Growing up, both my wife and I were lucky enough to have attended a mixed-race school where Malays, Chinese, Indians and Orang Asli coexisted in harmony. Of course, there were some students who kept to themselves and rarely ventured out to get to know other people of different ethnicity. But those instances were more of a rarity than a norm.
In fact, my wife’s best friend then was Doreen Fong, a lovely girl who would occasionally sleep over at my mother-in-law’s place during the weekends. Doreen, according to my wife, would don a batik sarong and T-Shirt and helped out in the kitchen. And both Doreen and my wife remain good friends till today.
Experiences like that help shape how we view people. Till today, race has never really been a factor for us. Unfortunately, there are still segments of our society that choose to see through racially prejudiced eyes and are incapable of bonding with those from other racial background.
And it doesn’t help matters when politicians and the media (blogs included) join the fray by spewing racial slurs and blaming other races of lacking in multiracial spirit.
One thing’s for sure: playing up the racial card will never get us anywhere as a nation. If anything, now’s the time for Malaysians — regardless of race, religion and economic background — to come together as one.
This is the time for us to be thinking of 1Malaysia. My personal take is that a truly vibrant and successful nation can only exist when we accept each other for what we are, and focus our combined efforts towards a single goal.
I’ll be the first to admit it’s easier said than done. Indeed, racial tolerance is not something that can be achieved by merely propagating it through campaigns and advertisements.
It requires concerted effort from every single Malaysian to believe in the 1Malaysia concept. And for them to live it and breathe it, and, most importantly, to trust each other unconditionally.
For that to happen, education is crucial and starting early is necessary. Mixed-race environments should be promoted. As it is, even at school level, sports can be very race-specific. For example, basketball is still predominantly played by the Chinese while the Malays tend to gravitate towards sepak takraw.
Schools should take on a bigger role to promote unity and encourage students to make a commitment to become informed about multiracialism and multiculturalism.
As adults and parents, we have a responsibility too. We need to be role models for our children and for each other. I would urge all of us to take the initiative and make a conscious effort to get to know people of other races.
This can be the taxi driver, the girl at the hypermarket’s checkout counter, or the youngsters sitting at the next table at a mamak stall. Just about anybody we come into contact with will have something interesting to share if we are willing to listen.
No doubt, it’s a long road ahead for Malaysia where racial unity is concern. But we need to start somewhere and we need to start now. Let us embrace in our hearts and minds what Canadian writer Margaret Atwood once wrote: “I hope that people will finally come to realize that there is only one ‘race’ — the human race — and that we are all members of it.”
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Malaysian Business.