WHATEVER happened to Malaysia’s catchphrase of “strength in diversity”? While everywhere else others were trying to assimilate, Malaysia was one of the very few countries where its people were integrated into one cohesive group of peoples (Malaysians) in a colourful weave of pattern that was made all the stronger because of its different strands. Now that the world is coming to realise that cultural diversity should be respected because it makes us who we are, Malaysians seem to be going against the tide once again, introducing racist-extremist elements that were never part of our cultural make-up before.
For more than 50 years, Malaysia boasted of the diverseness of its people, standing tall and proud with more than 15 different races, 137 languages and at least seven different religions and faiths. We were unique because we were different and we drew strength from that diversity. Malaysia was a lot of things because we complemented each other, seeing value in the rich tapestry that was part and parcel of Malaysian life.
The recent Eid celebrations in Malaysia brought home to many just how polarised we are. Normal everyday Malaysians were celebrating yet another religious and cultural festival, basking in the fact that Raya was akin to makan-makan and get-togethers, regardless of age, creed, race, religion or language. Elsewhere, subversive elements were at work to undermine what should have been a celebration of cultural diversity at work in how Malaysians all came together to observe the holiday.
These elements exploited our racial distinctiveness to polarise us rather than unite us, culminating in a frenzy of racist hatred in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. It would be a shame if the forward-looking Malaysia we were becomes a regressive Malaysia, one in which the different cultural identities are lost in a cesspit of oneness.
The international community was lagging behind Malaysia’s own practice when it decided in 2002 that May 21 would be the World Day for Cultural Diversity. Malaysians had been celebrating this diversity at least since 1969, learning not only to live with one another, but also to bask in the difference. Respect for the culture of each of the many ethnic groups of the country was key to getting along with each other.
More than that, we understood our own particular culture and revelled in it. Thus the respect was not only for that of others’ but also of our own. It was a healthy admiration for the breadth of the diversity as well as the depth of each distinct culture. The Malays were proud to be Malays, the Chinese proud to be Chinese, the Indians proud to be Indians, and the indigenous population were proud to be the indigenous people with which they identified themselves.
On the international front, Malaysia took this respect for cultural diversity a step further, joining forces with other developing countries to firmly establish indigenous and traditional knowledge as an important asset that must be protected. At the World Intellectual Property Organisation, efforts are currently under way to draft a legal international instrument to this end.
As more and more Malaysians become well travelled, it is increasingly important to have a firm footing in our cultural roots. A man who does not understand his own culture cannot fully embrace his identity and can never hope to be understanding of the culture of others. In such a case, if there is a regard for different cultures, it is superficial at best. The worst thing a person can do is to adopt a different culture and forego his own — he is then neither here nor there, stuck in a cultureless limbo of his own making, and rapidly losing credibility as a person.
The Malaysian constitution, amazingly, is a prime example of the awareness of diversity. Article 160 of the Federal Constitution details what it means to be Malay, including speaking the Malay language and observing Malay customs and norms. Upon my return to KL for the Eid, I was surprised to see one towering Malay personality refusing to speak Malay for the primetime news, and then compounding the cultural crime by using a hotchpotch of different English accents in reading the obviously prepared script. How do you champion something when your own identity is in crisis?
I am reminded of a story a friend told me, of a Thai lady whose children asked her, “Mum, why do we have to be half Thai? Why couldn’t you be a white Brit like dad?” She realised too late that she had failed to teach her children to rejoice in their cultural identity and to share in her own. To forget one’s own roots is to forget who we are. Cultural diversity is to be celebrated, not dishonoured. Every cultural celebration reminds us of what it means to be Malaysians, not just this Eid. We just need to find our way to re-embrace it once again.
The writer is a Malaysian diplomat who has served in the United Nations (New York) and is pursuing her PhD at the University of Sheffield.