1Malaysia...what's that?

Dear reader,



I've been thinking a lot lately. And when I say thinking, I mean I've been engaged in some serious, solemn, deep contemplation. The subject matter upon which I have been contemplating is...Malaysia. Specifically, the 1Malaysia concept. Sometimes I feel sceptical. Could 1Malaysia actually come to pass? In my lifetime? Other times I feel affronted. Hypocrites! This country is full of them. They say one thing and do another. All this lovey-dovey, world peace, be kind to your neighbour stuff is just on the surface. If you dig any deeper--underneath the sugar-coating, 'showing face' veneer of tourism brochures and 'Malaysia: Truly Asia'--you'll find tension. Layers and layers of deep-rooted tension between the races and creeds and colours that make up Malaysia.




We can't help it, of course. What do you expect, just dumping all sorts of races that were never supposed to cohabitate into one single country? Of course there'll be tension and backstabbing and favouritism. We're only human, after all.




But I also think we should've gotten over that racism business by now. I mean, there are people whose great-great-great grandfathers were immigrants, yet they still get treated like second- (third-, fourth-, fifth-) priority citizens in their own country. I think if your family has been in Malaysia for at least two generations, you should qualify to be called a native Malaysian.




A line from the film 'Gubra' comes to mind. Sometimes, for the non-bumiputera citizens of Malaysia, living in this country is like "loving someone who doesn't love you back". It's heartbreaking. It's the feeling you get when someone you love with all your heart betrays you for another. Someone more 'worthy' than you. How do you measure someone's worth? By who their father was? Their religion? Or do you measure them by their actions, their words? By their unyielding loyalty to you?




Granted, not everyone in Malaysia is a racist. In fact, the opposite is true. We all had friends from different races growing up. In primary school, I used to love to listen to my friends' stories about all their different racial customs and beliefs. We used to brag to each other, feigning indifference if someone's story was more impressive than ours. Ha, the pride of little children. We get to mix and mingle with so many interesting people. That is the side of Malaysia that I love. Where else can you have holidays every other month for so many festivals? Easter, Good Friday, Deepavali, Hari Raya, Wesak Day, Christmas, Merdeka...the list goes on. Oh, and the food! Ah, the food. Don't even get me started on the food...a list of all of Malaysia's contributions in the culinary department would stretch for miles. Or kilometres, as the case may be.




Anyway, about this 1Malaysia thing. I for one think it's still a dream: distant, vague, maybe even a little surreal. But unattainable? No. Definitely not. To make dreams a reality, we need to wake up. So wake up, Malaysians. Stop sleeping your life away. Let's make Malaysia a place of faces without races.












Yours,




Figgy the Malaysian