Power of privilege

“I am a college dropout.”

I made that bold declaration of my defiance of convention recently at a workshop I developed for a writers programme.

The look of shock on the faces of the participants was delightful. One of them, her eyes popped so large, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Yes, I am a college dropout,” I declared again.

In the midst of degree holders, academics, journalists and a doctoral candidate, I knew the weight of what I said held. I who was the curator of this writers’ programme, the one who they perceived as “the expert” in this context and someone whom they had to impress with their work, was in fact a college dropout.

And yet there I was.

It was after we had a full day’s session on Gender, Stereotypes and Discrimination, and Power and Privilege that I shared. Having done the Privilege Walk, this group of 13 writers from Penang and KL had a better understanding of how privilege works in shaping our lives. I knew where their disbelief was coming from.

Within the Malaysian context, there are certain identities that afford us privilege and certain identities correspond with oppressions, each different in different individuals. To be successful, often times our privileges how to overshadow our disadvantages and oppressions.

So what are some of the identities that afford us privileges? In Malaysia, being born a certain ethnicity gives people privileges that are not extended to others. For example, Bumiputeras get some benefits that the non-Bumiputeras do not receive.

But does that mean every single Bumiputera person in Malaysia has access to those benefits? In theory, it should, but in reality it does not. In his article in The Malaysian Insider “Zeti Aziz, the quintessential Malaysian icon”, Karim Raslan wrote that Bank Negara Governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz is “a resolute example of how the New Economic Policy (NEP) as well as the general imperative to empower the Bumiputeras across the decades have worked.”

But that is not true of every Bumiputera person in Malaysia, is it? Like many institutions of power, the NEP works to benefit only a small segment of society. True, once in a while there will be empowerment of those outside the circle of influence and they get to enjoy the benefits, but in order for them to even eat a slice of the pie, they would have to work harder than to those who are privileged.

Assuming Zeti was born in a poor Malay family that could not afford to by her school uniform or she did not have access to school, would the NEP have benefited her even though it is supposedly a privilege afforded to all Bumiputeras? Definitely no, and for her to have got to the position she currently is, she would have had to fight tremendous obstacles to even make it alive at the end of the race.

So what does this have to do with me being a college dropout?

Simply put, not many people without a tertiary education and qualification get to hold executive positions in the corporate sector and in government agencies within Malaysia. The portfolio that I hold in my job with a state government agency is usually held by degree holders. But somehow I managed to get my job, which I was certain I would lose out to when I went in for the interview.

Which raises the question of how I overcame my disadvantage, a big one at that since in Malaysia we do place value on paper qualifications?

This is where my privileges work to overcome my disadvantage. My command of the English language sets me apart from many, and I can write, very well at that too. In Malaysia, these two are highly sought after skills.

“You write well, so you will always be able to find a good job,” is something that I hear often after I disclose that I am trying to complete my undergraduate studies and not post-graduate as people assume.

Being a published writer also helps, because the perception is that my work is good enough to be featured somewhere and since I am getting paid, I must be legitimate.

Should I have not grown up in an English-speaking home that emphasised reading and literacy, would I have been able to address a group of professionals and been at the position of power and authority within that space?

I am 100% certain that would not have been the case, and the only way I managed to hack the system that favours a set of desired qualities was by overshadowing my disadvantages with desired qualities that have higher value. This is the power of privilege – it opens doors to opportunities and access to resources that are not available to others. – October 18, 2015.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.