JYSim for jobless-yokel Sim

This topic was gaining more and more attention as the general election draws near. One month ago you saw the politician H holding a Keris and shouting Malays would never perish from the face of the Earth, and today you see the same politician praising the Chinese for their intelligence and endurance in the business and service economic sector. The Malaysian political scene has became no more than a stage for our fellow politicians to showcase how they love their race and how anything that stands between him and ‘his people’ (so-called) should perish in one way or another.
Tunku Abdul Rahman’s idea of a multi-racial and multi-cultural identity for Malaysia is fading as we speak of his words and honour this old man. Remember the NTV7-made national song which ends with a quote by Tunku - "Let us all remember that Malaysians would live together as members of one big family". ‘Unity through diversity’ was Tunku’s thoughts when he flew Malaysia Airlines to Britain to fight for the future of Malaya. If you read The Star on Sunday you would know that on the evening of August 31st 1957 every guest at the Istana was served shark fin soup, rendang as well as a selection of Indian sweets. The government’s thoughts in dishing up a signature dish of every race was indeed touching. However, 50 years later, not only do the whole world shuts down during prayer time, they even tried to stop Gwen Stefani from entering Malaysia.
In a country like Malaysia, tolerance goes a long way. Selfishness will be, like it or not, the time bomb of doom for us. We have people speaking different languages even just beside us, and they have different thoughts about issues and concepts. Instead of trying to brainwash them (as if your thoughts are more superior), why can’t we respect that there will always be differences in the world and we should appreciate the beauty of variations in it. Imagine not having anyone to argue with about the best football player or the best airline. We are united because we are diversed - I prefer Ntv7 but you like 8TV more, fine, we ’share’ the television. We eat with hands but you eat with spoons and forks, it’s ok, we also provide them in our stall. Malaysians always keep things cool, that comes the so famous ‘cincai-lah’ culture in Malaysians. And let’s keep it.
Multiculturalism is our most valuable asset if we look at it welcomingly enough. Turn on the radio and you hear Cantonese, Chinese, Malay, Hindu, Tamil, English (or Manglish). Walk along any road in Malaysia and you have roti canai, tosei, nasi lemak, char koay teow, laksa, nasi kandar. Why can’t some people up there just stop criticizing and comparing the differences and just appreciate them? Malaysians don’t just look good in baju kurong or kebaya, they look good in every other attire as well, including the conventional jeans and tee-shirt. Why can’t we say ‘oh, cantiknya your saree!’ instead of ‘oi! tolong pakailah sopan sikit!’ Remember, Malaysia is not Afghanistan or Iran, we do not only send prayers to Rasullulah or Allah but also Jesus, Buddha, and many more. Hence, it is never wrong to be more dedicated to your religion and to pursue it with greater depth, but please remember, there are others around you who might not feel comfortable if you went overboard.
50 years was all it takes to have politicians starting a verbal war with one another, and 50 years was all it takes to separate a race from the kopitiam and re-settle them in medan selera-s (though the food in the kopitiam-s are not halal though). How long will we take before all of us have distinct borders on where to live and which channles to watch and what to eat? Not very soon if efforts are not put into reviving inter-cultural relationships.
Malaysia (or Malaya) is the first nation to gain self-rule without spilling blood. Let’s keep it so.

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 19th, 2007 at 10:17 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.