Sunday October 26, 2008
We are Malaysians
MIND MATTERSBy RAJA ZARITH IDRIS
Malaysians cannot afford to see one another as ‘them’ and ‘us’: we have to think of ourselves as ‘we’.
WHEN the big floods hit Johor two years ago, they were there. When my family and I celebrated Hari Raya this year, they came to join us. They are a group of caring people from Kuala Lumpur who, I am proud to say, are not just my friends but are also my fellow citizens.
I am referring to Mr Song of Chef-on-Wheels and the Buaya Puchong 4x4 team.
After wishing us Selamat Hari Raya, they sped off to Penang to distribute rice and food items there. And before Hari Raya, while Muslims were fasting and observing the rituals of the holy month of Ramadan, they were in Kelantan and Terengganu distributing rice to the poor.
They do not see race or religion. They just see desperate people who need help.
Malaysia needs people like them. What our country does not need are foaming-at-the-mouth angry orators. We do not need fiery speeches or ugly utterances. Enough.
What we need - and wish for - is proof that we are Malaysians, born and bred. We will help each other. We will celebrate our different religious festivities together. We are not visually or hearing-impaired (the politically correct terms for being blind or deaf, because nowadays we apparently have to be so politically correct, do we not?).
And yes, sorry to disappoint the ravers and the ranters, we are able to see our racial and religious differences. We have done so for hundreds of years and we should do so for hundreds more to come.
Recently, at a formal dinner, I was seated between a senior politician and a young man from a royal family. The senior politician and I spoke about education and how young Malaysians may benefit from changes in our education system. We grumbled about text messages, which inevitably make our spelling worse.
This perhaps showed our age: that we are fussy about English grammar and spelling. We agreed that “da” is no substitute for “the” or “nite” for “night”. Yes, the politician and I are obviously middle-aged and not hip nor cool.
I went home thinking that if other senior politicians had the same grasp and understanding about the need for change whilst being aware of new social modes of communication, such as text messaging, then the future of our country is not as bleak as naysayers predict.
The young royal spoke about breaking fast in Thailand where the local Buddhist - not Muslim - officials made sure the food served was halal, and also thoughtfully provided prayer mats so he and his wife could perform their Maghrib prayers.
In other words, in a country where the majority of its people are Buddhists, the government officials made the effort to ensure that a Muslim entourage from their neighbouring country was not slighted nor their religious practices ignored. Perhaps there is a lesson to be learnt there.
Colour blind: The writer with her four friends who do not see race or religion. They just see desperate people who need help.
All Malaysians
While Thailand proudly shows off pagodas and gold Buddha statues, Malaysia should take the cue and show off our mosques, our temples and our churches. We cannot afford to see one another as “them” and “us”: we have to think of ourselves as “we”.
Malaysians are made up of Chinese men and women who, when they visit China or Taiwan, miss their sambal belacan.
My husband has Chinese friends who can match him at eating cili padi. I have Indian friends who gobble up gulai assam pedas while I eat the chappati and dhal I asked to be served for them. Almost all of us - whatever our race or religion - have roti pratha and nasi lemak for breakfast.
I long for the long-ago times of my childhood and teenage years when we could make fun of each other without worrying if it would lead to a racial skirmish.
We used to identify each other according to which state we came from, not our races, not our religions. As foreign students, we had a bond because we met up at events organised by what we called ourselves: the Malaysian Students Association.
As a Malaysian, born and bred, I am honestly sick and tired of the print media constantly bringing up race and religious matters.
Our hearts and minds should not be simmering with a fire stoked by racially- and religious-conscious speakers and journalists but by the strong hopes that we can overcome any crisis together because we are Malaysians and we have gone through a lot since the time the Portuguese came to our shores centuries ago.
The writer is Royal Fellow, School of Languages and Linguistics, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
We are Malaysians
MIND MATTERSBy RAJA ZARITH IDRIS
Malaysians cannot afford to see one another as ‘them’ and ‘us’: we have to think of ourselves as ‘we’.
WHEN the big floods hit Johor two years ago, they were there. When my family and I celebrated Hari Raya this year, they came to join us. They are a group of caring people from Kuala Lumpur who, I am proud to say, are not just my friends but are also my fellow citizens.
I am referring to Mr Song of Chef-on-Wheels and the Buaya Puchong 4x4 team.
After wishing us Selamat Hari Raya, they sped off to Penang to distribute rice and food items there. And before Hari Raya, while Muslims were fasting and observing the rituals of the holy month of Ramadan, they were in Kelantan and Terengganu distributing rice to the poor.
They do not see race or religion. They just see desperate people who need help.
Malaysia needs people like them. What our country does not need are foaming-at-the-mouth angry orators. We do not need fiery speeches or ugly utterances. Enough.
What we need - and wish for - is proof that we are Malaysians, born and bred. We will help each other. We will celebrate our different religious festivities together. We are not visually or hearing-impaired (the politically correct terms for being blind or deaf, because nowadays we apparently have to be so politically correct, do we not?).
And yes, sorry to disappoint the ravers and the ranters, we are able to see our racial and religious differences. We have done so for hundreds of years and we should do so for hundreds more to come.
Recently, at a formal dinner, I was seated between a senior politician and a young man from a royal family. The senior politician and I spoke about education and how young Malaysians may benefit from changes in our education system. We grumbled about text messages, which inevitably make our spelling worse.
This perhaps showed our age: that we are fussy about English grammar and spelling. We agreed that “da” is no substitute for “the” or “nite” for “night”. Yes, the politician and I are obviously middle-aged and not hip nor cool.
I went home thinking that if other senior politicians had the same grasp and understanding about the need for change whilst being aware of new social modes of communication, such as text messaging, then the future of our country is not as bleak as naysayers predict.
The young royal spoke about breaking fast in Thailand where the local Buddhist - not Muslim - officials made sure the food served was halal, and also thoughtfully provided prayer mats so he and his wife could perform their Maghrib prayers.
In other words, in a country where the majority of its people are Buddhists, the government officials made the effort to ensure that a Muslim entourage from their neighbouring country was not slighted nor their religious practices ignored. Perhaps there is a lesson to be learnt there.
Colour blind: The writer with her four friends who do not see race or religion. They just see desperate people who need help.
All Malaysians
While Thailand proudly shows off pagodas and gold Buddha statues, Malaysia should take the cue and show off our mosques, our temples and our churches. We cannot afford to see one another as “them” and “us”: we have to think of ourselves as “we”.
Malaysians are made up of Chinese men and women who, when they visit China or Taiwan, miss their sambal belacan.
My husband has Chinese friends who can match him at eating cili padi. I have Indian friends who gobble up gulai assam pedas while I eat the chappati and dhal I asked to be served for them. Almost all of us - whatever our race or religion - have roti pratha and nasi lemak for breakfast.
I long for the long-ago times of my childhood and teenage years when we could make fun of each other without worrying if it would lead to a racial skirmish.
We used to identify each other according to which state we came from, not our races, not our religions. As foreign students, we had a bond because we met up at events organised by what we called ourselves: the Malaysian Students Association.
As a Malaysian, born and bred, I am honestly sick and tired of the print media constantly bringing up race and religious matters.
Our hearts and minds should not be simmering with a fire stoked by racially- and religious-conscious speakers and journalists but by the strong hopes that we can overcome any crisis together because we are Malaysians and we have gone through a lot since the time the Portuguese came to our shores centuries ago.
The writer is Royal Fellow, School of Languages and Linguistics, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
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