The idea of enacting a law that deals specifically with race relations in this country is a good one. It is evident that politics, tunnel vision and a lack of imagination have resulted in our society being a great deal more fractured than it should have been, all things considered.
Who would have thought in 1957 that fifty plus years down the line, there would still be a demand for supremacist rhetoric and the fruits of discrimination. But here we are; confused and frustrated, trapped in a labyrinth of our own making. So much so that we have lost sight of plain and obvious truths that could lead us into an age of miracles if rediscovered.
A long while ago, I was rummaging amongst a friend’s book collection and came across a little book by the current Dalai Lama entitled, I think, “How To Be Happy”. Wanting to be happy, I turned to the first line on the first page. If I remember correctly, it said something to this effect: in order to be happy, one had to be happy.
You can imagine how I was somewhat put out by this. If it were that simple, I mused somewhat cynically, we would all be a lot happier. There was surely more to it than that for how else was one to deal with the mysterious complexities of life, I grumbled. I put the book back where I had found it and moved on to a glossy magazine with great photographs.
In hindsight, I realized that I should have paid more attention to that drop in the ocean of wisdom.
Quite a few years later I suddenly realized that over time, life had compelled me to simplify how I dealt with it. It was either that or become victim to the stresses and turmoil that I seemed to have had a knack for subjecting myself to. More and more, I had learnt how to accept the obvious and to say ‘no’ when I needed to, distancing myself from distress, even as I found out how to accept what I did not understand with a more open heart. I saw then that though I had some way to go on my journey, I was relatively happy and that I had got there by, well, trying to be happy.
I tried to find that book again but it had moved on to illuminate someone else's life.
The most obvious truth about being a Malaysian is that all of us, regardless of our background and ethnicity, call this country home and share it with everyone else. We got together at independence because we all believed that we had a place here and that we could live together harmoniously and respectfully for all our benefit. That made us all fulfilled and each of us contributed to its, and each others’, growth.
Somewhere along the way however, we began to take that truth for granted and after a while it was left by the wayside, forgotten. In its place was a void that was soon filled by resentment with a deep, burning need for recognition and belonging that we sated with anything that offered immediate gratification. Race, religion, anything that gave us an identity, was soon being fed to that driving hunger. As with all gangs, those with stronger numbers and greater resource soon ruled the day and discrimination became a way of life.
It still is, and for being so interleaved with so many aspects of our life, is the single, biggest obstacle to our living together harmoniously. It is also the greatest cause of distress and for being that, is something that we must collectively distance ourselves from as we learn how to appreciate and embrace the self-evident truths of being Malaysian.
Discrimination has however become so entrenched that the way forward needs the careful guidance that only a structured policy can offer. A race-relations law, providing for the necessary structures such as a race-relations commission, is arguably the only effective way for such a policy to be introduced and implemented.
Worryingly though, those who have proposed such a law seem more focused on creating more strictures in an already hidebound existence rather than on creating a shared platform for sustainable and inclusive development. This is not the correct approach. We do not need more regulations on what we can or cannot say, we have too many already. What we need is a way to ensure that no Malaysian is sacrificed in whatever way to satisfy the need of another.
For that, a sustained effort must be made to fully eliminate any and all forms of discrimination in public life in this country. Where the race-relations law is concerned, the focus must be on racial discrimination. The law should aim at creating an environment in which the equality of all citizens can be promoted and fostered in the way that the Federal Constitution guarantees. The constitutional scheme aimed at protecting disadvantaged Malays and natives of Sabah and Sarawak through objectively applied affirmative action is not inconsistent with such a goal.
Can we be happy? I think so. It requires us to open our hearts and accept some truths. It needs a little creativity and a lot of trust.
I would like to think we are up to that challenge.
MIS
Who would have thought in 1957 that fifty plus years down the line, there would still be a demand for supremacist rhetoric and the fruits of discrimination. But here we are; confused and frustrated, trapped in a labyrinth of our own making. So much so that we have lost sight of plain and obvious truths that could lead us into an age of miracles if rediscovered.
A long while ago, I was rummaging amongst a friend’s book collection and came across a little book by the current Dalai Lama entitled, I think, “How To Be Happy”. Wanting to be happy, I turned to the first line on the first page. If I remember correctly, it said something to this effect: in order to be happy, one had to be happy.
You can imagine how I was somewhat put out by this. If it were that simple, I mused somewhat cynically, we would all be a lot happier. There was surely more to it than that for how else was one to deal with the mysterious complexities of life, I grumbled. I put the book back where I had found it and moved on to a glossy magazine with great photographs.
In hindsight, I realized that I should have paid more attention to that drop in the ocean of wisdom.
Quite a few years later I suddenly realized that over time, life had compelled me to simplify how I dealt with it. It was either that or become victim to the stresses and turmoil that I seemed to have had a knack for subjecting myself to. More and more, I had learnt how to accept the obvious and to say ‘no’ when I needed to, distancing myself from distress, even as I found out how to accept what I did not understand with a more open heart. I saw then that though I had some way to go on my journey, I was relatively happy and that I had got there by, well, trying to be happy.
I tried to find that book again but it had moved on to illuminate someone else's life.
The most obvious truth about being a Malaysian is that all of us, regardless of our background and ethnicity, call this country home and share it with everyone else. We got together at independence because we all believed that we had a place here and that we could live together harmoniously and respectfully for all our benefit. That made us all fulfilled and each of us contributed to its, and each others’, growth.
Somewhere along the way however, we began to take that truth for granted and after a while it was left by the wayside, forgotten. In its place was a void that was soon filled by resentment with a deep, burning need for recognition and belonging that we sated with anything that offered immediate gratification. Race, religion, anything that gave us an identity, was soon being fed to that driving hunger. As with all gangs, those with stronger numbers and greater resource soon ruled the day and discrimination became a way of life.
It still is, and for being so interleaved with so many aspects of our life, is the single, biggest obstacle to our living together harmoniously. It is also the greatest cause of distress and for being that, is something that we must collectively distance ourselves from as we learn how to appreciate and embrace the self-evident truths of being Malaysian.
Discrimination has however become so entrenched that the way forward needs the careful guidance that only a structured policy can offer. A race-relations law, providing for the necessary structures such as a race-relations commission, is arguably the only effective way for such a policy to be introduced and implemented.
Worryingly though, those who have proposed such a law seem more focused on creating more strictures in an already hidebound existence rather than on creating a shared platform for sustainable and inclusive development. This is not the correct approach. We do not need more regulations on what we can or cannot say, we have too many already. What we need is a way to ensure that no Malaysian is sacrificed in whatever way to satisfy the need of another.
For that, a sustained effort must be made to fully eliminate any and all forms of discrimination in public life in this country. Where the race-relations law is concerned, the focus must be on racial discrimination. The law should aim at creating an environment in which the equality of all citizens can be promoted and fostered in the way that the Federal Constitution guarantees. The constitutional scheme aimed at protecting disadvantaged Malays and natives of Sabah and Sarawak through objectively applied affirmative action is not inconsistent with such a goal.
Can we be happy? I think so. It requires us to open our hearts and accept some truths. It needs a little creativity and a lot of trust.
I would like to think we are up to that challenge.
(Malay Mail; 23rd September 2009)
MIS
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