The cost of beef

My company's new HR directive ladies and gents...

Criteria for recruiting Food Court Executives:

• Place of stay (as near as outlet as possible)
• Age - not below 20 years old
• Willingness to learn
• No Malays to non-Halal outlets

No prizes for guessing which clause from the above I have a beef with, Halal or not.

It's one thing if an organisation seeks Mandarin-speaking personnel only. Although it's bad enough to harm the employment opportunities of anyone not Chinese, it actually makes sense because most organisations deal with other Mandarin-speaking organisations and people inside and outside the country.

But to blatantly and outrightly put it like that on top, it's like a slap on my face.

I already know from the beginning that the very reason I was employed wasn't because of my abilities. It's more so for convenience, to facilitate the Halal process besides managing foodcourts.

I don't really wanna make an issue of this.

One part of me is saying just let it rest. Resign to the fact that no matter what, these things do exist. It's just whether they wanna make it obvious or not. The only thing I can do is do more to prove to them that Malays aren't all that bad.

Obviously I haven't done enough to change their mindset. And the other Malay guys who didn't take their jobs seriously and came and went as they pleased didn't help either.

The other part of wants to be a romantic and do a Che Guevara. If I wanted things to change, this is my chance. But at what cost?

I think there's a better way to tackle this matter. I just haven't had time to really think about it.