I believe Malaysia is a truly blessed country. The resilience and spirit of togetherness of its people in the face of a pandemic and the challenges as a result has made us a stronger nation. I hope we will never again be divided by which community we are from, but instead be united by what we can achieve as one people.

As we welcome the new dawn in 2021, I hope that Malaysians will soon be able to recover from the economic and financial impact of the COVID-19 outbreak and lives will return to normal as quickly as possible. As a responsible government, this administration will roll out assistance packages as announced by the Ministry of Finance early in the year to provide the necessary support to the most affected in the community and to inject new vitality into the economy.

I am also looking forward to working with my fellow members of the administration, and also with Malaysians from all walks of life to ensure that Malaysia is equipped and empowered to face the post-pandemic world. In my role as being part of the efforts to drive national unity, my 2021 wish list articulated below is coloured with vibrant idealism, shaped by the undeterred faith in humanity and is penned down with “cautious optimism” that Malaysians are all too familiar with now.

In fostering close-knitted communities regardless of ethnicity, understanding the importance of cultural exchange is crucial to bridging and advocating for community building. As an advocator of community builders, I would like to see more initiatives by both government and non-government agencies to provide avenues for the public to learn more about the cultures of all ethnicities in Malaysia. As one of the popular approaches to attract attention is to merge arts with culture, I am hopeful to see more of such combination in future initiatives for the promotion of unity. For example, through mural and graffiti artwork teaching by local artists organised by Johor International Youth Hub, or the recent Rural Experiential Art Tourism in Johor Bahru.

Sense Of Unity

I feel that we should put more emphasis on inculcating “sense of unity or community” in the government’s physical infrastructure and amenities planning. For example, integrating spatial design concepts which promotes unity and/or community development in the design and planning of public spaces, spatial and city structuring. I am looking forward to see public spaces that represents the society, public squares that encourages multi-ethnic assembly and streets for access – together creating spaces that support the psyche of communities.

Apart from that, I also feel that we are able to promote cross-cultural or cross-ethnic unity by preserving historical and cultural heritage of buildings or spaces, local originalities and spatial identities. Thus, I would like to see more emergence and promotion of cultural or ethnic identity in places and age-old cultural traditions akin to Batu Caves, Kota Bharu, and Kelabit Highlands.

NGOs As Community Builders

In tandem with this, I also strongly urge and would like to see more community builders in our society, championing for unity in our country. As we are aware that the role of NGOs has become more and more significant in our society, seeing the emergence of such entity with the purpose of advocating and promoting unity among fellow Malaysians will be very much welcomed. Incentives for the formation of such NGOs should be allocated by the government.

I also look forward to the day when Malaysians would not feel awkward to converse in languages we don’t necessarily call our own. My hope for Malaysians is that we become more culturally “woke”, knowledgeable and most importantly, sensitive to cultural differences. I long for a time when each citizen is able to appreciate different languages and dialects that exist in society and engage in fruitful discourse with peers.

Malaysia is an archipelago blessed with beautiful islands and beaches along with vibrant ecosystem. But mother earth is still suffering from environmental exploitation especially along the beaches of Sabah, reclaimed land in Pulau Pinang and developments near the hills in Pahang and Perak. I visualise environmental activism from Sabah and Sarawak to unite Malaysians in the hopes of creating a sustainable Malaysia by saving endangered animals and aged rainforest trees. By sharing the same goals of conserving Malaysia’s flora and fauna, Malaysians will be more prepared to embrace each other’s differences and aim to breathe the same unpolluted air in the future.

Children are the future of the nation. Stateless children in Malaysia are prevalent and they are the lost generation of the nation. I wish that Malaysians will stop discrimination against stateless children and that the government will engage in proactive and collaborative efforts to ensure a brighter future for the stateless children. For a nation to be united, we must ensure that no one is left behind, especially in terms of education opportunities and access to healthcare. Civil society organisations must play a more significant role in 2021 to make sure the issues of people will be communicated to the government effectively so as to ensure that #NoOneIsLeftBehind. – New Malaysia Herald

The post Doing It Together Is The Way To Go first appeared on NMH.

While waiting for that to happen, we feel that Malaysians should remain united and steadfast and together fight this menace.

So we asked Malaysians from all walks of life what is their Unity Wish List for 2021.

Let’s start with our government lawmakers, shall we?

From the boss of Unity herself, Datuk Halimah Sadique, the Minister of National Unity: “2020 has been a challenging year for all of us. As we reflect, it is important to look back at the positive aspects of the year, for us to learn, appreciate and make us stronger as we move forward.

“The year has truly demonstrated our strength as a nation as we continue to fight against COVID-19. Despite these difficult times, I believe that our unity, tolerance and togetherness was tested and ultimately reinforced,” said Datuk Halimah.

“As we usher in the new year, all Malaysians should look forward to renewed resolutions, positivity and an exciting journey ahead. May the year 2021 presents us with the opportunity and strength to start anew and achieve greater sense of purpose and hope.”

Her deputy, meanwhile, Senator Datuk Sri Ti Lian Ker, has a lot to say on the subject: “In fostering close-knitted communities regardless of ethnicity, understanding the importance of cultural exchange is crucial to bridging and advocating for community building. As an advocator of community builders, I would like to see more initiatives by both government and non-government agencies to provide avenues for the public to learn more about the cultures of all ethnicities in Malaysia.

“As one the popular approaches to attract attention is to merge arts with culture, I am hopeful to see more of such combination in future initiatives for the promotion of unity. Excellent examples are the mural and graffiti artwork taught by local artists organised by Johor International Youth Hub or the recent Rural Experiential Art Tourism in Johor Bahru.

“I feel that we should put more emphasis on inculcating “sense of unity or community” in the government’s physical infrastructure and amenities planning. For example, integrating spatial design concepts which promotes unity and/or community development in the design and planning of public spaces, spatial and city structuring. I am looking forward to see public spaces that represent the society, public squares that encourage multi-ethnic assembly and streets for access – together creating spaces that support the psyche of communities.

“Apart from that, I also feel that we are able to promote cross-cultural or cross-ethnic unity by preserving historical and cultural heritage of buildings or spaces, local originalities and spatial identities. Thus, I would like to see more emergence and promotion of cultural or ethnic identity in places and age-old cultural traditions akin to Batu Caves, Kota Bharu, and Kelabit Highlands,” added the Deputy Minister.

From across the South China Sea, our Sarawakian ministers too shared with us their wishlists for 2021 focussing on Unity.

According to Datuk Sri Fadillah Yusof, Minister of Works, his family comes from a multicultural background where his mother’s side is Chinese. And that has given me the opportunity to celebrate various cultural festivities.

Tolerance Value

“As the Senior Minister of Works, the Chief-Whip for Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and Senior Vice-President of PBB, there is a need to balance my responsibility in the context of Federal-State relations. Such diverse portfolios have given me the leverage to nurture tolerance value between both entities.

“Having to work alongside political leaders from both the Federal and State governments, I can assure that both parties share the same vision: that is to further develop Sarawak and Malaysia as a whole. If I may add, one of my biggest concerns when it comes to the era of social media is that certain narratives are being pushed to divide us. This is why Malaysians need to be mindful of the content we choose to share in social media platforms. I pray that we will utilise this platform to spread positivity which is crucial for both our physical and mental development.”

His counterpart in the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry, Datuk Sri Nancy Shukri, understandably focusses her wishlist on the promotion of Tourism, Arts and Culture.

“For 2021, let us portray Malaysians in our Love of Malaysia Fiesta, promoting our food gala, songs, dances and crafts. It’s an all-in Malaysia where all groups can show their appreciation of our diversity,” said the petite Minister.

NGOs & Political Groups

Junita Abu Bakar, Secretary-general, BeNAR Malaysia: “Malaysia’s MCO happened when our country was going through a tumultuous political moment. All of a sudden we did what we had to do when we #kitajagakita. That was a moment when we went all out to help anyone who needed help. I wish to see this happening in 2021 again, because am sure it will be a while before we get back on our feet. To make that a reality, we must work together and extend assistance across the board.”

Datuk Seri R.S Thanentiran, President, Malaysia Makkal Sakti Party (MMSP): “We Malaysians are more divided more now compared to those days. In 2021, I expect not only Malays, Chinese and Indians, but all races to disregard segregation. During times of trouble such as the COVID-19 pandemic, we Malaysians came united to fight this war with unseen forces. The frontliners were there for us without any boundaries of race and religion. Why don’t we use this COVID-19 pandemic as an experience to prosper more on the backdrop of racial unity to make a better Malaysia?”

Datuk Seri Hj Syed Ibrahim Kader, President, Kongress Indian Muslim Malaysia (KIMMA): “Unity is the key for a country to prosper. We have to gain back the Malaysia how she used to be back in the 80s. Community leaders play a crucial role here. They should lead the community towards zero racial polarisation and conduct more awareness within the community about other races’ dos and don’ts and, the sensitivities about other races to the younger generations. It will lead to a better Malaysia.”

Adli Yahya, Founder, Autism Café Project: “I wish for potential employers to truly understand our youths in terms of ability and/or needs prior to commencing employment in order to avoid possible issues in the future. Parents to put aside their own personal interests. Joining the autism advocacy is not about you, it is about these differently-abled youths.”

Citizens – When Women Have Their Say

Sarah Heider, Lawyer: “2020 truly brought a deeper meaning to Malaysians in line with the country’s current situation in a world war against the pandemic. We are learning together how unity and common purpose from every single each of us can help the country defeat COVID-19. As we wrap up a year full of unprecedented challenges to make way for 2021, although there are no guarantees for what 2021 will bring, we should still be working together in unity and solidarity to make this a year of healing through courage, hope and peace. This is not the time for unproductive political infighting and I urge all Malaysians to put our country and its people first prior to any political interest as we need each other to survive. Stay strong & stay united everyone.”

Mac Ruhayu, 90s singer and Founder of Pertubuhan Rangkaian Penjanaan Ekonomi Wanita (PRPEW): “As the Founder of an organization that sews PPE attire  for the front-liners, I hope that Malaysians regardless of rank and position,  as well as race and religion, continue to support the front-liners  who work hard and in long hours to take care of us Malaysians. They are our final defensive fortress. If they fall, the country will be paralyzed. May they continue to be endowed with patience and strength in carrying out this noble task.”

Azlin Othman, Ambassador of Know Your Medicine and Teeth Icon for the Ministry of Health: “My hope for 2021 is that interracial unity would be preserved and the most important element is that mutual respect should be made a basis of society interaction, and avoidance of racial sensitivity to live in harmony.”

Halida Daud, Entrepreneur – HMD Wellness & Pre-Loved Branded goods: “In my small way, I try to make my clients’ dreams come true. For some of them, they have never owned a branded item. So by marketing these pre-loved branded items at a very affordable rate, the happiness on their faces is enough for me. And my clients come from different walks of life, different races and religion. All with one goal: To feel good about themselves. And I hope that my business can further expand so that I can make more clients happy. My clients and I are united that way.”

Citizens – And We Should Never Leave Out The Men

Shiraz Akram Merican Nunis, Diploma in Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Student: Despite being autistic, Shiraz deeply and cares and feels for issues that affect others and himself. At school, he makes friends with the special needs students, who are often ostracised by others. He has been called a snowflake and struggled with labels, unfortunately inflicted by his teachers, one of whom remarked that “other people have it worse than you.” His wishlist: “More awareness for mental health and autism and less stigma around these two conditions. Everyone’s journey is different, nobody should be refused treatment and opportunities should be given based on ability, not race, religion or sexual orientation.”

Tuan Haji Mat Taib, Founder/CEO, Akademi NLP Malaysia: “I hope all Malaysians will continue to come together to foster unity so that the country remains peaceful and harmonious, even in a political scenario that is reprehensible, dilapidated and unstable. I woud like the political leaders to be more attentive towards the rakyat’s needs and understand the aspirations of the people.  I expect them to adopt a universal sense of humanity for all citizens, rather than doing something for personal gain and to benefit only certain groups. In addition, I pray for a Malaysia that is free from libel, corruption and false promises that will only harm the country.”

Don Najib Mustafa, Former MAS Cabin Crew & President of Ex-Mas Cabin Crew Association (ECCA): “We, the Cabin Crew are color, race and religion blind when we serve our passengers. My wishlist is that all Malaysians should emulate the MAS culture: Together We Care. Or something similar to this should be Malaysia’s tagline. Till now, we are “One Big Family.”

Kos Serani, Fashion Designer: “I hope the community will better understand each other and respect the culture and religion of the people.  Like in Sabah, we can still see the Malays sitting and chatting in a Chinese coffee shop and vice versa. Do not let the difference be a dividing wall for us to be friends and work together to build a more peaceful and prosperous Malaysia.”

Finally, Some Of Our Team Members Have Some Things To Say, As Usual

Azizi Khan, Advisor: “My wish for Malaysians is to get past their limitations and excel. We cannot keep blaming the situation or politics and find our own way in the world. Malaysia Boleh has become the butt of jokes, but it doesn’t have to stay that way. We were once poised to be one of the top 30 economies in the world. We can get back there. Together.”

Hasnah Abdul Rahman, Editor-In Chief: “I want to improve my writings in Bahasa Melayu. I was brought up in Singapore, schooled there and my eldest brother made sure we conversed in English since we were six years old. I was happy when I moved to Sarawak, and then Kuala Lumpur, and I did my Mass Comm degree at UiTM, as my exposure to BM increased. But I am still weak in expressing myself in Malay. My speeches in BM is also not that great as I think in English. Now that I am a full-fledged Malaysian, I want to master BM better in all my daily activities. Because, let’s admit it, BM is our lingua franca and it is the best language to unite all Malaysians as it is taught in school.”

Muralitharan Ramachandran, Managing Editor: “Let us hope this year will be amazing for us all. Let’s be kind to one another among the three major racial groups. Let us be united like how we used to be once upon a time. We have all had a very difficult year. So let’s rebuild our nation by spreading love to everyone, regardless of race and religion for a better Malaysia.”

Badrolhisham Bidin, Bahasa Melayu Editor: “I wish for Malaysians to chill, there’s no need for us to quarrel over petty things like whether we can enjoy rojak at Chinese stalls or should Muslims wish Merry Christmas, etc. We used to visit Chinese friends during CNY or Indian friends during Deepavali knowing very well they understand our dietary requirements. We had friends of different races and religions coming over for ketupat and rendang during Hari Raya. Let’s turn back the clock.”

Aisha Norizan, SEO Editor: “My wishlist? Easy peasy. The youths to be opinionated and vocal in empowering togetherness and to stop being nurtured to be racist and hateful of other races. All voices are important to be heard of, yet to still speak good with kind regard for all races and religions. Regardless of how young and old we are, manners and cultural sensitivity are two things we still need to be aware of in our voices. Racist remarks are not okay, let it be in public speeches, friendly discussions or in small online social groups. In addition, our politicians to stop the behaviour of stirring racial sentiments amongst us Malaysians for the sake of politics. No matter how rough things may get, it is never okay to speak disrespectfully and in a condescending manner. Also, it’ll be amazing to see our politicians work for #racialequality, not just as their racial agenda, but as an aspiration to make Malaysians steer this country forward through unity. Diversity makes us stronger as a team. We are one family.”

Taufiq Morshidi, Director & Writer:”There should be more aid for every Malaysian, regardless of race, gender or religion, especially during this pandemic. And there should also be better access to public universities for all races, according to our racial composition, while fees for private universities can be cheaper, so that more citizens can benefit from private education if they don’t qualify to enter public universities.”

Emma Harith, Writer: “My Unity wish for 2021 is that all citizens, regardless of who they are, can live together as One, based on our Rukun Negara, able to work together, and tolerate each other’s sensitivities. And Malaysia, as a nation, must be formed not only based on justice, but also equality, so that no Malaysian is left behind in enjoying the prosperity of the country. May this nation of ours, and its people, be always blessed and protected.

Latisha Merican, Writer: “This year was a tough year. COVID-19 kept us indoors and taught us that we needed to help keep each other safe by taking precautions when going out in public. We did not celebrate hari raya and Christmas, and we will probably not celebrate Chinese New Year in a big way either. We learned that it is indeed possible for some sectors to work from home after all, and that front-liners were working hard to keep everyone alive – regardless. With a vaccine nearly available to us, we hope that we will incorporate the lessons and hardships we endured this year in moving forward. Thus, my wishes for next year are that:

All children, whether stateless, special needs, sexual orientation, born out of wedlock or underprivileged, are to be given the same benefits as others and access to necessities such as care, food, education, and above all, respect. Controversial issues such as race and religion being discussed in a respectful manner without resorting to labeling or be accusatory. Focus on the truly important issues such as providing honest, proper and transparent services to the next person.”  

Bob Morshidi, Writer: “The pandemic has taught us the value of being at home, and people need to appreciate that outside of a pandemic, home is where the heart is. Going out is fun, but don’t make it the center of your being. However, there are people who go out because things are bad at home. More awareness of people who are being abused at home and easier ways to reach out. Don’t forget the forgotten people. More outreach for the elderly, homeless and orphans at centres that need help.” – New Malaysia Herald

The post 2021 Unity Wish Lists That Will Get You Thinking first appeared on NMH.

The NGOs were Pertubuhan Pemangkin Ekonomi Melayu Malaysia (PEM) and BeNAR Malaysia (BeNAR). Together with the New Malaysia Herald (NMH) editorial team, they came up with a few ideas and two were finally selected by the Ministry.

According to the Director of the Unity Videos, Anwardi Jamil, the team presented four concepts, all representing involvement of the various communities.

“The videos were produced in an effort to show how we sometimes take things for granted and do practise selective racism. There are times when certain parties tend to project disunity when it suits their agenda.

“That is why I wanted to show the flip side via the videos: That we are actually united, but we don’t see it,” Anwardi added.

The two concepts that were finally selected were:

1. UNITY FACES – A timely reminder of what we are going through this year. Yet, we are all the same beneath the masks. The question is: Why are we only united in times of Crises? It should be 24/7.

BeNAR president, Dr Ismail Ali disclosed that using the mask concept was timely and it’s actually perfect because in the hospitals we work together, regardless of race, to provide comfort and care to the patients.

“I am glad that the Ministry chose this concept as one of the videos for Unity Month in December 2020 because the message so resonates with all of us today.

“We wanted to project real-life, current situations in the videos. Nothing is more current than the pandemic and how we are actually united behind the masks. In the other video, we wanted to bring the viewers back to the time when we were kids, when we were colour blind and living happily together,” Dr Ismail added.

2. UNITY FRIENDS – This concept traces the various stages of friendships – from the time we were kids and growing up in a multiracial environment to the time we were teenagers and forming our cliques with those of the same race, and then when we grow older we reminisce and want back those friends of before, regardless of their racial grouping.

The setting of the videoshoot took place at the National Museum. Also present during the shooting was the President of PEM, Suryani Yusof.

“We loved the casting and location. We saw the various colours of Malaysians and the classic history of our country in various parts of the Museum. The Bas Mini brought back a lot of memories.

“As a NGO that drives community projects to enhance the economic positioning of the Malays in the country, we have realised that there is always a need to help the other communities along the way. It shows that we have to do this together and we were most excited to have been given the opportunity to work with the partners on the video ideas,” Suryani added.

For the editorial team at New Malaysia Herald, it was one of those things that created a buzz when we saw the final edit, said Hasnah Abdul Rahman, NMH’s Editor-In-Chief.

“At the New Malaysia Herald, we have always propagated inclusivity in all our stories. Since our focus is Citizen Journalism, the concept of unity certainly resonates with our approach.

“We were so thrilled to work on the promotional efforts for the two videos and this will be our ongoing programme until the end of Q1 2021,” added Hasnah.

There is also the Bahasa Melayu version of the videos which can be found on the NMH YouTube channel: – New Malaysia Herald.

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The post These Unity Videos Will Make You Think About Togetherness first appeared on NMH.

This is the last part of the story of Bahasa Melayu, our national language. In essence, the previous two articles (here and here) told the story of how Bahasa Melayu survived colonialism and the battle it faced to be uplifted as our national language today.

Above all, the articles also introduced to us the vision of our founding fathers who wanted our national identity to be built upon a mutual language, which was Bahasa Melayu, of course.

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Nightmares And Horrors

In any case, thanks to the relentless efforts of Lee Kuan Yew and Lim Kit Siang, the very word Melayu today invokes nightmares and horrors among many. In fact, it would not be over the top to state that the word Melayu itself has become a ‘taboo word’ in our Malaysian society today.

Naturally, since our national language is called Bahasa Melayu, the very stigma and taboo haunting the Malays found its way to Bahasa Melayu itself. Malaysians today see Bahasa Melayu as a threat to their ethnic identities and mother tongue, which inevitably leads to fear and hatred towards the language itself.

This has led to calls for Bahasa Melayu to be made Bahasa Malaysia in the spirit of nationalism (or because they don’t want to be or sound a Malay. No class, right, if you speak Bahasa Melayu in BSC, right??)

However, since it matters to some people if its Melayu or Malaysia, let’s tell them why it is not fair to do so.

Although the Malay language is part of the Austronesian language family, it has different names according to the region. In Brunei and Singapore, it is called Bahasa Melayu or the Malay language, while in Malaysia, it is termed as Bahasa Malaysia. Indonesians call their language Bahasa Indonesia.

In 1957, our constitution installed and called our national language Bahasa Melayu (not Bahasa Malaya!). You see, it was not the Malays who conjured up our constitution with a magic wand, because Queen Elizabeth II gave Malaya independence.

Our constitution is a result of discussions among all community leaders including the British, which was later documented as the Reids Commission Report (which implies all communities back in Malaya then had agreed to the name Bahasa Melayu).

At no juncture in between 1957 and this very day, were amendments tabled to change the name Bahasa Melayu to Bahasa Malaysia in our Parliament.

According to former Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin, Bahasa Melayu replaced the traditional term to impart a sense of belonging among all races in Malaysia and implementation of such terminology was encouraged by Tunku as it fostered unity. The terminology was never an issue till Anwar Ibrahim became Education Minister.

It was the jailed former deputy Prime Minister who, in 1988 as education minister, decided that Bahasa Malaysia must be referred to as Bahasa Melayu. This was when question marks of how national is the national language rose for the first time.

Because of Anwar, the non Malays started feeling using Bahasa Melayu would make them Melayu. Because the man who introduced the change was a famed hard-core Islamist at that time.

As far as I am concerned, it is after all, the “national” language! Does it matter by what name this language goes by?

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CURRENT POSITION

Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) chairman, Prof Dr Md Salleh Yaapar in a KiniTV video uploaded on June 25, Salleh said: “…among the new challenges faced is the name of our language which, for the last two decades has been confusedly known as Bahasa Malaysia.

“Until now, our children are asking if this language is Bahasa Malaysia or Bahasa Melayu. We have finally managed to convince the ministry that the name of the language is Bahasa Melayu.”

This has summarised the issue perfectly. Malaysians, especially the non Malays were more bothered about what the national language is called rather than making efforts to master the language.

Malays here used to write using a form of Arabic alphabet –Jawi, that was locally modified. It was after the implementation of the Education Act that it was decided we, the non-Malays will learn BM in Roman letters. These letters were called Rumi. (see how ridiculous then, hysteria about the jawi issue was the last time??!!)

Even after such modifications, skepticism of the national language is a ‘Melayunisation’ process or otherwise remains. This is why, despite it being 63 years since Malaysia attained independence, our national language is yet to attain recognition and become the lingua franca that unites us all.

FINAL STAND

Article 152 (1) of the Federal Constitution states that Bahasa Melayu is the national language and official language of the Government. The Education Act 1961 and Education Act 1996 reaffirms the fact by asserting that Bahasa Melayu is the medium of instruction in education.

Nowhere the term Bahasa Malaysia is found.

Therefore, our national language IS Bahasa Melayu. Today. Tomorrow. Always MALAYSIAN! – New Malaysia Herald

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The post Since Bahasa Melayu Is The Language Of Love, Speak On first appeared on NMH.

By Apocryphalist

Further adventures of Kak Eton the sultry janda (divorcee) reveal a most sensitive topic too politically incorrect to be publicly discussed, but too great an implication to be hush-hush. [Earlier Kak Eton episodes can be viewed here and here].

Datin Nor’s daughter Lara was about to get married. Datin Nor is Kak Eton’s twice-removed cousin, but due to their once being classmates too, they got to be as close as if they were sisters. All of them, cousins, sisters, distant aunts, grandmas, had gotten together for the happy occasion the night before the wedding. The groom was one Mat Salleh who had just embraced Islam. Well, I might as well say it: embraced Islam so he could marry. The family was not very particular about religion, so it mattered to them least whether the groom was going to practise Islam or not.

So there they were all gathered the night before the wedding. Even the neighbours were helping: Some did the bunga telur, some did the dais etc etc. Few folks from the village also came: bit kampung-ish, country bumpkin, less sophisticated and definitely less savoury. But it was a joyous occasion anyhow.

Now it goes without saying that these kampung folks had to do the most menial of jobs of course. Internal strata of familial society, you see. So while the most glamorous of the lady folks, the Datin Elenas and the Puan Sri Lorettas did nothing beyond lipat bunga kertas (for fear the expensive pedicures got compromised), the unsavoury Mak Esah and Mak Ngah Kalsom were wetting their dresses washing the dishes, squatting and all. Kak Eton was doing something in between.

At one point,though, the mother of the bride was eulogising about her recent predicament of matrimonial windfall: “You all know something …. I never expecteeeeeeed that I would be getting a Mat Salleh as my Son in Law. But then you know… Lara has high tastes: she won’t even bat an eye on our own Melayu guys, ”to which the other women-folk jibed, what a lucky future mom-in-law you are. Does John have a brother? I heard these Mat Sallehs are … err… well-endowed. Is it true? Etc etc.”

Now Mak Ngah Kalsom, the mother of the bride’s own cousin, who was washing the dishes squatting by the pipe just outside the kitchen, could not stand it any longer. Her forehead had been furrowed ever since she arrived from kampung by bus in the morning.

She stood up from her dishwashing station, wiped her sweaty brows with the sleeves of her baju kurung, and approached the group. She demanded that they all drop whatever they were doing and listen properly. Unsavouriness or kampung bumpkin aside, when Mak Ngah Kalsom the wife of the clan’s Godfather Pok Long Jaafar speaks, everyone better listen—Puan Sri, Datin Sri or whatever Sri is attached to your name. Kak Eton recollected almost verbatim all of Mak Ngah Kalsom’s admonitive monologue, which went like this (and it’s in Malay because speaking in English Mak Ngah definitely did not):-

“Aku pelik dengan engkau orang semua. Adakah berkahwin dengan satu orang Mat Salleh itu menjadi sesuatu kebanggaan bagi kau orang? Itu kah puncak kejayaan bagi kamu? Sejak mendengar berita ni dari hari pertama lagi, bukannya Mak Ngah gembira. Tapi hati Mak Ngah penuh kerisauan memikirkan si Lara. Bagaimana agamanya kelak? Siapa nak bimbing dia? Dah nak di bawa pula ke Amerika. Bagaimana solatnya? Siapa yang nak didik anak-anaknya nanti? Nak harapkan suami bimbing? Suami baru mengajar mengucap. Kalau mati nak ditanam di mana? Kalau kenduri siapa yang nak bacakan do’a?…” [I don’t understand you people. Is marrying a caucasian a thing of pride? Is that the pinnacle of success for you? Since hearing this news from day one, I have not at all been happy. My heart is full of doubt and misgivings about Lara’s future. How will her religion be? Her prayers? Who will guide her? And now I heard she is to be brought to live in America. Who will educate their children later? Her husband? The one who had only learnt to recite the Shahadah last week? Where will they be buried if they die? Who will recite supplications in feasts…?]

And she babbled like that for a good 15 minutes. Everybody looked down—at their feet, unable to move, unable to counter any of Mak Ngah Kalsom’s qualms, unable to justify, unable to rebut. No one dared to meet Mak Ngah’s fiery eyes then.

Having said her piece, Mak Ngah went back to her station to continue with the job that only people of her stature were fit to do. The joyousness was still there throughout the night, but nobody denied that the festive mood was somewhat reduced by Mak Ngah’s words.

Now Lara’s gone to the US of A following her hubby. From any scrap of news Kak Eton obtained, her situation is not that far off from what Mak Ngah had been feeling queasy about. Kak Eton never met them again and that was a good 10 to 12 years ago. A few years later Nita, Lara’s younger sister, married a Canadian. Mak Ngah Kalsom was no longer invited, but Kak Eton was. They had to get somebody else to be in charge of cleaning all the utensils.

Mak Ngah Kalsom is no longer around: she died some years ago. Perhaps she died a poor death. An unknown demise befitting an unknown personage. A personage which is non grata in the strata of her society but famous and well known among the denizens of the sky. But Puntum her son (real name Abdul Karim but Kak Eton called him Puntum because he became a traitor by reporting to their parents when they were kids that they all went mandi sungai which they forbid) told Kak Eton that arwah had a streak of a smile on her face when they kafan-ed (the funeral shroud) her. 

Whatever happened that night in Datin Nora’s house remained buried in the deepest psyches of Kak Eton, but it surprisingly surfaced again a couple of days ago when she read the news about a Malay Muslim lass marrying the captain of a hockey team who was a Sikh.

To Kak Eton, the case was pure and simple, unlike the much-ado-about-nothing hullaballoo displayed by netizens on the internet. It was clear that the girl had NOT embraced another religion, and that the groom had converted to Islam instead.

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Not A Big Deal

Her wedding reception in a Sikh Gurdawara? Not a big deal. The food was probably good. Did she change her name? Not a big deal too. Heck. Someone she knew and hated so much had changed her name from Saleha to Sally, so who gives a hoot?

Did she prostrate in the Gurdawara? Hello. Prostrated to WHAT? God doesn’t have a representation in whatever form according to the Sikh religion. There are no stone gods: Idolatry is an abomination in their faith. Besides, whatever non-God she was bowing down to under the requirements of their culture — she made it clear that that was done in ignorance, she didn’t realise the gravity of it, that she had no intention of doing it and will not do it again, and that she emphatically denies she had changed either her religion or her name.

Tell me, dear holier-than-thou netizens: besides these, WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT to appease you, thought Kak Eton. They shouldn’t be bothering to demean her. They should be thankful and helpful that now she has a new husband and a new Muslim for them all to help and assist!

Yes, Kak Eton admits. Bowing to any other than God is a grave sin in Islam. The prophet Muhammad had said roughly, “If it were allowed that anybody is making prostrations to anybody other than Allah, then I would have asked that wives prostrate themselves to their husbands.” But hey! Is everybody a Muhaddith? Aren’t there allowances to the inevitable fact that we all are, up to a certain degree, lackadaisical in knowledge in our religion even in matters as important as marriage?

But be that as it may that Kak Eton appears to be a bit more sympathetic when it comes to love and marriage between a man and a woman, she has an unflinching conviction that there IS something greater than Love itself that warrants full attention, full dedication and full subservience. And it is the God of this Love instead.

Kak Eton recollects a Hollywood movie she saw once that parallels what she is seeing and experiencing now: the Epic film “Fiddler on the Roof“, a semi-humorous but deeply serious and informative insight into the life of Russian Jews in the midst of the Bolshevik Revolution.

It tells the story of a poor family headed by a strong-willed but illiterate farmer Tevye with wife Golda and three beautiful daughters in their married bliss. Tevye always dreamt and day-dreamt of being wealthy, deadening the realities of his day-to-day life where he had to put up with the intricacies of a wretched peasant’s life such as his, complete with an incapacitated horse that he used to till his fields but now couldn’t.

The viewers could get to see how Tevye’s hope of being rich, from marrying his eldest daughter to a rich widower who was older than him (“never would I have thought of getting a father in law who is younger than me,” said the incumbent bridegroom Lazar Wolf), got dashed when she dropped the bomb that she had wanted to marry her childhood sweetheart, a poor tailor, instead.

Then her second daughter decided to follow suit by asking his permission to marry a young but handsome Bolshevik revolutionaire Perchik instead, regrettingly knowing that ultimately his revolution and himself will end up in jail and destruction.

Then his third daughter broke the mould. The youngest and pretiest of them all, she told Papa that she was in love and wanted to marry a …. Christian! And that’s when Tevye put the pugstop.

You can break my heart by marrying the poorest dolt in the village. You can marry a jailbird for all I care. But to marry outside of your faith? To reject the religion you were born into? That is something I cannot tolerate.

Love Surpasses Everything?

In other words, Love (and thereby happiness), surpasses everything: the wealth of the world, political kingships, guaranteed happiness. But as far as faith is concerned, no. Love is not greater than that. Love is not eternal. At least not physical and luscious love. Love is fleeting, time-dependent, situation-dependent and even compromised whenever there are … err… other people around.

Ask those who cheat on their wives. Or forsake them to look for another one. Or ready to die for her, irrespective of what. Where is the chivalry or dedication that was once declared? Where is the honesty that seem to be built on this pedestal called Love?

There is only ONE kind of Love which is ever-lasting, eternal and unwaveringly True: and that is the Love of the One True God, and He may or may not trickle this Love down between two slaves of His should He decide to.

And you are now saying what: you are ready to forsake this One True God in exchange for a fleeting happiness? Sacrifice an eternity of Love for a 60-70 year old one which, in all probability, might not even last that long? May the curse of Avram be upon you!

When she first saw the film, Kak Eton unknowingly felt a trickle of tear roll down her cheek. She thought hard on that last one. Would Bang Halim have loved her until their dying days if that bitch of a witch Saleha (Now Mrs Sally Halim) had not come in the picture?

But Kak Eton is not one who sulks on situations and feed on sorrow to live. She gets up, folds her sleeves and take on the world as much as it was needed to.

Because ultimately , we all will stand in front of God one fine day, and our rights and wrongs reckoned. Who will intercede on your behalf should God ask you for what reason were you not remembering Him as much as you should? To not help your needy folks when they needed it most?

For what reason would you forsake God in favour of your own whims and desires and loves and fancies? And what greater thing can there be that you can forsake Him in exchange of? Love? – New Malaysia Herald

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For those who don’t know her, they will think that she has had it easy being the youngest child of the former Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, Mohamad_Noah_Omar. And she later became the wife of Malaysia’s second Prime Minister, Tun Abdul Razak. Subsequently, she was the mother of the country’s sixth Prime Minister, Datuk Sri Najib Tun Razak.

For those who know her, however, they are aware that she has gone through all kinds of trials to bring up her five children as a single mother after the passing of the late Tun Razak due to leukemia when she was 43 years old. At that time, he had just assumed office of the Prime Minister six years before that.

To her credit, the late Tun Hajjah Rahah was the matriarch we all look up to. She was calm and poised at most times, and happiest when she was with her family.

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Allahyarhamah Tun Hajjah Rahah was born on 11 June 1933 in Muar, Johor, and received her early education at the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus (CHIJ), Johor Baharu.

She married the late Tun Abdul Razak Hussein on 04 Sept 1952 and had five children, all boys, namely Najib, Datuk Ahmad Johari, Datuk Mohamed Nizam, Datuk Mohamed Nazim and Datuk Mohamed Nazir.

According to The Star, in its article entitled: The Band of Brothers, published on 06 Dec 2008: “Johari Razak, the second eldest, read law, like his father. He is a senior partner at Shearn Delamore & Co, a large law firm in Kuala Lumpur. He is also a non-executive director in several publicly listed companies including chairman of Ancom Bhd, deputy chairman of related Nylex (M) Bhd, and directorships in Hong Leong Industries Bhd and Daiman Development Bhd. He is also a director of Deutsche Bank (M) Bhd.

“The middle brother, Datuk Mohamed Nizam Razak studied politics, philosophy and economics at Oxford University in the UK and was a stockbroker, being CEO of PB Securities Sdn Bhd in the 1990s. At present, he is also a non-executive director in several publicly listed companies including Hiap Teck Venture Bhd, Mamee Double-Decker (M) Bhd, Delloyd Ventures Bhd and Yeo Hiap Seng (M) Bhd. Like Johari, Nizam is also a director of Deutsche Bank.

“The fourth brother Datuk Mohamed Nazim Razak, who also studied in a British university, is an architect, while the youngest brother, Datuk Nazir Razak had studied at Cambridge University where he obtained a master of philosophy.

“A career banker, he joined CIMB Investment Bank almost 20 years ago, rising through its executive ranks to become its CEO in 1999. Following the merger of CIMB and Bumiputra-Commerce Bank to become Bumiputra-Commerce Holdings Bhd (BCHB), Nazir became CEO of the merged group. This was not an easy charge as Bumiputra-Commerce Bank, during its years as Bank Bumiputra, had a history of falling into financial difficulties and needed to be rescued by the government.

“Under his watch, the BCHB group, which is branded as CIMB Group, was transformed into a GLC (government-linked company) bank that could compete with its peers in the private sector regionally.”

The said Star article added: “Najib has been careful that there is no incidence of “family cronyism”, although that has not deterred his political opponents from raising the issue.

“His record, however, is a good one. Among his brothers, only Nazir has risen to the top post of a large GLC but he had to climb the corporate ladder.

“More importantly, Nazir has proved to be a capable banker, an accolade offered by his peers and fund managers for the results he produced at CIMB group. Furthermore, he advanced at CIMB at a time when Najib held other cabinet posts, not that of finance minister.

“In recent years, Najib had held the portfolio of defence minister and throughout his term of service, there were no scandals of defence contracts involving his brothers. The family is proud of the Razak name and do not want to tarnish that.”

Yet, the brothers have built their respective careers and have the right, as any other individual, to move up in their careers. They could have moved to public service as they are well-educated and are known to be well-mannered, rather than arrogant, and have not been known to abuse their family ties.

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Heartbroken And Devastated

As a mother, she must have been heartbroken and devastated at the way the Pakatan Harapan government (May 2018 – January 2020) had treated her eldest son, Najib. Apart from the slew of court cases which were beyond comprehension, they had raided his homes and confiscated his properties and till the day she passed away on Friday, 18 December, these items have not been returned to Najib and his other family members. Not to forget the fact that even her house in Jalan Eaton was raided by the police during the investigations on her son and they even broke the ceiling of the house to look for any hidden loots.

“I am so thankful that the Pakatan Harapan government is no longer in power. Because if they are, I doubt if they will accord the State Funeral for the late Tun Rahah, knowing how much they were against Najib Razak’s family at that time,” said Tan Wei Kheong, a Unit Trust Consultant.

Tan hopes that after the demise of his mum, there will be further respite for Datuk Sri Najib and his other family members as the attacks against them are just too evil – from the court cases and raids to the freezing of accounts and passports.

A Malaysian entrepreneur living overseas, Clement Woo, recalls how Tun Razak was always thinking of all the racial groups in the country and being his wife, she also played her part in being inclusive, as can be seen from her involvement in the Girl Guides Movement and other activities.

“I am sure, this inclusiveness must have rubbed on to their son Najib Razak, and probably given the idea to the latter to propagate the 1Malaysia rallying call,” Clement added.

This was what Muralitharan Ramachandran felt when he recalled the State funeral extended to Tun Rahah.

“I was just amazed to see the number of people who turned up for the funeral, especially during a pandemic. That shows the love they have for Tun Rahah and the Tun Razak family. And it was good to see the Opposition politicians there, from the different racial groups, and we hope this is a good sign for matured politics in the country,” said Muralitharan, who is the Vice-President of Parti Cinta Malaysia (PCM) and also the Managing Editor of the New Malaysia Herald.

Among the opposition politicians who paid their last respects were Ketari assemblyman Young Syefura Othman, Seputeh MP Teresa Kok, Bakri MP Yeo Bee Yin and Lembah Pantai MP Ahmad Fahmi Mohamed Fadzil. 

Representing Wanita DAP, Young Syefura described the grit and personality of Tun Rahah as a single mother who raised five children as an example of a perseverant woman.

“She is a woman who is respected, a determined woman who successfully brought up her children after losing her husband at a young age. Her demise is a big loss to the country and to the women of today,” she said.

Meanwhile, Pandan MP, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail when met, said she was always amazed by Tun Rahah’s perseverance in educating her children when her husband was being treated for leukaemia. 

Brave And Determined

“We could learn from her brave and determined attitude. Farewell from me,” she said.

This was also attested by Irma Darwis, a business development manager.

“Both Tun Razak and Tun Rahah were the role models for exemplary parenting, and this value is imparted onto their children who in turn had model families.

“I am blessed to be able to live with my mum till now and I can imagine how devastated DSN and siblings must be feeling right now, yet they are gracious to everyone, even though they are grieving,” she added.

Accolades were also received from foreign dignitaries, especially from neighbouring Singapore. Its Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong said that Tun Rahah Mohamed Noah was a source of strength, courage and inspiration for her family and for all Malaysians.

“She stood resolutely beside her husband, (the late) Tun (Abdul) Razak (Hussein), when he led Malaysia at a critical period in its history,” said Lee in his latest update on his Facebook recently.

“She will be remembered for her devotion to country and family,” he wrote further in his posting in which he appended a photo of Tun Rahah.

Not to be left out was Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed also from the opposition bloc and a former Prime Minister (twice). He has treated Najib Razak as his nemesis in politics, although the latter’s father was instrumental in giving Mahathir is jumpstart into politics.

“The late Tun Rahah Mohamed Noah had made enormous contributions to assist Tun Abdul Razak Hussein when he was the second prime minister,” said Mahathir.

He described Tun Rahah as among the last from the independence generation who contributed invaluable services and sacrifices to the country.

“(She), is the ‘merdeka’ generation… not many people of the merdeka generation are still alive. Maybe (she) was among the last.

The loss of Tun Rahah was clearly felt by the people and for Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong, Malaysia has lost an exceptional woman personality.

Certainly, with such accolades, it is deserving for her to be anointed as an Icon for Unity.

Meanwhile, when I was doing my research on Allahyarhamah Tun Rahah, I came across two simply moving articles that best describe the lives of Tun Rahah and Tun Razak. These were

1. Translation of a speech by Sultan Perak, Sultan Nazrin Shah at the launch of the book on Tun Razak by Shahreen Kamaluddin, Fulfilling A Legacy: https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/tun-razak-would-have-been-heartbroken
2. An article in the New Straits Times by DR PARIDAH ABD SAMAD  on Tun Razak’s final journey: https://www.nst.com.my/news/2016/01/122302/tun-razaks-final-journey – New Malaysia Herald #TOGETHER4UNITY

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When my husband Michael and I got married, we lived and worked in Singapore and never lived in Malaysia in the first 11 years of our marriage. We would travel back for the Chinese New Year, Hari Raya and Christmas holidays but when our family expanded and travelling became difficult, my in-laws occasionally came down to celebrate Christmas with us.

Michael is a Eurasian whose paternal ancestor arrived in Melaka in 1511 from Portugal. His mother Eileen and stepfather Joon Kong are Chinese. I am a melting pot Malay with a dark-skinned father and a light-skinned mom. The first Merican purportedly originated in India (which is quite evident in my dad’s skin colour and features) in the 1800s and other far-off lands while I’m not quite sure of my mom’s origins; however, most of her family settled in Johor. They have pale skin, almond-shaped eyes and wide noses and a quiet dignity about them.

My sister-in-law’s mother-in-law (my MIL’s besan)’s birthday is on 25 December, so occasionally her family is not there to celebrate with my MIL – they would be in Terengganu instead. Apart from the Chinese and the Eurasian, there is one Malay (me) and one Indian (my sister-in-law’s husband, Salmaan) in Michael’s family. Yes, definitely 1Malaysian.

Because both our families consisted of different races and adhered to different faiths, Michael’s courtship, and subsequently our wedding, were quite interesting, to put it delicately. As part of our marriage vows, Michael and I made an unspoken agreement that we would celebrate all cultural and religious festivals both our families did, and respect them, as our religion taught us.

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Christmas Celebrated In Singapore

The first festival we celebrated as a married couple was Christmas. I enjoyed the Christmas season in Singapore. There is a palpable air of excitement that seemed to permeate to the farthest HDB flat in the small city-state. One could also argue that it is over-commercialised, as can be seen in the numerous sales offering everything from the religious to every day, and back-to-school items. Whether you went to the luxurious Robinsons or the warehouse sales in Expo, it seemed that Christmas was the festival that everyone, no matter the ethnicity and beliefs, could enjoy or celebrate in their own way. I would spend hours scouring the malls looking for the ‘perfect’ gift for everyone, not only for my in-laws, but also for our Filipino helpers as well as my family, and my children’s teachers.

If my in-laws came to visit, they would usually arrive by bus on the eve. In the morning, Michael and I would drop them off at the nearby church for the morning service and pick them up a couple of hours later. Once we were back home, all of us, including our two helpers, would open the presents and then sit down for our much-anticipated lunch.

For those early Christmas when we played host, I would make prawn noodles (mee yoke) for lunch. Traditionally made with pork bones, mee yoke is a dish that Michael enjoyed immensely and often. After converting to marry me he yearned for it as no-pork versions were non-existent where we lived. My mother-in-law, who has accepted me, a Muslim, into her family, showed this example of acceptance by teaching me how to cook the halal version of this, along with other dishes that Michael misses. She taught me to use chicken bones, simmered for hours together with prawn shells that had been dry-fried, to give it a distinct aroma. Flavoured with rock sugar and soy sauce, prawn mee is enjoyed with yellow noodles and/or vermicelli, lightly fried prawns, shredded chicken, kangkong, bean sprouts, fried shallots and lots of ground dried chillies that have been fried with a bit of oil and shrimp paste (belacan) to give it a kick.

The rest of the visit would be spent at the beach or anywhere my in-laws wanted to go, whether shopping or sight-seeing or enjoying Singapore cuisine. At night, we would drive down to Orchard Road to see the fantastic lights and decorations.

Christmas In Kuala Lumpur

After we moved to Kuala Lumpur, we stopped hosting and went back to the traditional route of going to my in-laws’ for Christmas lunch. My mother-in-law would make a variety of dishes to accommodate the various palates of her extended family.

Christmas meal to me would always be American style, with turkey and cranberry sauce enjoyed in my days in St Louis and that was what I naively looked forward to the first time. Thus I was quite taken aback when it turned out to be assam laksa, a fish and tamarind-based laksa noodle soup, which was something that my mom made regularly when I was growing up. Realizing that Christmas lunch would be Asian-themed with an eclectic selection of dishes took some getting used to. However, I do appreciate that she takes care to cook something for everyone in her family to enjoy. Cooking for Chinese, Malay and Indian (who is Michael’s brother-in-law) appetites, small children, plus adhering to dietary and religious constraints is no easy feat. The result is a table bountiful with Portuguese devil curry, chicken rendang, spring rolls, fried wantans, pie tee, a vegetable dish, not to mention roast chicken and sausages for the children.

After the hearty meal, everyone helps to clean up and wash the dishes, and then the presents are exchanged. We linger for a few hours to chitchat and catch up on the latest news, especially since the next time we would all meet would probably be Chinese New Year, typically two months away.

This year, as per the norm for him, Michael called up his parents to ask what the plan would be, considering the current pandemic. Because of COVID-19, his mom advised staying away as everyone could potentially contract or spread the virus that doesn’t discriminate. Apart from the elderly family members, we also have small children; and others may have preconditions that make an infection riskier.

As for the consequences, I had planned to make prawn noodles for the Merican Nunis family to pay homage to our years in Singapore. However, our Indian neighbour told us not to cook anything as they would send over something to eat. Aunty Elizabeth is a great cook, and she and her husband Uncle Thomas have sent us some scrumptious curries throughout the years for us to enjoy. Always appreciative of good cooking, I can’t wait to enjoy the surprise lunch.

This year looks like it will be a quiet, do-nothing Christmas day for us Eurasian-Malay family. Ah well, at least we are safe and so far, healthy. – New Malaysia Herald

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In 2019, one of the schools I was teaching were putting on an adaptation of Disney’s Mulan for its yearly school Drama production. Having written the script and tasked with being an Assistant Director, I knew the message of the show well.

This school had an interesting policy. Unless the parents officially did not permit them to, every single student performs in the drama production. If they were not selected as cast members, they’d be part of the choir, part of the orchestra, or dancers. Almost every single student in every single class was performing in Mulan in one way or another.

As we neared the production date and the general rehearsing of the shows were done, we started going through the messages of Mulan in the classroom to better push the performance of every student who would appear on stage (An important part of every performer’s rehearsal process: Why are we doing this?). One of the lessons had a social experiment in place that I feel is important to bring up here.

As you read on, you’ll see that students are not racist or gender-biased by nature, and begets the question: When does the division start?

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The Experiment

I would choose four students: Two boys, two girls. Three of them were of the same race. If possible, a couple of students had different accessories on them (watches, socks etc). I would then ask the class, “Who is different?”. Students would then start pointing out the differences between the students.

The Result

I taught 10 classes in that school, ranging from Primary Three to Primary Six. Out of those ten classes, only one student pointed out that one child was of a different race. The other students only pointed out variations of:

• Attire: Coloured socks, different hues of the uniform.
• Accessories: Watches, Bangles, Hair ties, Hairclips.
• If the student wore glasses.

Next to this one child, who I believe was tipped off by an older sibling who had a class with me the day before, no other student mentioned the differences in race or gender.

The Conclusion

Children are not racist or gender-biased by nature. I gave the students the results and they were happy that that was the conclusion.

The Discussion

So now we come on to the elephant in the room.

Children, unless taught to do so, do not look at the differences between one another. Of course, there will be differences and we as human beings know that since we were young, but when were we TAUGHT to look at the differences? And by whom? (Note: As part of the unity campaign by the New Malaysia Herald, we produced this video for Unity Month in December).

Is it:

The Media

Local entertainment media uses stereotypes to sell their products. The Malays are heroes. The Chinese are evil bosses. The Indians are gangsters. The mixed-raced minorities are non-existent. Females are to be protected and males are the heroes. Children who imbibe local entertainment media could be influenced by this and make their conclusion of race and gender on this.

The Family

Not all families will influence how we look at The Other in a big way, but it does happen. I support the English Football Team during the World Cup. When I was young, I was at a friend’s place watching England play (my friend is also an England supporter, and was also a great football player).  His father came into the room and asked, “Why are you supporting the colonists?”

Now we are not ignorant. We knew our World History and what Great Britain has done to its colonies. However, that line of questioning didn’t matter for us. England had David Beckham. We supported David Beckham. If he was Irish we’d support Ireland. If he was Afghani we’d support Afghanistan.

And if Malaysia qualified for the World Cup we’d happily and proudly support Malaysia.

My friend’s father was not attacking us when he asked that question. He was simply unconsciously asking something based on his own bias. However, this question can grow and stick to someone as they age. My favourite comedians are British, the NHS is a healthcare system that every country should adopt, but I still find it weird that Canada and Australia have the Queen on their banknotes. Was it based on my knowledge of history, or was it based on that question from my friend’s father?

Our Own Experiences

Could our own life experience lead to our biases? Did our high school sweetheart break our hearts, and just because they were of a particular gender or race, lead us to start stereotyping? Could we have had a tragedy caused by someone who led us to believe that the person’s particular gender or race will always be the cause of trouble?

I was once robbed at the side of the road, with a Parang shoved to my face, and since then I’ve had a fear of walking alone (which, for someone who uses public transport, is a fun fear to have). I’m also very scared whenever I walk alone and I see a car driving aside me with three men in them. Again, did my bad experience lead to this bias?

Conclusion

Children inherently have no bias. When they’re in kindergarten, they’d happily hold each other’s hands (Before social distancing life, of course). As we grow older, we’re taught one way or another that certain situations are not acceptable and bring us up to be biased.

However, Unity means that there’s nothing wrong with eating a meal with someone of a different race at the same table. Blood transfusions should be accepted no matter what race the donor and the people who need it are. Kindness should be gender and colour blind.

If our children don’t grow up together, we, as a society have failed them. – New Malaysia Herald

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“In a dressing-room, you do not look at someone and see colour, creed, sexuality or anything of that nature. You see a friend, a team-mate, someone who can help and someone who can help you” – Jurgen Klopp

The holy Islamic month of Ramadan in 2019 was from May 5 to June 4. Meanwhile, Liverpool and Tottenham were set to feature in the Champions League final that year which was scheduled for June 1.

As one of the five pillars, or duties, of Islam, fasting during the month of Ramadan is mandatory for all healthy adult Muslims. There is also a verse in the Quran that prescribes fasting for all Muslims who are mature and healthy enough to do so for the full day. According to religious beliefs, Muslims must not consume anything, including water and chewing gum, between dawn (Suhur) to dusk (Iftar) in order to cleanse the soul and mind.

UEFA Champions League

The UEFA Champions League initially termed as the European Cup before being changed to Champions League in 1992, is an annual football club tournament that first started in 1955 and is considered the most prestigious football tournament worldwide. Ever since its inception, only 22 football clubs have managed to win the Champions League till today. In essence, this competition is THE Holy Grail for many tops, top clubs and elite players.

During one of the press conferences in the run-up to the Champions League final, Liverpool’s German coach, Jurgen Klopp was asked about the prospect of his Muslim players, Mohammed Salah and Sadio Mane fasting during the game which clashed with Ramadan.

Liverpool’s gaffer eloquently answered that “I have no problem with my players fasting. I respect their religion they were always amazing whether they were fasting or not. There are days when Mane or Salah come late to the dressing room because they were praying. There are many things more important than football”

Most people know that to stay healthy, you need to drink water. Hydration is part of what helps your body function properly, and it helps you feel at your best. For elite footballers, dehydration occurs when fluid losses — whether from sweating, increased core temperatures, or even breathing — exceed fluid consumed through both food and beverage.

They lose fluids rapidly during a match, especially if the match has a lot at stake and is being played in hot or humid conditions. Conditions like that at a champions league final in Madrid where you can expect an average temperature of 21°C, which reaches an average high of 29°C in May.

Even in a state of mild dehydration, cells throughout the body — from the brain to muscles — cannot function properly. The blood begins to thicken slightly, making it more difficult for the heart to get oxygen-rich blood to those cells. In other words, a footballer’s performance would be severely affected and together with it, the team suffers as well.

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Jurgen Klopp’s Tolerance With Muslim Players

Considering the fact that Klopp’s lost his past six cup finals – three in a row with Liverpool and three with his previous Borussia Dortmund, Klopp had all the reasons in the world to discourage Salah and Mane from fulfilling their duties. After all, I am certain that Klopp would have been aware that under Islamic teachings, it is permissible to break your fast “with anything that is adequate need” or if you are travelling during the day – which Salah and Mane did as Liverpool headed to Kyiv.

As a manager, Klopp could have kicked up a fuss and insisted that Salah and Mane must not fast and be in a 100% state for the final. But he did not. That is why he is Jurgen Klopp, not any of our local politicians.

And guess what? Liverpool beat Tottenham 2-0 to win their sixth Champions League title at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid with both press conferences in the run-up to the Champions League final

Liverpool superstars Salah and Mane maintained their fast during the 2019 UEFA Champions League final against Tottenham Hotspur. They did not break their religious obligations even for the crunch final game. Yet they convincingly won the final and wrote themselves into Liverpool’s folklore.

And if you are wondering if this was an isolated incident and not reflective of Klopp’s true nature, you are wrong again. Klopp offers Mane and Salah 2 minutes to do ablutions before matches if needed. Read his quote below.

“Muslims wash their bodies very often in specific situations. We therefore always finish our warm-ups 2 minutes early to give time for our Muslim players like Mane and Salah to wash up before the match, as requested by Islam. I have no problem giving them these 2 minutes to give them time to do something absolutely important for them!”

Klopp’s embracement of diversity and the respect he shows towards Muslims and non-Christians, has created positive ripples all over. According to a Stanford University study, since Salah joined Liverpool, hate crimes in the area have decreased by 19% and anti-Muslim comments online have dropped by 50%. Talk about impact on and off the pitch.

War Of Words Between Political Leaders In Malaysia

Compare this to what transpired in Malaysia last week. An unregistered temple in Kedah was demolished and subsequently sparked a war of words between PAS and MIC. Instead of doing a Klopp, Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor chose to chide MIC using words associated with racial stereotypes to hit back at his Indian critics over a Hindu temple demolition row.

Sanusi had suggested his critics, which included MIC and DAP leaders, were “drunk on the toddy of popularity” and advised them not to act as if they are “drunk on three bottles” after consuming only one bottle.

If only Klopp was the Menteri Besar, I am sure we would not have had the necessity to indulge in racial rhetoric such as this. If Klopp were the PM today, I am sure as hell that we would not be having discussions about how to foster national unity today.

You may not be a fan of Liverpool nor Klopp’s gegenpressing football. But, as a man, you can never hate him, can you?

With a leader like Klopp, you and I will never walk alone, ever.

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The post What Our Politicians Can Learn From Jurgen Klopp first appeared on NMH.

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Disclaimer: This is a personal view. I know there are a million other examples, but this is what I feel are things that have historically brought us together.

We live in an age where we choose what to watch. Very rarely do we come together as a nation and watch things together and revel or worry about things together anymore. There are exceptions of course. For months we switch to our channels of choice and watch as our Health Ministry Director-General, Noor Hisham Abdullah shared the new numbers of cases of COVID-19 in the country. It brought us together, the yearning for normalcy in an age of uncertainty.

Recently, infamous artist Namewee released his trailer for Babi, about a race war in a Malaysian school. It is something that shows what can happen when racial disharmony disunites us on a grassroots level.

However, it being Unity Month on this news site, I rekindle the things on screen that made us all come together as one, regardless of religion, colour, and creed.

Funnily enough, most of this list is sports-related, bar one.

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Yasmin Ahmad Movies

If you go to any Malaysian and ask them who is the best Malaysian filmmaker to have ever existed, many would say the late great Yasmin Ahmad. I can see why.

From a filmmaking point of view, Yasmin Ahmad ticked all the boxes. She had her distinctive style, her signature shots and knew how to bring out the audience’s emotion.

From a storytelling point of view, she was top class. Her ads for our national cultural celebrations made us all smile, regardless whether we celebrate them ourselves. Her movies showed a love of Malaysians as people and showed an ingredient missing from many other local filmmakers: the beautiful truth of our people together.

Example: Go watch Sepet.

Lee Chong Wei

Malaysia has decent sportsmen. Just Google “Malaysia” and “world’s best” and there is a nice list showing what we are great at. From Shalin Zulkifli to Farah Ann Hadi to our national hockey team to our amazing Special Olympics team, many make us proud when we hear news of their success.

However, every Malaysian sits down and watches the great Datuk Lee Chong Wei sweating it out at the courts, and aired to millions of homes, LIVE.

Especially at the Olympics badminton finals against Lin Dan.

Sure, he came short whenever he fought his good friend, and though we still yearn for that elusive gold medal in the Olympics (we still have not won one! That is why the Special Olympics team winning a multitude of gold medals was a big deal), we never doubted that Chong Wei did his absolute best.

He is still one of the greatest badminton players that ever lived.

Nicol Ann David

Nicol Ann David is simply the greatest squash player to have ever lived. Whenever she was on screen, we would watch her decimate anyone and everyone who was between her and glory. She was ranked No 1 for 108 consecutive months (that is 9 whole years!).

We had our own Michael Schumacher level of genius and she is homegrown, and we love her.

2002 World Cup

Okay, hear me out. Yes, we all love the World Cup. Even people who do not watch football regularly would happily get World Cup fever. However, the 2002 World Cup in Japan/South Korea had a different feel to it for one simple reason: Because of the time difference of one hour, we could watch it without losing sleep.

See, we have had years of waking up at 3 AM to watch football being played in the Americas or Europe. We’d then, bleary-eyed, go to work or school the next day and barely function, sleeping the moment we get home and waking up and doing it all over again.

Not this World Cup. This World Cup happened during our days.

Schools and work still happened, but there would be a TV on, and the country just had a month of enjoyment and bliss. It was something else.

2010 AFF Suzuki Cup

As much as I love our country, our national football team is not great. We have had legends, but next to a couple of Olympic Qualifications, we have not had anything to shout about.

Except, of course, the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup. We won that. We lifted a trophy in football. It was absolute bliss. A bliss that would only be probably replicated if we ever won Olympic gold or qualify for the World Cup (The former is likely; the latter might not be in my lifetime). I have never seen a country so happy together over 11 men kicking round leather.

Ola Bola

I will be honest. I am not a fan of the movie.

Do not get me wrong. It is a good movie. The acting is well done, and the message is beautiful. However, there was just something missing in the movie that I cannot quite put my finger on.

I did love the stage production of it, which felt fuller and the fantastical setting on stage made the half-fantasy half-biographical nature of the story easier to swallow.

However, the movie did bring us all together and reminisce about a generation of players who, given the chance and funding, could have conquered the world.

Conclusion

We are a country that is trying to win, and when we are together watching our players or actors or artistes try to win, nothing can divide us.

Or in the case of the World Cup, latch on to other countries trying to win. We are still doing it together. – New Malaysia Herald

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The post Unity On Screen: What Happens When We Watch Iconic Stuff Together? first appeared on NMH.