1malaysia or is it really?

I am in the mood to write today so I will keep writing what’s in my head till it drains out.

There is so much being said about the concept of 1Malaysia which was coined by the current PM. But at the same time we also hear plenty about the act of racism, which seems to be on the rise recently. Why? Did he really mean it or was it just a line of attack to win people’s heart (will I get arrested for saying this? I hope not).

I am writing as a mother who has 1 child each in secondary school, primary school and kindergarten. Ariana seems oblivious of her friend’s racial mix; she has Malay, Chinese and Indian friends. She is still living in a true 1Malaysia spirit. She doesn’t even know what does race means yet. Kyle used to have a Chinese boy named Joaqim as his best friend when he was in standard 1. They spoke in English with each other and eat home cook meal at the school canteen together during recess. Since we moved to this neighbourhood, his friends only comprise of Malay boys and he no longer speaks English with his friends. Daniel only has 1 Indian friend in his circle of friends. When I asked why didn’t he befriend Chinese students, he said they (the Chinese boys) prefer to be in their own circle. I think the act is vice versa for the Malays students. You tend to stick with things/ people that you are more familiar with.

I always encourage my children to make friends with people from other races and background. When I was in school my friends were all Malays. There were none non-Malay students in my primary school and only a handful in my primary school. My working life is of the opposite. My office mates and friends were mainly Chinese and some Indian. I didn’t have that many Malay colleagues in some of the companies I worked for. I learned more about Chinese and Indian cultures in the last 10 years than I did before.

Back to the concept of 1Malaysia. What does it mean exactly? In my humble opinion, there will never be 1Malaysia for as long as there are preferential treatment for bumiputera (being born in this 'privileged' group, it's kind of hard to swallow if people want to take that away from you isn't it?), more than 1 language being spoken in the country, political parties that are established based on religion and race, vernacular schools still in existence and politicians that are playing the race card for their advantages still roam freely.

Take our nearest neighbor Indonesia for example. Over there, you can’t even distinguish between races because they speak the same language and have similar names. Correct me if I am wrong but I don’t think they have political parties that represent the Chinese, Javanese, Sundas or what not. They are close enough to living in 1 nation state. But I am sure there is racism to some degree over there too. Heck, racism and hate crime even existed in America - the so-called land of freedom! It’s an incurable disease.

As parents, the least we could do is to teach our children to be unprejudiced and open-minded. We should not instill hatred in their hearts. The recent cow head protest was really a bad example one could give to the young generation. Imagine if people make fun of our prophet or the holly Quran. You would be freaking mad right? Treat thy neighbor the way you want to be treated. Where did that group of people come from? They should be thrown behind bars for life I say. There are other ways to throw your grouses; making fun of one’s religion is definitely not the way. I say hunt them one by one and put them away for good before they 'infect' others.