So let me disclaimer 1st: I am a Chinese myself. So please don't say that I am racist ok.

I grew up in a not-so-typical Chinese household whereby my father was locally English-educated and, my mother, was educated in a Western country until she graduated from University.

Nevertheless I went to an SJK ( C) and went all the way until SMJK whereby I also took my Chinese in SPM and got an A for it.

And now I am working in a medium-sized audit firm (already 2yrs+), whereby my colleagues are 80~90% Chinese (and majority of them are from TARC, UTAR etc. I myself went to a local government uni though).

Throughout my student life and also my working life, I've witnessed how hardworking are these Chinese-educated Chinese (despite I myself being one of them).

Dang, the amount they put into studies and also their work ethics is so.....beyond me. Very hardworking and competitive indeed. At the same time, very materialistic too.

But it really does create a mental stress to me when looking at them being so competitive and hardworking.

Sometime I wonder, is it me who has personality / attitude issues?

I admit that I was blessed with certain level of intellect whereby I could just slack through my way, and still got Full As in my SPM, and lucky enough to be accepted into a Matrikulasi, and went to a local government uni, and again, fortunate enough to got my 1st class by slacking through my degree.

I've never understood why they had to be this hardworking and competitive, when, at the end of the day, they might end up with same position as me, or perhaps end up to be at a lil better position than me. What's the whole point?

And I noticed that sometimes its like ingrained into their DNA you know? Like hardworking is the only way to achieve success. Not to mention on how they actually measure success - which is solely by your wealth.

It seems that the Chinese society doesn't let you say that "I'm not so into high salaries, if huge sacrifices needs to be made. I rather take care of my health, my happiness, etc.". It seems that the moment you say this kind of statement, you are automatically a loser (well, 1st hand experience from myself).

Until this day I still failed to figure out the reason. Could this be due to upbringing / family culture problem?

As explained earlier, due to my parents background, they were really not typically Chinese minded. I also always failed to understand all the stories which my peers / friends would say, like how their parents would force them to study, ask about their grades, how their relatives will gossip about your grades and also, your salary. They all never happened to me. My parents / relatives just didnt gave a single f**k. Just be a good person, take care of yourself and that's it.

Whereas for typically Chinese minded parents it seems that they want their children to be "dragon / phoenix among the people" (人中之龍 / 人中之鳳). And everything revolves around money, material success. IIRC comedian Ronny Cheng once said "Do you know what does Chinese wish each other in CNY? Gong Xi Fa Cai (May you get rich) ! Not Happy New Year."

The question is, why?

Seriously, I admire the Malay working culture more because they are generally more relaxed. Whereas most of the Chinese I know would label it with negative connotations such as "lazy", "unmotivated", "easily satisfied and no dreams in life". Well, what if my dream is to live a happy, normal life?

This post has been edited by hong8888: May 15 2021, 06:15 PM

Darwin evolution - survival of fittest

As the arabic phrase goes, man jadda wa jadda (Whoever strives shall succeed).

Success rates

Top - Hardworking, Smart & Creative
High - Smart & Creative
Medium - Hardworking
Low - Neither of the above

My personal observations across few industries

I can't say for the chinese but I can say for the Malay.

They are often content with what they have, and mental health/ child health is more important. To them, money isn't everything. (Although some thinks that it is-hence the corruption cases, etc)

On a side note, I do love having Malay bosses around since they tend to be more forgiving, and more approachable in the workplace.

But of course, you can't generalize the whole race due to one person. A human is very complex, its not always black and white. His/her past experiences will shape what he/she will be in the future.

Let me ask you this, how is your family's financial situation, are you well off? I am guessing you are well off (not the rich kind but also did your parent did not have to worry where the next meal will come from). Many Chinese within this generation have had 2 generations before them that actually worked their asses off to improve their financial situation so that at least this generation can go to Uni and do better in life. That is why the mentality and also outlook on life are totally different.

Who is lazy, hardworking, materialistic, and not, is not determined by who says, but by scale. if you are very hardworking, then you will view people who work slower and don't have the same work ethics as you as lazy, simple as that.

You say you admire the "more relaxed working culture", this also tell me you are quite young in your career.

I am chinese..

But i also have to say got hardworking malay n indian also just tat u r not in their circle so u cannot see only..

I understand what you mean by some group of Chinese people that are hardcore at work. I've noticed it as well throughout the years

Sometimes it just boils down to the values instil into them by their parents. It's something that was pass down from generation to generation

Maybe you were born into an middle class where your parents had the financial means to provide a comfortable living.

Perhaps this is one of the many reason why some chase material things because they never had any to begin with.

Our ancestors toiled really hard whether in mainland or in other countries. That willingness to struggle, to live simple so that the next generation can be better is something deserving respect.

I guess the struggle is why most Chinese parents teach their sons to work hard to get more money and their daughters to find a rich guy to marry to. The problem with this teaching is it doesn't consider many other things like to make money legally and ethically and for daughters, to find really rich guys not by their cars or house or watches they own.

Normal la immigrants are like that...if you see america, UK, Australia, is all the same observation..

Asian-american households make the most money...
Asian-australian households make the most money...
Asian-malaysian households make the most money...
Asian-european households make the most money..

especially from east asia with mongoloid features

Is the reason why they migrate from china...their ancestors had to battle disease, sea, and foreign land just to open businesses and trade...

Is in their DNA to work hard.

This post has been edited by Oklahoma: May 16 2021, 05:06 PM

My opinion is this;

By the turn of 20th century, China population is about 400million.

That is already way way more than the rest of the world. In a sense, there is an extreme urge to survive among many people around them. In long run, it become a norm and a culture.

in my opinion, each race has their own characteristic in their general population. So of course there are hardowrking other races but generally other races are a bit more relaxed.
I believe its not really about the gene. But more about a teaching that is too old n too widely applied so its hard to change. You can be the not so hardworking chinese but there are milions other chinese people that are hardworking that automatically will make you not preferred.

Its kind of like chinese also believe in the chinese zodiac (ox, dog, snake etc) its not from their gene. just a historical and cultural value that is too old n too deep rooted. Too many ppl believe in it that its pretty hard to stop believe in it. I myself don't believe in any of that astrology but so many other chinese ppl will tell me "its true". luckily i see growing number of ppl stop believing in chinese zodiac so the deep rooted tradition is slowly fading away. Maybe in the future if everyone starts doing it, the Chinese people can be more relaxed.

each ancestor is different. so each race will have some belief/ tradition that is too deeply rooted that its hard to stop doing it nowadays.

Depends really . The generalization is that Chinese are the hardest worker. But in truth across all races we have the hardworkers and the not-so-much.

It's all depends on your observation as well as mental conditioning.

generalizing through observation is inaccurate.
A person might only observe 100?200?1000?
There are actually 7mil Chinese in Malaysia.
Sample size too small.
I'm Chinese and I'm nothing like what you've described.

all your need base on what you do now.

That is why if you still poor mean something wrong in somewhere.

For me it was simple. From young we strive to be better so we can have better lives, is not for luxurious but better it is also a virtue.

My grandparents work at mine to fund my parents for education. It was tough, and my parents has decent education to raise me and my siblings.

It seems like is a logical thing to do to continue working hard, I don't wanna be a char siew and say hey I have enough because my parents give me sufficient things..
That seem a bit shallow too. My parents always tell me, we should try to be better than the previous gen.

Though can't say I'm I'm doing super good but I'm not reliant on my parent that much. Sometimes can give then some back.

Dosent mean that I don't like to be lazy, I fuck chill every weekend after hard-work. Most of the time I just work until I have time to chill, given the chance I will want to retire early. Is not an infinite material chase for me, there is a point I call it sufficient.

But until then, working hard and trying to be best of oneself is something good to strive for. Besides that, like me I'm working with ppl, I don't want my lazy ass drag other ppl performance down or causing trouble for my colleague.

It is not just me, but have to work hard for the minimum not bringing trouble to others. Others are doing the same to not trouble me so much as well. Is a civic duty I would say

Beside that, in future if I have spouse I will want to give her something better, ofc not giving her the world but the best I can provide. Ask many of my friends and colleagues with kids, they work every day for their kids, because at their age they pretty much have whatever they wanted, but family drives them, what else is better than giving good education, food, medical to loves one? And that requires money, they work hard for these.


I'm single and all, I don't earn a million. But even for me for my ownself I feel is sufficient to sustain my need. By spending less, I cna see my saving growing bit by bit. Kinda fun seeing that growth.

This post has been edited by littlegamer: May 15 2021, 06:42 PM

If one has gone through hardship, one know why one need to be successful.

But then again, there are few who always say is fated.

u joined the wrong gang / friend...

Wait you said partially true. Esp in salary. They all fought who have higher salary in my office. LOL!!!

Yes I know we cannot generalise the whole race due to one person. I've met demanding Malays in my work / studies too. But the chances are much lower than Chinese as I observed.

I know sometime Chinese among themselves kind of ejek Malay's attitude / culture of bersyukur, and say this is why they don't improve / earn big bucks (I know this is also abit racist. I myself dont agree with it). But to me its actually good because it brings you content, happiness, and satisfaction in your life. We should learn to appreciate what we have.

erm, you don't need to join this so-called "chinese society" if you don't like it, no one is forcing you to. Like me, I'm always doing my own thing. The best friends I made are mostly foreigners because, yeah, they don't talk about money at all

I admit that my grandparents from both sides were considered well-off at the time, hence my parents does not say the typical Chinese parents complaints / mumbling of "Do you what did I went thru at your age? I had to blablabla .......". So yes, your assumption is correct. My parents didn't really went thru much hardships.

But from what I observe. Takkan la every Chinese I met was poor up to our parents generation? Some has family business for few generations and rich, but still very hardworking. I cannot brain why they still need to be so hardworking. If I got half of their wealth, I will just sell the business and live a conservative, minimalist life.

But it's not like other races (not just limited to Malay and Indians. Other countries as well) they all had something to begin with aren't they?

Why only the Chinese has such culture?

Yes I am really sick of this culture. Everything is about money and material. Even afterlife also need to burn joss paper, house, cars.......why? Yes I understand hundred years ago they have famine, etc. But do we have any of those now?

Well this make some sense. The Confucius teachings huh.

I dont believe in those Chinese Zodiac as well. Well, if placebo effect motivates them, then its good for them. Equivalent to a psychologist lol

It's better to be hardworking and materialistic compared to being lazy and materialistic

If I don’t study for my exams I know I’ll get a B or C
But if I just put in a little more effort, I might get an A
So why settle for less ?

Well here is my opinion. Whats the point that you still have to work hard and chase for higher wealth / material success, if your parents / grandparents / ancestors has already provided you with comfortable basics? When it will end?

I've seen some has family business for few generations and rich, but still very hardworking. I cannot brain why they still need to be so hardworking. If I got half of their wealth, I will just sell the business and live a conservative, minimalist life. Go work whatever I like. But obviously for them, no. They must achieve even higher wealth / material success than their parents / grandparents / ancestors.

As for not creating trouble in work - my theory is quite simple. If everyone stops working so damn hard, then you won't be causing trouble to others because it will be the norm. Just like those Western countries. Why can't they realise this? The competition will never end. It will be a cut-throat competition whereby at the end , no body wins.

On a side note, to me having kids is also a financially-bad decision - but thats another story though.

Haha, it is hard when you grew up in the Chinese society itself. But I don't socialize much anyway. Just that in work, in study, you still have to face these kind of culture.

If little more effort, yes, I agree.

But the amount of effort that the Chinese usually put in, well I dont think it meets the definition of "little more".

China's Chinese, yes. Cause their worth of life is totally evaluated by the wealth they can make. That's what caused by prolonged poverty for generations.

As for our local Chinese, its because of peer pressure. You're a failure if you failed to reach XXX and YYY by you're ZZ.

This post has been edited by msacras: May 15 2021, 07:32 PM

Not really, but it is in the blood. On the other hand, I don't see what's wrong if you choose to be happy and grateful and not aiming to do more. Although most will not understand you, and if you are single, it is a turn off for most girls. But you have to make a choice, please everyone kill yourself, or please yourself and ignore the views of others.

Why after grad, worked 2 years, and still your spm result is the highlight of your life?

Uni grad cgpa?

Work commendations?

If we don't work hard we get nothing , we don't easily get tongkat

Used to hardworking when I just graduate, in charge of 3 project under a senior. Now I'm senior just in charge of 1 project with an assistance of another junior.

Moral of the story, work life balance. The harder you work doesn't mean company will pay or treat you better.

this benchmarking apply to all Malaysian.

so whoever smart and hardworking, will become successful...

PS: not applicable to helang or their "dadikasi" anak

Sociopathic tendencies are prevalent among the Chinese community and you need to have way less empathy to brute your way to wealth and success. It's very obvious in mainland China, as the people there are very prone to sociopathy and psychopathy due to social conditions.

Speaking as a Chinese raised by narcissists.

Well I did get a 1st class for my degree. Although I barely made it.

But its okay for me because I didnt even try to get a 1st class in my degree anyway. So its a bonus for me.

Work commendation? Well, I guess I am an average joe.

Im SJKC educated but brought up in an English/Hokkien speaking family. I realized i also have this attitude of striving for more money, despite having a comfortable amount of assets and monthly earnings. My partner, brought up in Hakka/English family, is the opposite of me and is more laid back and relaxed. But when it comes to money, we both bring back about 25k++ a month, excluding some side business and investments that we do.

My thoughts are simple. My grandparents came from China with nothing, worked hard and started their own companies, bought lands and companies. My parents were instilled with the same attitude, while they took over their family business, or started their own ventures.

As for me? I probably took bits and pieces of their working attitude, since we grew up in the same house. I also have a kid, and I want a better future for my kids. We don’t get special allocation for schools and civil service, so we have to work extra harder to ensure our kids gets educated. We are also reminded daily that we’re not welcomed in Malaysia, so it could be a matter of time before Malaysia becomes a country you no longer can stay in anymore.

And that’s why, work hard and earn money. By doing that, you are ensuring the survival of your next generation.

You probably won’t feel what I’m saying now, but wait till you have a family of your own. I didn’t feel like that either, until I had my first kid.

A racist is someone who's prejudiced against people of certain race.
Your question on why Chinese are materialistic itself is a racist statement, implying as long as one is Chinese, one is materialistic.

Your being from the same race you're prejudicing against doesn't make you a non-racist.

What does a smart fella like yourself would think when someone skip their 1st class Honours in favor of their SPM result?

Yes you are right, most Chinese girls are turned off by my this kind of attitude.

I guess I am on the road of please myself and ignore the views of others. But sometimes you just cant avoid such pressure in working environment. When studying it was slightly better because I can afford to not give a damn. But in work its harder to avoid.

Well I did mention I was "fortunate enough to got my 1st class by slacking through my degree.". Eh?

Why harder at work place? Same thing isn't it? Just do what you believe in.

Hence........ My question of why SPM was the highlight as it was mentioned twice, and getting A for whatever over a supposedly 1st class Honours. This forum is the only place I've ever heard people happily talk about their spm result when their uni cert superseded it.

Has anyone in real life, heard any uni graduate use their SPM result as a focal point of a life discussion?

Just curious

Depends on people la, every race oso liddat, but I understood what you meant. There are some who are worshipping money and properties as god, there are also those who search for their purpose in life. All in all, it depends on their upbringing, environment, and chance.

Well, perhaps as I dont desire to have next generation, hence this could also be a contributing factor as well.

Its a common cliche among the Chinese society that "oh we dont get tongkats. We dont get special treatment. So we must work hard." and saying it with some pride actually. While I agree to a certain extent, I don't think that working less harder will drive us into poverty?

And Malaysia is my only home. Despite what the politicians might says once in a while to attract attention, I am not making any contingency / backup plan to migrate. Perhaps this is also another contributing factor.

Anyway, thanks for the valuable input. Was quite good to know.

work is a competitive environment. if you're not improving someone else will takes your spot, hence the pressure.

Im sorry but I failed to see how does these relates to the topic / question. Is it a lil bit off topic?

This focus on money leads to bad implications. For example, the environment.

Who is the one that has destroyed much of the environment in Malaysia? Ask yourself, and you will know the answer.

Without the Chinese, or at least if they were not able to get the leases needed to "make money", the environment in Malaysia today would still be largely intact.

Compare with Brunei, where the Sultan is the one who calls the shots and he is rich enough to say no to money....

The durian Raub case still not settled.....

But that's just a small part.

Ipoh is being turned into a moonscape and all the limestone hills are disappearing one by one. Who owns the construction industries? The manufacturing sector?

Why the 95 year Old Man always says, that a certain race is rich, well, cos he knows lah....

This post has been edited by Hobbez: May 15 2021, 08:01 PM

2:30

He's saying your priority is wrong. Does your SPM full As > 1st class degree to you, or otherwise? You need to structure your point with clarity. It's obvious that 1st class honours degree is harder to achieve than full As in SPM.

Anyway, since you started working, what matters now is your work experience, your expertise and your highest level of education.

IMHO, i work hard for :-

1) for my next generation and my family

2) my firsthand experience of going through the hardship and regretted why i didn't work harder and have a better parachute. life hits hard.

3) the sacrifices my parents have done for me when i am young.

This is true, and I’m probably not at that level, but for my parents, slacking off meant time/effort/money that could be contributed to a better future for their kids lost. I grew up in a family where if we travelled overseas, it’s a holiday + working trip.

Slacking off abit is fine, most of the Chinese Malaysians I know are quite chill compared to the older generations. However, the drive for earning more money is always there, which probably contributes to our immense competitiveness.

It might be surprising to some of you, but I actually believe that SPM Full A > 1st class degree, because 1st class degree you can get if you are good at that particular subject. While SPM Full A is across many disciplines.

Not to mention that some subject are actually inherently easier than others. For example, I was in Accounting, but the numbers of students who got their 1st class in humanities / business management etc were significantly higher compared to Accounting / Engineering degrees.

Also university degree is not 100% exam based (and not one shot exam either), you got assignments, etc.

And 1st class degree you can get at a reputable uni like UM, or, could, get at some Cap Ayam Univerisity.

Anyway, I believe this is off topic, isnt it?

Ohh that. Well if TS wants a simple life, then just let the others climb up. If you don't want to be left behind, then work on your own stuff while letting others climb the ladder. Anyway being competitive in the corporate life is not sustainable.

Your upbringing plays a big role on your worldview. The expectation that your parents have of you (be a good person, contribute to society) is no less or no more than the materialistic mindset Chinese have. Best thing is to decide which suits your personality more as both have their challenges and rewards. You can also do both if youre up to it. The world is a big place, so dont force yourself to fit in a specific pigeonhole.

Live life to the fullest, no matter what your definition.

Each one of us has a role to play.

Some like A, some like B.

Some people are materialistic, some are not. Maybe that's just how the way things are.

Undisputable chinese are hardwrking. Its all cuz by the experiences our ancestors learn, from war, famine, drought. This are taught feom generation to generation.

Coming to malaysia, the first generation chinese was only one thing in their mind: to survive. And so worked very hard to improve their lives.

Tis not easy to survive in malaysia where facing hostile environment not to mention theres no help from gov at all and the gov won't bat an eye on lives of the other races.

However coming to this current generation can be seen that chinese are starting to becum lazy with the abundance of success that they're acheive.

theres a reason why chinese immigrants in msia philippines and indonesia dominate the top wealthiest list. and the only developed country in the SEA region, singapore. why.

This post has been edited by ukauka2020: May 15 2021, 08:34 PM

Just my 2cents.

The chinese civilization have existed for a long time and most of the chinese in Malaysia are either 2nd or 3rd gen from mainland china. They know the value and power of money/ materials. I have clients who are still in contact with their PRC root family.

Give it a few more generations.

I don't think you're a chinese when you have such thought.

Don't pretend to be chinese!!.

We all know why we need to be hardworking and earn our money.

We know why me must be better than others to lives and survive on our own.

Well dude，你要我怎么证明我是华人？是不是要拍IC給你看?

Anyway, I am 100% chinese. Just so happen that I was raised in an unorthodox Chinese Family. And hence curious on these mentality. Just purely curious you know, after so many years. I might have learned the language well, but never understood because my family doss not have such mentality,

This post has been edited by hong8888: May 15 2021, 08:51 PM

I am quite certain at this point that so much of employment is just modern day slavery.

It's fine to be hardworking. But I think the end goal should be ownership, and we live in a country that denies land ownership to the Chinese, so I suppose they retaliate by owning whatever else they can.

1) okay but quite a number actually neglects family and children to chase money. Whats the point then?
2) Well most hardships comes from medical problem IMHO. I would rather say planning > hardwork. I knew 1 guy who worked so hard, but kena disease and there goes his house for medical fees. Whereas he could just planned it by buying medical insurance. Im not selling insurance btw
3) Well this is weird for me. Correct me if im wrong, didnt your parents sacrificed to give you a comfortable life? Then why are you defeating that purpose? When does it end? This is the very thing that I am curious of.

You must be a special kind of genius to think of outbreeding a race as an achievement. Please continue to outbreed and be unable to feed your family, then continue to whine and complain to the world that the Chinese dominate the Malaysian economy because we practice self-preservation and strive hard for it.

Also, Earth itself is already unsustainable for the human population in a few decades. So instead of being focused on primal instincts like overbreeding, try using ur brains to contribute on how to make Earth a sustainable place to live? Otherwise your overbreeding efforts will be in vain when even your race dies out due to the Earth dying out.

Also, Chinese are East Asians, there are more East Asians in the world all over compared to any other race. At the most, we’ll be assimilated with other races like the Chinese majority in Thailand, who also identifies strongly with several Chinese culture and values, so we’ll hardly die out. Dengki ke?

你不是龙的传人

圆的不能拿，拿了就爆炸

Land ownership not denied to the chinese lar

I have as much rights on the land my house sits as yours barring extraordinary circumstances.

And I dont believe in retaliating, as if I can also in the first place haha

Siapa makan cili?

Yes ts, not everbody will chase for maximum money and health, i think that is very lifeless and no purpose, malays especially western minded type is all about life experience
Its their life choice so no need to judge anyone

Myself here now more on wealth investment and saving mode, few years back im on a absolutely yolo in my life, but dont look at me as my situation is different

Malay kelantanese on the other are many high achievers and hardworking in their business, multi millions of sales

This post has been edited by phas3r: May 15 2021, 09:30 PM

For those out there that have gone thru an incident where you really needed money but do not have the money (funds for parent's treatment, or other family members treatment of sickness), or when they wanted to send their children to better schools but were unable to do so, they have a better understanding of why hard work is crucial.

As I said, when you have everything handed to you, and being taken care of your whole life, you tend to take it easier, but for those that have seen our parents struggling to give us a better life, we ourselves also tend to strive. There is a Chinese saying "富不过三代，穷不过三代" which means "Riches does not last 3 generations, and Poverty does not last 3 generations".

Again, it's not a race thing, more off upbringing and also the surrounding culture you were brought up in. The "Tidak Apa" attitude in our workforce is something here to stay, is it a good or bad thing, I say it's both, good because it makes the others more hardworking, bad, the efficiency of the entire workforce is not at the level it should be.

If you are happy living the way you are living, just continue to do what you do, there are things in life that is "Memang like that", you don't really understand it, and it just doesn't make sense to question it (In your perspective)

This is serious /k, if you wana troll go kopitiam troll la. I’m just addressing your retarded comment in a serious forum. You talk about overbreeding, but other countries are already exploring space in hopes that the human race can continue to survive once Earth becomes uninhabitable. Meanwhile, we’re fighting over Malay rights, Malay superiority and religion superiority, in a country where Malay and Islam is the majority, and Malays are in charge. Such an oxymoron eh?

你不相信我，我也没有办法

Dude doesnt believe me

我不是印度人

But anyway pls this is not /k.

Well TS, with regards to hardworking or having strong work ethics, believe me it isnt the sole domain of the descendants of Chinese immigrants these days. I've worked more than 20 years and have seen my fair share of hardworkers from all races. You work in an audit firm? My wife's in tax advisory, she hires across the board and she also has her fair share of complaints about graduates and junior managers these days. She also concurs, hardworkers and more importantly for her smart workers are spread across the races.

Now what you say about being competitive, or overly materialistic, IMO (and its my own) yes I concur its a trait that our forefathers brought with them from China. Think about it, back in China our ancestors were mostly farmers. You work hard enough how many times do you get to reap the fruits of your labour? During times of crisis or war the local warlord takes the surplus of your harvest. One drought or locust infestation and its just a step away from starving. This survive at all costs mentality probably gave birth to the materialistic traits we see now. Yes back then i believe survive at all costs meant stepping on others too. But times have changed, we live in a time of relative abundance compared to back then with more opportunity to grow the pie instead of fight for a small one.

Are the laid back nature of the Malays a bad thing? Well first we got to understand, are they relaxed or is it a perception of being relaxed because of their body language or demeanour. My first boss, way back in 2000, was a Malay Project Director. He was laid back, boozed and generally outwardly at least resembled you stereotypical malay. He however had an old school work ethic that matched your typical chinamen contractor. Minus the foul language scolding of course. But he had his ways to motivate you to work past 7 or 8 PM into the weekends by just appealing to your sense of responsibility. I respect him and he actually taught me much. Which brings me to my point, Malays being relaxed dont mean they're low ambition rempits. Some might be just like how some Chinese are representative of the worst stereotypes of our culture. Their outword demenaour usually isn representative of how they are, Malays i think would make excellent poker players haha

But I do agree, they are in general more content or rather grateful for what they have. This i thing is something we can learn from. Sometimes being contented with what you have is labeled as being lazy or low ambition. For me I personally dont think they go hand in hand. Besides whats the use of having a sky high ambition but the work ethics of a sloth? Well I guess thats how you get your gangsters like Nicky xxx

Anyway just sharing purely my own opinion from experience. Might not be everyone's cup of tea

This post has been edited by 9m2w: May 15 2021, 09:48 PM

No Chinese will think like this, probably except you.

Because we need to survive. No one will help us, we help ourself.

Understand anot? Please plant this in your brain la...

Maybe you lives a care free life all of your life, due to greatness of your parent, they fulfilled everything for you from young age.

For most of the chinese, they are taught to be independence from young, be resilience and dependability.

Not asking for help, not blaming other for being poor and strive to success.

And not forget.....not to dengki other people achievement....

This post has been edited by InitialB: May 15 2021, 09:52 PM

my summary/answer :

a) my way can't represent everyone, as they have their own reasons and teaching / showing their love.
b) i know what i should do and what i went through; planning and hardwork is equally both important.
c) that's the reason because they sacrificed to give me a better life means i am not going to waste it all away.

thanks and all the best.

In Malaysia certain land bukan rezab melayu mah?

It must come at the opportunity cost of other races not being able to own it.

I don't mean active retaliation, more like compensation kind of retaliation. Like animals in caves lose their eyesight but develop other senses. I think people respond to external pressures similarly.

Actually a lot of land is Rezab Melayu.

But somehow the BIG lands, especially forested lands, are not under Malay control, but leased out....

That is just what I noticed lah.

I am Chinese and I also think like him. 1.4 billion of us, how can you stereotype everyone to fit one mold?

The only thing is, Confucian culture is very conformist. It doesnt pay to stick out or be different in a perceived negative way. So people like him and me who don’t think like you will just hide our true thoughts in real life.

Angmoh culture more individualist, they dgaf about your opinions even in real life.

This post has been edited by diffyhelman2: May 15 2021, 10:27 PM

I'm Chinese. I speak for myself, not the general Chinese population.

Why do I work so hard? Because the more work I put in, the more money I earn. And money makes me happy.

Why? Because there are so many things that I want to do that can be solved if I have more money:

1) I want to do more renovation to my house so that I can live more comfortably
2) I want to buy a sports car for my dad. It was one of his dream
3) I want to buy luxury goods for my wife because those makes her happy
4) I want my children to be able to have an overseas education like I did
5) I want my children to have a head start in life like you did
6) I can spend more on my hobbies
7) Last but not least, if I have more money I can take bigger risks and make even more money and achieve all the above (without working harder!).

I also work hard because I want to be recognised as being among the best in my field. That is something money can't buy and it really makes me proud to be recognised and acknowledged for my work and contribution.

I can understand why you are comfortable with your life right now. When I started off as a fresh graduate, I made barely enough to pay for my monthly expenses. Even so, I am happy with my life. I never thought of buying a house. Never thought of doing holidays. Never dreamed of having expensive hobbies. Never dreamed of driving luxury cars

You're probably at the same stage too. Furthermore, since you're working in a medium tier accounting firm, working harder does not make you more money (at least not immediately). Perhaps even if you do make money, having more money does not make you happy.

But as someone about 5 years your senior, I can share with you that over the years, I started to demand more. I got married. I wanted kids. I wanted to buy a house. I wanted to go for more holidays. I developed hobbies. I no longer want to eat roti canai and zap fan everyday. So I am more hardworking than ever today.

If the day comes that having more money makes you happy, you will perhaps change your mindset and join the rat race.

If you looked up the history of the first industrial revolution you might be surprised that a lot of people had their land forcibly removed and then got forced into working.

My guess is that money is money, so no harm in leasing out the land, but legal ownership is a different matter.

Imagine owning all that and deciding to do nothing with it. No way people will let that happen.

That's is not race lah.
Race just refer to your gene.

If it's cultural things then it ethnicity.

People are shaped by their environment lah. Malaysian Chinese are pemalas by Chinese standard even the work live pressure in Singkie is so so much lower then that of Korean. You don't really read that sinkie is jumping off MRT track on a daily basis.

East asia is a harsh area with unforgiven winter that limited food supplies and there's really isn't much ship around to trade. So work you ass off to survive.

But when you live in tropical area where food grows all year long, the ground is full of minerals and the area is in the middle of shipping lane. Yeah,you don't really need to do much to earn a living.

So here you have a Mismatch of a culture that evolved in harsh conditions but is applied in a geographic that's doesn't really required that.

So people either like TS adopt to the environment and just be bit pemalas or try to glorified the culture & tradition and find an excuse to continue on with it.

Not all chinese hardworking

I can say this is the same for myself, and my rather huge group of associates and friends, there is a clear distinction between how chinese compared to other race.

Long story short, we strive for progress, time is valuable, extremely valuable, and if we chinese gone by one year without much progress (not just pure financial #, it could be progress in building a bridge with another major company who can grant a big contract/project, or progress as in expanding another 2 branch - i do LOSE money for the first 1-2 years, but it’s still progress), then it impacts us GREATLY, eventho I’m sustaining driving a 400k+ car, and 2.8mil house for the whole year but no increase in any potential prospects it still means i went nowhere.

While from my very limited friend of other races, they seem to… how do i say? “Enjoy” life more carelessly? Basically everything also will bersyukurla, or just wait for rezeki and compare their life to 5-10 years ago, which is too fking long for a chinese.

If Tanah rezab different story lar haha

But by and large land ownership is capitalistic in nature

cash king, I dont like to be lazy and I like cash rewards.

What you are mentioning here is you are conforming to the stereotype created of the "chinese" race in Malaysia. the thing about "creating" this stereotype in your mind is, you see what you want to see. so all your observations...? part of it is you see what you think you see.

You work for 2 years plus, in what i guess is a predominantly non-malay as colleagues, so you may view things this way.

Ask you, student life and working life, dont work hard, you expect good things to happen? Actually when i hire intern or fresh grad, we do look at results. this could be the difference between getting hired, or not getting hired. i spoke to many interns and they share about their friends. they tell me, they were truly glad got internship in my department when some friends end up with internship with irrelevant learning experience. You think working hard still end up same position, again, because you have not seen how managers hire fresh grad and interns. getting internship with khazanah and some random unheard of company is very different. Working for shell and "insert dunno what O&G" is also different. people i know who worked in shell, put in alot of effort to get there.



to rebutt this quote. why you say this i dunno, but it does show some "immaturity", if i have to be blunt. hardworking does not mean 100% success, but if you are not hardworking, it is very hard to be successful. elon musk dont work 5 days a week, 9 to 5 you know.

I have met people, and they are satisfied with what they have, and have NO INTENTION at all to climb the ladder and that is perfectly fine, and they are ok with not getting higher salary and just stay where they are now. and there are a mix of chinese and non-chinese. I am a chinese, i dont intend to climb. IT DOES COME WITH SACRIFICE as you climb higher. chinese ed or no chinese ed, malay, non malay, people in the corporate world understands it. the difference is, "high" salary is a relative thing. some people think 5000 per month is high enough. some think 10000 per month is enough. you havent met them because you just worked 2 years? chances of meeting one is lower

BTW, gong xi fa cai... is cantonese. IF you do understand the "china" chinese, they say chun jie kuai le. please dont take ronny chieng so serious... itu stand up comedian.

To give some background, I work in a predominantly malay dominated industry (for about 3 years plus) and my main job scope is to launch product targeting the bumi market. So, my experience i guess is somewhat more relevant than most people. and while i'm not that old, worked >5 years, <10 years but my colleagues are different kua. My ex boss and current boss is malay. both are workaholic. more so my current boss, he really sayang the company. my previous staff, reporting to me, was hired because he worked hard as an intern (reporting to me). also malay.

PEOPLE ARE DIFFERENT. it's not BLACK and WHITE... at the risk of referring to a very BDSM book, often life is many shades of grey.

BACK TO ORIGINAL QUESTION: WHY CHINESE SO HARDWORKING?
Culturally, chinese believe strongly in the importance of education and the importance of hardworking, i'm sure you can think of tens of 成语 that highlight the importance of hardworking. i'm not "chinese" enough since i'm english ed but i'm sure if you want to read books about social science and understand really culturally, i was told you can read malcolm gladwell, outlier.

In short, i'm not very clever, just typing cause got mood. and this is only serious kopitiam... Chill ya...

This post has been edited by adele123: May 15 2021, 11:03 PM

It's all fine if things stop there. However politicians like to say Chinese are richer than Malays so the affirmative action should continue forever. Now if the Malays are content, happy, and satisfied, why bother?

Could be 'kiasu' is part of the life motto. ...I can understand ur contemplation. Anyway, just follow ur heart.better not to fit in the situation that won't make the best of you. It doesnt make you less chinese..

Good job TS for asking in Serious Kopitiam. Now I can answer properly.

This is my standpoint as a Malay.

Chinese hardworking? let me correct you, Chinese work hard to get money.

I do agree part of the reason is because being a Chinese in Malaysia you need to work hard to survive. And it always motivate me to work as hard as you guys, especially after coming from Goverment/GLC companies. Now working in private sector, whenever I need to start a new project I always try to look for Chinese/Indian as my partner/client. The work culture is different and you can always learn new things.

But one thing I have noticed is that people tend to look at the definition of hardworking = work hard to get money. Especially in Malaysia, if you are rich you are hardworking and if you are poor then you are lazy.

From my experience, Chinese are just as lazy as other races when it comes to other things. And nothing weird about that, totally normal.

It is just that from what I have seen Chinese are really into this " money showoff" fetish.

Everything about money, and you need to show that you have money.

Example CNY, marriage, and even when you die you need to pay huge amount.

Spend big, collect big.

You are consistently living in a world where you need to show people you are richer then others. In other word, materialistic.

And to be rich you need money, so how do you get money? Definitely not by sleeping. You need to work hard to earn money. But does this mean that other races are lazy because they don't work hard to get money? For me the answer is PRIORITY.

It depends on factors such as your culture, lifestyle, final destination etc

For Malay, or Islam to be precised, this world is temporary, we want to enjoy eternal life in heaven, after we die. Do good deeds = Paradise and do sins = hell.

Money is not a priority but it does not mean it is not important. Follow+practice Islam is our main goal.



Those saying Malay are lazy, I can only just say try praying 5 times a day for the rest of your life, wash part of your body every time before prayer, going to mosque everyday not to mention other supplementary acts/deeds, all these while you are working.

But since all these are not for money so automatically not equal to hardworking, right?

Same goes for studies, many Islamic students straight A's here then go to middle east to further their studies every year. Of course after that you will not see them working in your audit firm.

Imagine if Islam regards money, wealth as its main goal....

Like i said, different goal, different perspective.

This post has been edited by Jjang: May 16 2021, 12:05 AM