but for a real Malay muslim to be one, it is nearly impossible. Im just surprise till today in year 2009, many chinese singaporeans cannot distinguish an indian and a malay muslim. there are differences you see.
look at his face , does he look malay? just because his name is muslim like ahmad,. mohd, ishak, ali..etc, does not mean he is malay. nearly half of the so called malay community are indian descendant or other race like arabs or pakistani. you ask any malay speaking guy or girl who looks like indian whether they are malay, they will proudly deny they are NOT malay and say they are indian, arab or whateve race its stated in their nric.
the reason why this guy here chose to be called a malay because he can gain credit, coz its not a big thing for an indian to be a BG(we have those people before) but as a malay , he can be the “First” so call BG malay.
till today the truth is pakistanis, arabs and indian muslims who speak malay in singapore look down at malays and use this to their leverage to show the chinese majority there are the “better malays” because if they were to compete the indian market, they are left behind from other elite indians . this is just another political controversy where the republic wants to show the chinese and malays here and in msia/indo there are not racist to malays when in actual fact it might not be the case.
the funny thing is, when the spore chinese gal was killed at mumbai, india by indian/paki terrorists, nobody blame the indians, people always think the malays are the ones who do all this shit or are the terrorists. dont look aT the members of the islamic group who are malays(they are just followers) , look at the leaders who lead AND PLAN this bullshit to attack the west, look carefully at their faces , they are all PAKISTAN, INDIAN or ARAB but disguise as the malay so the malay community will always get the backlash and derailed further.
As long as any Lee, Kuan & Yew-named guy become generals and admirals in SAF, Singapore would remain strong-lah!
Well frankly 1st Malay or 1st this and that in the world means nothing. We see Malaysia & Brunei, there are heaps of Malays already being a General etc decades ago.
My point is we do not need to promote things which we reckon sensitive. We might look abymally silly and immatured. As the technology grow and modern Singapore established, our mentality must grow along. Thanks
In case you guys don’t know, this guy is Yusof Ishak’s grandson.
Well that explains it then. (Grandson of Yusof Ishak). Sorry, but to me it’s another PR (propaganda relations) to boost the image of Singapore as a multi racial state which practices meritocracy. I’m waiting for the day when a true Malay Singaporean born and bred from the ‘racial ghettos’ to rise among the ranks and be the first chief of air force. Not army cos that’s where you find most Malay officers anyways. Then again it took 40 years to have a 1 star general and he’s what in his 40s, while you have 3 star generals half his age of other races. It’s nothing to shout about, really.
I think that singapore wont give to a pure malay guy…i think this ishak guy got a mix blood….of indian abit thats why…..maybe it is just a reason to make the neighbouring country happy….where is the guy now?….is he still serving as brigadier general?