On Australia's policy in Asia

On Australia's policy in Asia

I refer to Reaz Abdullah's letter (Australia's policy in Asia,
The Jakarta Post, Dec. 30, 2004).

In a feeble attempt to purport that racism lies behind
Australia's foreign policies, Abdullah's rhetoric is more than a
little reminiscent of some of the hate-driven ramblings of the
former prime minister of Malaysia.

Abdullah himself admits that "the larger more rational
society" rejected Pauline Hanson and her racist One Nation Party
-- more than that she and her supporters were pelted with eggs at
their rallies and were treated with the contempt and scorn that
they deserved.

However, to suggest that "such racist behavior exists
somewhere in the dark corners of the Australian psyche" is an
outrageous and totally ludicrous statement. Every society and
every country occasionally throws up certain undesirable
individuals whose opinions and actions decry the beliefs and
morals of the majority of the population. Hitler, Stalin, Pol
Pot, etc.

Currently, a Malaysian national is known to be responsible for
leading the terror network in this country that is responsible
for the death and maiming of scores of innocent Indonesians and
other nationals, so maybe your concerns would be better directed
within your own country? One could also point to the heavy-handed
treatment and mass deportation of Indonesian workers from
Malaysia and cry "racism". Or again one could point to the bumi
putera system still operating in Malaysia today which clearly
favors Malay nationals over Chinese Malaysians and other ethnic
minorities, what better example of the "institutionalization of
racism", as Abdullah puts it, does one need?

GRAHAM EDWARDS
Jakarta