“Our future depends on how well many different kinds of people can live and work together…” the words of Malaysia’s Father of Independence, Tunku Abdul Rahman have often been used as a rallying cry of unity in a nation known for her melting pot of races, tribes and cultures.
Malaysia remains one of the great Asian success stories. Politicians of all persuasions used to promote diversity as one of the jewels in the crown of our society. Diversity was viewed as a visible indication of the vibrancy of an inclusive, multicultural society – something to be celebrated and reflected throughout all levels of society. While the ethnic makeup of this nation is roughly two-thirds Bumiputera, a quarter Chinese and a smaller percentage Indian, such a census is wholly inadequate when it comes to capturing the colourful diversity of 32 million people who call this nation their home.
For the Chinese are not simply Chinese, but Cantonese, Hainanese, Hokkien, Hakka and Teochew – each with their own culture and traditions. The Indians include Tamils, Punjabis and Bengalis. And the Bumiputera include ethnic Malays as well as numerous indigenous groups with diverse religions and beliefs. And even that fails to take into account the centuries of intermarriage or the lingering colonial influences of the Portuguese, Dutch and British. Multiethnic, multireligious, multicultural and multilingual – Malaysia has stood tall and proud since Independence, proving that unity and acceptance are not just achievable but vital building blocks that Tunku himself believed would drive this nation forward.
Yet almost 62 years later, our ‘unity in diversity’ seems to be unravelling. With politicians dividing the nation with race politics and sowing seeds of ethnic suspicions, the chasm between races have slowly grown over the years. Religious differences, prejudices and insecurities amidst recent political and economic upheavals have cast a shadow on interracial relationships.
What has set us apart as Malaysians in the eyes of the world – our diversity – is now slowly driving us apart. After more than 60 years of nation-building, we have drifted further apart as a people, both ethnically and socially. Instead of becoming more Malaysian, we have become more Melayu, more Indian, more Chinese and less tolerant of each other.
Constant barrage of news of one race running down another’s religious and racial sensitivity has drowned out the pertinent question: will we ever be united as a people? We ought to emphasise our common beliefs and values, as well as cast out hateful rhetoric to the fringes of the political arena. This will not be achieved simply through safe spaces or shutting down renowned provocateurs, but by defeating bad ideas with good ideas, and debating the most critical issues at hand.
For two friends and business partners, a good idea to shine the light on our history as a nation, may just be what we need to move forward as a nation. “That’s what we want to remind people,” insists Syed Sadiq Albar. “Tunku Abdul Rahman had a clear vision of everyone working together. We want to remind people of how we came to be as a nation.” The bespectacled 44-year-old entrepreneur is referring to Projek57 – a social enterprise set up with the aim of building unity and hope in Malaysia.
For Syed Sadiq and co-founder Collin Swee, Projek57 has been their solution to reinforcing what’s been ‘lost in translation’. “We want to go back to the founding values of tolerance, diversity, unity and progressiveness,” chips in Swee. “These are all the values that Tunku had for our country at its birth.”
EARLY AWAKENINGS
“I worry about my two boys,” confesses 50-year-old Swee. “They do not have multi-racial friends, they go to a private school and rarely have a chance to practice their Bahasa.” Swee worries for his children’s future here in Malaysia. “It was different back then when I was in school,” he recalls soberly, adding: “My best friends comprised different races – I had Malay and Punjabi friends whom I was close to.” Malaysians, he points out, do not have much opportunity to develop interethnic friendships because schools and workplaces lack diversity, and this is caused by a host of factors including a combination of public policy, personal choice, language and cultural differences and political manipulation of ethnic tension. “The focus these days seems to be on our differences, rather than what makes us unite as Malaysians,” he laments.
“My awakening was my three boys,” adds Syed Sadiq candidly. It disturbed him when his boys returned from school one day to tell him that their teacher identified them as ‘Muslims” instead of Malaysians. “That bugged me as a parent. It’s important to address this kind of things before they grow up thinking that religion is what solely defines them.”
The power of cohesiveness in holding any society or community revolves around the components within the education system practised. Unfortunately, we are definitely off tangent in instilling such ideology in our education system. We segregate and demarcate the different segments of the society under the disguise of championing the race and religious cards. “What kind of future are we leaving our children?” asks Syed Sadiq pointedly.
It was this question that led both Syed Sadiq and Swee, who have been business partners for 15 years, to come up with a pilot project revolving around unity in 2015. “It began like a ‘coffeeshop talk’!” quips Swee. “Not quite kopitiam mind you… more ‘stylo’ café than anything else!” jokes Sadiq. The conversation began with a simple question: “What are we going to do?” They were not into politics and there were already a lot of non-governmental organisations and charities doing great work. “We were simply two dads wanting to do something to create a better place for our children,” remarks Swee soberly.
After lengthy discussions and “…copious amounts of coffee!”, their first Unity project titled ‘Projek57 A Movement of Hope’ was birthed. “We used ‘Movement’ and ‘Hope’ because we wanted people to join us in rising above the negative vibes and focus on what’s wonderful about Malaysia,” says Syed Sadiq.
PROJEK57
The social enterprise model was something they were keen on exploring. “As entrepreneurs and business partners, we want to of course create a business model that is profitable,” explains Swee. “But we also want something that would leave a positive impact which can change the way we view the world.”
What was the first thing you wanted to do? I ask. “Bagi semangat (give hope)” replies Syed Sadiq promptly. When they first started this social enterprise 5 years ago, it was during the “…dark days,” as Swee puts it, referring to the time when corruption, racial politics and segregation were at their worst. “So our main cause when we first started Projek57 was nation building. We are so much more than what was being bandied about in the headlines. We wanted Malaysians to unite and to hope for a better Malaysia,” explains Swee at length.
They needed a medium to promote that message, and decided that T-shirts would be a nice little ‘billboard’ for people to show their support. Projek57 revolves around their unique T-shirts bearing the spirit of nationalism, using the country’s first prime minister as a symbol. The proclamation of independence was the apt choice given that it is identifiable to all Malaysians. Hence, the name Projek57.
“We wanted designs that were cool enough that young people would be keen on wearing them,” says Swee. Their intention was to attract young people into getting on board the nationalistic bandwagon to spread the message of unity around. “After all, we understood that future of Malaysia lies in the hands of our young people, so our fundamental goal was to reach out and empower this generation,” adds Syed Sadiq.
Their first project, recalls Syed Sadiq, was with a group of students from Taylors College. Between September and November 2016, a total of 242 business school students participated in a project to promote the message of a united Malaysia. The students were given a business challenge to sell the t-shirts, while conducting an impact survey along the theme of whether there is hope in Malaysia and how we could contribute to the unity movement.
“To be honest, they weren’t quite engaged when we first presented the project to them,” observed Syed Sadiq drily. But as the weeks rolled by, the students slowly began to understand our concerns, especially as they went out to the streets to get the opinions of the Malaysian public. “They were rudely awakened to the fact that most Malaysians felt hopeless, or apathetic,” he recalls. That got them motivated in trying to promote the message of unity that Projek57 hoped to convey. “The results of this project was more than we could hope for,” adds Swee, smiling. “It got the message across.”
UNITED WE STAND
The idea of using the humble T-shirt to foster a culture of positivity was ingenious. "It’s a starting point," agrees Swee, "to communicate with today’s generation. I’m glad that so many young people saw our T- shirts as a way to claim their own position, their own role in society, to make their voice heard through this item of clothing. It’s quite an awakening also for fashion, and for what you can do with fashion. For me, the T-shirt was a simple, direct and immediate means to say something loud and clear.”
Having sold close to 20,000 t-shirts to date, the duo realised that unity message needed to be scaled down to something that would be more of a ‘one-size-fits-all’ concept. “While the T-shirts were successful to a degree, we wanted to have something that was a lot easier to spread around, especially during Merdeka,” says Swee. Not every Malaysian liked wearing a T-shirt, but a small item like a unity ribbon might be something every Malaysian might wear. The men hope that the ribbon can be used as a reminder to always stay united. “We’d like to see the ribbon connecting Malaysians with the same aspirations for a better Malaysia regardless of where we come from or who we are,” says Sadiq.
Inspired by the elements of the Jalur Gemilang, the ribbon also features a symbol of the late Tunku Abdul Rahman. The ribbons are handmade by Orang Asli youth, university students and volunteers as part of Projek57’s mission to empower young people. The Unity Ribbon introduced last year saw 165,000 Malaysians wearing the ribbon of hope.
RM5 from every T-shirt sold and fifty sen from the sale of each ribbon are ploughed back into empowerment programmes for underprivileged youths especially from the Orang Asli community. Apart from that, Projek57 also runs an outlet that’s manned by the Orang Asli youths.
The plight of the Orang Asli community had touched Swee deeply during one of his trips to Taman Negara. Making up barely 0.6 per cent of the nation’s population, the indigenous tribes in Malaysia are the hardest hit due to deforestation, a sluggish economy and poor access to basic amenities like healthcare, clean water and even basic education. “We all assume that equal opportunities exist for everyone, but that’s clearly not the case for this community,” he says.
“We wanted to help. We took on some of these youths, provided education opportunities and taught them life skills. We wanted to show them that there are ways for them to earn a sustainable income,” shares Syed Sadiq.
Projek57’s first retail trainees were Miri Adek and Armizainizam Bahari from the Orang Asli community. Today, Miri is a teacher while Armizainizam is currently studying for his SPM under a Projek57 education scholarship.
These are just some of the success stories that both Swee and Syed Sadiq have seen over the 5 years. And they are keen to do so much more. “We are forever trying to drum up ways and ideas to push the message farther,” says Syed Sadiq. This year, the "Unity Ribbon 2.0" campaign is driving the message Maka Kami Rakyat Malaysia and aims to reach out to 200,000 Malaysians.
The preamble to what’s known as the Rukunegara (“National Principles) which is the national ideology formed to foster unity amongst Malaysians, is the theme for this year’s campaign.
“We want to get back to our founding values of tolerance, diversity, and unity,” chips Syed Sadiq. “These are all the values that Tunku envisioned for our country at its formation. And these are the values we’d want to leave behind for our children.”
As long as there is hope, points out Swee, there is a future for a more united Malaysia. “You can say we’re in the business of giving out hope!” he concludes, smiling.
For further details on Projek57, go to www.projek57.com