There’s only two Indian (sorry, can’t distinguish between tamil and hindi) movies which I’ve actually watched the whole length of it throughout my 22 years. The first being the practical, humourous and inspirational tale of 3 Idiots which left a deep impression in me that we should always “chase for excellence, then success would follow” and when you need to calm yourself down, just recite the mantra “All Iz Well”.
The second movie, My Name is Khan, concerns an American Muslim man with Asperger's syndrome who embarks on a cross-country journey post-September 11, determined to convey a message to the American President that “My Name is Khan, and I’m not a terrorist”. Now this is a highly recommended movie not only for the Muslims per se, but it can definitely be an inspiration for the other races in Malaysia as to how the objective of “1Malaysia” can be the new Malaysian dream rather than being just another propaganda or lip service by the government. To date, 1Malaysia seems to sound just like another hypermarket in the country. With products ranging from 1Malaysia Meal Plan to 1Malaysia Broadband, 1Malaysia Clinic to “Kedai Cuci Kereta 1Malaysia”, the ideology propounded by Najib seems to be too commercialised that it has lost its intended purpose which is to achieve racial unity.
This brings me to the main topic of discussion – racism. You see, I’ve never been a fan of racism and I’m sure many of you would concur with me. I couldn’t give a damn if the next Prime Minister is an Indian or a woman so long as the rakyat could benefit from it. I couldn’t care less if affirmative actions such as the NEP are implemented as long as it is equally distributed among all the races and not for the Malay cronies because at the end of the day, the funds injected are taken from tax-payers money who is contributed by everyone regardless of their race.
A football fan holding up a banner against the racism saga between Manchester United and Liverpool players
Personally, aside from the political motives of playing the racial card and a minority of extremists, I’ve never thought that racism was prevalent in Malaysia. What we undeniably have here is “stereotype” and “prejudice”. The former means to have a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing while the latter refers to a preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience. The most widely known “stereotype” in Malaysia would be “Malays are lazy, Chinese are gamblers and stingy while Indians are drunken”.
On the other hand, “racism” is the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics, abilities, or qualities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races. The prime example would be in a job interview. A Malay interviewee enters into the room where the interviewers are made up of Chinese and interviewer goes, “Oh orang Melayu” while trying to get the session over with a.s.a.p. without going through his qualification. Here’s what the big fuss is all about. Why should the interviewer categorise the interviewee in the first place? Does it mean that by being a Malay he should be inferior to the other Chinese candidates?
Another issue which caught my attention with regards to racism is the fact that there are certain shallow minded people who would vote for a person of the same race in order for that particular race to remain in power within that organisation. By doing so, it is of no benefit to your own race or any other race. What ever happened to “let the best man win”? Such mindset would only have a ripple-effect in the sense that the most qualified candidate is not elected and thus, the organisation would not be run at its optimum. Ironically, at the end of his/her term in office, the same people who voted for him/her would bombard her with questions as to why things are not being done and promises not fulfilled.
These are just a couple of examples which I’ve witnessed for myself and also heard of racial remarks being made in my very own faculty. Look, it is a bold statement I’m making and it could stir up some backlash but this is something widespread in the faculty. It’s just one of those ‘the birds and the bees’ story which your parents never told you about but you sort of get the idea of what is happening. This is the faculty which would most probably produce the next Prime Minister as compared to the other faculties and it is worrying if he/she is poisoned by such racial mindset. If a man with Aspenger’s syndrome could look beyond cultural, religious and racial differences, what is then left of our sanity?
This picture was taken from the 45 most powerful images of 2011 showing Christians protecting the Muslims during prayer in Cairo, Egypt.
The writer condemns such mindset which is prevalent not only in his faculty but also in his beloved Malaysia. His close friends during high school were mostly Indians and Malays. He is quite perplexed to the fact that if the Malay satay, Chinese assam laksa and Indian’s roti canai could be served on the same table without being judged which food taste better than the other, then why can’t we just do the same to each other? He intends to not fill up the race column in registration forms as a protest of categorise a person by its race and hopes that others would follow suit. His name is Eugene and he’s not a racist.
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