OCT 31 — One of the wonders of Facebook is that we sometimes find interesting questions to ponder if we spare a few minutes to consider them. One that comes to mind this week is: If Malaysians celebrate Halloween and put on costumes as Western ghosts, would our local ghosts be offended?
To answer the question, first we should consider what would likely cause offence to our local ghosts in such a scenario — the underlying implications of rejection.
Local ghosts may interpret Halloween celebrations in Malaysia as a statement that they are not good enough, falling so short of expectations that people turn to foreign ghosts as replacements. Their egos take a hit.
Or perhaps some of the local ghosts may be outraged, feeling anger that Malaysians are championing foreign ghosts when instead they should support local brands and culture. That Malaysians are forgetting their roots, forgetting their identities.
The pontianak may feel slighted that kids seem think Dracula is better-groomed, more refined and more classy, while our hantu pocong may be upset that kids seem to prefer Casper’s cuteness over its hard-sell scare-mongering.
They may say: “You are Malaysian, so you should support Malaysian ghosts or get out!”
But what many overlook is that recognition and appreciation, as well as progress, growth and support, need not be a zero-sum game. One’s forward movement need not be at the expense of another.
Just because Malaysians celebrate foreign ghosts and enjoy what they represent in popular culture, it does not necessarily mean that local ghosts would be neglected or pushed out of the picture by these foreign ghosts.
Sometimes, people turn to foreign ideals, role models and examples not because they reject what is available in their own country, but because they wish for improvement, for better and higher standards. They are trying to make things better.
And the sad disconnect that likely results is that one side, trying to connect and offer solutions by way of suggestions and criticism, would be spurned by the other side, who perceive hostility and aggression as underlying the criticism, oblivious to the faults they need to rectify.
Of course, some of the local ghosts may well understand the pitfalls of the status quo, but sadly choose to maintain it rather than take on the difficult task of overcoming the inertia of the misguided majority.
These ghosts know very well that winning the hearts and minds of the public is a question of persuasion and compromise, not entitlement and coercion, but the feeling of invincibility from the masses may comfort them enough to choose inaction, to let it be someone else’s problem down the road.
The sentiment that thus emerges is: “We may not have their hearts and minds, but we don’t need them anyway.”
This sentiment sends the wrong message, because it spurns those who wanted to contribute towards collective betterment in favour of total conformity and blind obedience. In the end they may stop caring.
Would a boat continue to glide smoothly forward if some of its rowers stopped rowing?
Worse, some of these local ghosts may even be cast out of their own supernatural communities for championing what are actually the right changes, deterring others from trying to fix the problem.
It then becomes a self-perpetuating cycle of conformity. In the end the boat may flounder and even sink despite the bowman repeatedly asserting that the boat is moving forward.
Returning to the original question of Halloween, Western ghosts and our local ghosts’ feelings, perhaps some of our local ghosts would feel slighted at the perceived rejection.
But the smarter ones would realise that it can be a platform for them to increase their visibility, that it can be a leverage to raise awareness and appreciation of the riches and variety present in our own selection of ghosts.
The smarter ones would realise that if they make the best of the criticism, learn and improve themselves, everyone — themselves especially — would be better off when the dust settles.
Sometimes it can be a win-win situation, but it’s a question of attitude.
And we should hope that in time, the smarter ghosts would eventually become the majority in our local ghost population, so that they can bring about much needed changes to how our local ghosts go about their spooky business before it’s too late.
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
