For my son, when he grows up, this site will be my legacy for him. The decisions his mother and I made for him, to understand them, to learn from them and to lead a life without prejudice and to succeed in it on his own merit.

Friday, December 19, 2008

They want to stay behind

Can We Embrace Change With An Open Mind?
By LIM MUN FAH, Sin Chew Daily

2008 will become history in a matter of days, but many things will not follow its footsteps into history. The taut relationship among the different races and religions in this country has been a major issue besetting us over the past one year.

Prime minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who will leave the office next March, has admitted that during the economic downturn, the rift between the Malay majority and the Chinese and Indian communities has deepened, and this is the greatest threat the nation is currently facing.

On this, the prime minister has proposed to set up an institution through which different communities can express their dissatisfaction or frustration. The PM's proposal has to some extent reflected the prevailing situation in this country, but that proposal also leaves much to be deliberated.

Indeed, by allowing all races to voice up their dissatisfaction, the proposal will protrude our openness and liberty while consolidating mutual understanding among the different races. However, it could also be a double-sided blade that if abused, may invite even greater misunderstandings and conflicts.

51 years after independence, racial integration and national solidarity remain nothing more than a nice outfit. While appearing gaudy and harmonious, they are in reality extremely fragile.

In the March general elections, the public stirred up a massive tsunami with their ballots, bringing Barisan Nasional, which had been in firm control of this country for half a century, to its knees. The administrations of five states fell into the hands of Pakatan Rakyat, while BN also lost its two-thirds majority advantage in the Parliament.

All post-election analyses pointed to the notion that it was a major watershed in the country's political history, and the election outcome reflected the public's abhorrence and detestation towards racist politics, allowing the ideals of bipartisan politics to see the possibility of fulfillment for the first time ever.

Nevertheless, looking back at what have taken place during the past one year, we can't help but lament at the numerous deplorable, detestable and pitiable incidents, and grow increasingly worried and uneasy over the trend of heightening racial and religious segregation.

Over the past one year, the narrow global perspectives, conservative religious fundamentalism and escalating racist discourse of some people have not only shocked us, but also disheartened us.

The issues of language, Malay privileges, equity, "pendatang," Hindraf, controversies over Chinese road signs as well as the question of social contract... have all created immense waves in our society, triggering aggressive debates between the Malays and non-Malays.

As a matter of fact, many controversies have been blown out of proportion, thanks to the fanning by irresponsible politicians, so that they continue to get heated up, propagate and expand, and touch on the sensitive nerves of the different ethnic groups living in this country. This has resulted in tense relations while entrenching the contradiction and cleavage among the races.

If left uncontrolled, such a trend will push the nation to the brink of disintegration while annihilating this land that we have come to love so much. This is no longer an issue of the Malay dilemma, or a crisis of the Chinese or Indian communities. It has evolved into a dilemma or crisis that entails the entire nation.

The prime minister has said Muslims and non-Muslims have been thinking of things from their own perspectives, and there has not been a leadership that can effectively check these two powerful disintegrating forces, such that religious extremists could get so emboldened and fearless in their acts.

What the prime minister has said clearly depicts our existing inter-racial and inter-religious relations as well as rigorous challenges we are now facing. Transcending religious gaps and constructing racial harmony has been a slogan we have been chanting aloud, as well as a dream the government has been piling up for us over the past 51 years. The question is: what kind of approach should be the right way that will eventually lead us to national unity?

The issue of singularism or pluralism is yet another bone of contention of late. We cannot simply accuse the Malay community of conservatism and narrow-mindedness, as we have a fair share of Chinese and Indian Malaysians who also fall into the same category of people. But one thing we cannot deny: as many new generation Chinese and Indians are well versed in both BM and their mother tongues (some even have good commands of the English language), and are able to read and receive information expressed in different languages, they are therefore having a better understanding of the Malay society, than the Malays' understanding of the Chinese and Indian societies.

Renowned Malay commentator Karim Raslan has highlighted in his article The Modern Malay Dilemma that the country's existing education system does not augur well for the Malays to learn the cultures and languages of other races. The resistance towards external ideas and influences has gradually eroded the job opportunities of this community, gravely jeopardising its long-term prospects. If this kind of mentality is not instantly rectified, the attitude of arrogance and isolationism will only get intensified. Karim Raslan concluded that a "globalised" Malay is only a step away from a true "Malaysian." But are we going to embrace change with an open mind?

When faraway United States is producing its first ever black president, the above words of Karim Raslan should serve as an inspiring point to ponder for the prime minister, who has made "the cooling of tense racial and religious relationships in this country his final mission before bowing out of politics."
(Translated by DOMINIC LOH)

No comments:

Post a Comment