UNITED CITIZENS OF MALAYSIA
First published on The Malaysian Insider. Republished on Yayasan 1Malaysia website.
JULY 14 — Everyone seems to be talking about 1 Malaysia recently. Great, another agenda pushing towards national unity.
Haven’t we all heard of this many times? If you know me well enough, I am highly sarcastic, but not this time around. Seriously, I love the concept and we really need to strive for national unity, building Malaysia together as Malaysians.
It is a long and complicated process but thank god the broadcast media makes it less complex. For example, the National Service advertisement. We have the Malay family, Chinese family and Indian family. Cliché? Maybe! Hey, at least we get to see all the races “united”.
At the grassroots level, you and me, it is more than just putting different faces on the screen. Unfortunately, we don’t have a screen. What we have are everyday life experiences.
We need to communicate with one another; we need a lot of interaction. Is united about being friends with different races even though we still stereotype one another like who’s the lazy one? Or is it about seeing one another that transcends racial and national identity and we are united for a common bond, say pop culture?
When Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announces the concept of 1 Malaysia, it reminds me of a funny incident that happened when I was in university. My friend was driving along the highway and her car got hit. Guess who hit her? It was a Malay driver. Usually, we will be bashing the opposite gender for not being a good driver, but it was the race that caught my friend’s attention. “Eh, my car was hit. The driver was Malay and you know…,” says my friend.
I was curious to know the rest of the story. Was she alright? Was the car alright? But I was just as much curious to know why she had to mention the race of the driver. Will the race of the driver make a big difference to the story of her car being hit? What if she was hit by a Chinese? Or an Indian? Does she have to mention the race, too?
I stopped her before she could continue the story asking her why she had to mention the ‘Malay’ bit. She soon realised that I am Malay and apologised. Her intention was for me to imagine how the driver looked like. I had a little argument with her but she told me that it is perfectly alright to mention the name of the race. Even her friend agreed with her.
I was offended when she said the Malay bit. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that I like to view people as unique individuals, and break away from any form of labelling. I tend to avoid stereotypes when necessary. Don’t get me wrong.
I am also just as offended when some of my friends have to mention that so and so is Chinese or so and so is Indian in the middle of a conversation, even if I don’t even need to know their race. I mean, if it is really necessary to mention the race then it is fine.
For example, if a bunch of friends are going for “Indian food,” then we can imagine being served with curries, samosa, bariyani and dhall. There is nothing wrong with that.
On the other hand, there are some people who like to say, “You know, my friend Janet… she’s Chinese lah…bla bla bla bla…”What is the ‘Chinese’ suppose to refer to? Okay, so what if Janet is Chinese? Does she hold any special traits if she is Chinese? Same goes if he/she is Malay? Indian?
At one level, there is perfectly nothing wrong to be associated with a particular race. I am proud of being Malay. I am proud of my culture and heritage. Same goes with my friends who are proud with being Chinese, Indian, Iban, Kadazan, etc. That is what makes us unique.
At another level, it invites both positive and negative stereotyping. Once you start labeling people from a certain race, you tend to agree with the stereotypes created by society. That is when racism comes in. We tend to separate ourselves if we believe these labeling to be true. When we are separated, we will never be united.
When can we ever let go of our racial identities and stereotypes and stand together as one? I see my friends beyond their racial identity. I see Kenneth not as a Chinese, but as a good friend that I can talk about life and eat Secret Recipe on weekends. I can talk to Kavita, who is based in Australia now, about anything on GTalk, especially when it is related to baked cheese and chocolates.
I know I am far from an expert in this field. I cannot provide solutions. Even as I write this piece, I am bombarded with even more questions for all of us to think about? Do we feel more secure with people of our own ‘skin’? Are we creating a binary between our self and the other? Is stereotyping the easy way out?
My ultimate goal is to see a truly united Malaysia. Not just a marketing and publicity tool to be used for television commercials worldwide on how ‘united’ we are. I want our friendship to be sealed by a common bond that transcends race.
I also do not want us to be united by force as well. I do not want Michael to be friends with Ali because Michael does not have any Malay friends and since we are striving for a united Malaysia, Ali fits the bill. It’s a gradual process and it takes time.
You can be whoever you want in your private space, but at a public space, such as school or office, it is only appropriate that we are united, think our self as Malaysians. I am glad to see fellow Malaysians embracing this national unity concept. But for the rest, if not now, then when?
More of Syafique Shuib:
http://globalvoicesonline.org/author/syafique-shuib/
