Mar 30, 2008

Let Us Live Happily Together In Malaysia


Okay now everyone, election is already over.
We have been captivated, mesmerized, inundated with politics for too long. Remember, too much of anything is always bad for you. Politically speaking, politics can make you sick if you indulge too much in it and can also make your life miserable.
Now let us all face it.
We are all guilty of manslaughter against Malaysia by butchering and decapitating it politically so much so that many will not hesitate to leave if given the opportunity.
See, politics also kill.
How many of us really, I mean really, think of the many wonderful aspects that Malaysia has to offer?
I was having my usual tea at a coffee shop when I saw two blind men, an Indian and Malay walking by, the Indian leading the way with the Malay man putting his hand on the man’s (Indian) shoulder. It was indeed truly a heartwarming scene.
These two men, although being blind had shown us the true meaning of racial cooperation.
It is indeed shameful for all of us that despite our full vision, we fail to see what the blind have already ‘seen’.
If it is blindness that can unite us, than let us all be color blind.
Malaysia is a multi-racial country with the people practicing different cultures and religions harmoniously. Such diversity is seldom seen in other parts of the world.
We celebrate our festivals together, can eat together and play together. This joy of togetherness must be treasured by all.
It is imperative that the government must promote racial integration at the early stage of the education system. It is the young ones, after having learnt the importance and significance of racial unity, will make Malaysia a happy place to live.
The medias have a major role to play to promote integration among the people.
Take sport as an example.
When there are players of different races that emerged as champion in a tournament, it must be highlighted. For example, it will be wonderful to see Lee Chong Wei hugging Misbun Sidek when the former has won a championship and being headlined in all major newspapers.
Likewise, any successful outings by our sportsmen or women that feature various races together must be highlighted as front page news.
Such news will truly bring joy and togetherness among the Malaysians.
It is without doubt that sports can be a major unifying factor among the people.
Much of the sufferings in the world are caused by wars that are fought in the name of God or religion. Many of the victims have never experience a sense of happiness, let alone understand its meaning. The Iraqis, Afghans and Palestinians are all dying for happiness which we have always taken for granted. Their lives are full of miseries and their sleeps full of nightmares.
When the World Trade Center was attacked by terrorists, we were all shocked and awed by this terrible act of cruelty.
As we watched the buildings collapsed, our hearts sank and as the dust spew on the ground, tears flowed from our eyes.
The once mighty icon of capitalism had been reduced to ashes and the barren land is now aptly named Ground Zero.
With the World Trade Center gone, the Americans are going to rebuild another iconic building, which is named Freedom Tower .Whether it is surprisingly or coincidently, to name it Freedom Tower just does not seems right as it is freedom that the terrorists are fighting for that causes so much turmoil and to name it after their cause sound silly.
What freedoms are they referring to?
It is the souls of those perished that are going to be freed or is the world in general and USA in particular going to be free of terrorists attack?
I have a vision for Ground Zero.
It will be a wonder if the Americans can build the various places of worship of all major religions on Ground Zero.
Just imagine the possibility of Muslims, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus and other religion followers going to the same place to offer prayers.
Instead of having a capitalist icon, it will have a symbolic icon for world peace.
Since the Americans are not doing it, then let us build this symbolic venue of peace and unity in Malaysia.
The government can easily identify a single piece of land to build a mosque, church, Hindu Temple, Buddhist Temple, Sikh Temple and other religious buildings of worship that are being practice in Malaysia. The entrance to this venue will be through a single entry point so that a congregation of all Malaysians of different faiths, rather than segregation, can be achieved. It will be truly wonderful to see the people of various races going to the same place and entering the same gate for prayers.
What a happy feeling and a joyous sight for all !
How can we define and measure happiness?
Generally, there is no fix definition and parameters to measure happiness.
However, it is interesting to note that the people of Bhutan treasure happiness more than material wealth and is currently embarking on a programme to measure the level of happiness known as Gross National Happiness (GNS).
I believe the ability for us all to earn a living to feed our families in a peaceful environment and a good healthcare and education system do constitute some of the parameters in the measurement for happiness. And Malaysia can offer all of these, plus an abundance of food available.
Further to this, Malaysia is bless with many natural resources and is very fortunate to be free of natural disasters. Instead of having volcanoes and earthquakes, it has many beautiful islands and instead of torrential rain and drought, it has so much greenery.
It is truly a paradise !
Can we now discard all the prejudices against Malaysia and prepare a new journey to paradise?
Happiness is like death, once gone can never be resurrected.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

hi, not many comments around here so can i leave one? just wanted to say that i love your idealism and that it strikes a certain chord in me. that one about lee chong wei and misbun sidek, i hope all local sports fans can relate to it! that's what it should be all about, shouldn't it... everyone of us pitching in to achieve the desired RESULT, rather than fighting over who gets to do try.

Anonymous said...

On the one hand, they want to promote "perpaduan" to the point that they even set up a Kementerian Perpaduan Negara and appointed a Menteri Perpaduan, but on the other hand, they also want Ketuanan Melayu to flourish. How can these two objects which are a the far ends of the spectrum ever going to meet?

This is as good as what they have written in the RUKUNEGARA. They want to promote "SEBUAH MASYARAKAT YANG ADIL" but at the same time want Malay Special Rights to remain. Can there be a compromise between these two extremes? What idiotic thinking they have!!!!

Anonymous said...

I have been recommending a book called "My Stroke of Insight - a Brain Scientist's Personal Journey" by Jill Bolte Taylor and also a TEDTalk Dr. Taylor gave on the TED dot com site. And you don't have to take my word for it - Dr. Taylor was named Time Magazine 100 Most Influential People, the New York Times wrote about her and her book is a NYTimes Bestseller), and Oprah did not 4 interviews with her.