Malaysian Society

This is not a country to be carved up among ourselves, according to our own whims and fancies. As our national anthem says, it is Negaraku: our country.

When we choose to define ourselves by our race, we are only revealing our true insecurities about our Malaysian identity.

Why do we so eagerly demonise our partners in nationhood, when we so eagerly embrace them in our daily lives?

The 2008 elections were not fought on the old divisive battles of identity and culture, but on the new battle for opportunity. The politicians coming to the fore now are those who emphasise the importance of giving every Malaysian a fair chance, instead of playing the old cards of race and religion.

If a husband and wife can argue about their marriage without getting divorced, why can't Malaysians argue about their social contract without the nation breaking up?

The Ahmad Ismail scandal may have blown over for now, but how Barisan Nasional handled it proves that how we look at race and politics has changed incredibly for the better.

Dialogue is the only way we will ever understand one another in this diverse nation. The solution to strife is not to stop dialogue, but to stop those who will use violence to shut down space for discussion.

It's all too common for Malaysians to say that we should not criticise our own country. Is it more harmful to pretend we have no problems, or to work towards solving them? The problem with Malaysians is that we are not used to dealing with criticism.

Immigrants just want to enjoy all our great country has to offer; what is wrong with letting them work for us and buy our products? If they do not bear the costs of their presence here, should we not blame the government for failing to enforce our laws, rather than unfairly tarring all foreigners with the same brush?

When we prioritise race over country, when we would rather unite one ethnic community rather than the nation, why wonder at the rate at which Malaysians are abandoning a country they cannot really call theirs?

The Malay language does not have a real, distinct word for race; the Malaysian story does not have a real distinction between races prior to British colonialism. Malay unity? The Malays of old had none of it. Why not Malaysian unity?

There is no such thing as a Malaysian race. But to define ourselves based on race strikes one as quite pedantic and pointless. Might it not be better to accept that yes, we all have our different ethnic descents, which in turn makes us all a little different, but nevertheless, we are all living together in one homeland we call our own?

Too frequently we subscribe to the belief that Malaysia is somehow special, without bothering to justify this presumption. If a particular policy is good or bad, we should be able to defend or oppose it by rationally weighing the costs and benefits, rather than playing the emotional trump card of Malaysian exceptionalism.

For all the good the vernacular school systems do, we cannot afford to let the national school system fail.

On Sunday the 4th of May, we will officially launch Religion Under Siege? at the Central Market Annexe. Please try to attend, or at least buy a copy online — it is a good book, well worth your time.