FEBRUARY 25 — This year is a whimsical convergence for our multi-holiday celebrating nation.
Ramadan began on the second day of Chinese New Year; I’m sure Chinese Muslims were relieved there was a day’s gap between the reunion dinner and the night before Ramadan.
The current social media trend of “becoming Chinese” is mildly hilarious, with people declaring they now drink hot water as it is the healthier “Chinese” way.
I will never be a fan of the Chinese government’s overly repressive Big Brother tactics but I must admit that it is winning the culture war.
South Korea has marketed its culture globally and perhaps it is now China’s time.
Yet I would rather resist Beijing’s notion of Chinese-ness, too entrenched in pushing Mandarin and Han customs.
It annoys me to hear about dialects like Hakka and Cantonese struggling to survive when their tones were the sounds of my youth.
I only have to hear someone exclaim very loudly ma kai (what) to recognise the very particular dialect of Sabah Hakka.
The Chinese diaspora in Malaysia have a storied history and over the years, have adapted in ways that have affected not just language but their cultural traditions.
Like recently there have been various fun videos of Sabah lion dance troupes engaging in all sorts of antics including spinning on top of poles (like furry helicopters) and dressing in indigenous costumes.
@mdomsb When culture meets culture - no agenda, just Joy#chinesenewyear2026 #multiculturefamily original sound - MDOMSB
@ctudungsarung soo cuteeeeeee
Helikopter - Fazlija
It has been particularly fascinating to witness how local Chinese creations such as lion dances on tall poles and the 24 season drums have become unique mainstays of our national culture.
Which brings me to the topic of another video making the rounds, of Malay men singing their own made-up lyrics celebrating CNY and Ramadan being so close together, to the tune of that hallmark CNY tune 恭喜恭喜.
It’s entertaining, joyous and hearkens to the simple sentiment of enjoying our shared holidays.
As tiresome as it is to forever be always having discussions about race and national identity, I think it’s important to be reminded, and to remind each other that you can be both Malay/Chinese/Tamil/Punjabi/Malayalee/Kadazandusun/Iban/Melanau/Eurasian/Nyonya etc etc and fully Malaysian.
There is too much chest-thumping about being something “first” when we can just be many things at the same time.
The friction that comes from having so many peoples in one land is something that we will just have to deal with, but I think the only way we can move forward is to learn to enjoy the things we can share.
When the pandemic happened, Malaysians showed that we can share our burdens and work together to ease our collective suffering.
Yet now we are no longer under national house arrest we devolve again to the same other-ing rhetoric.
The kids call it FOMO or fear of missing out but I think part of the friction between the many peoples is the (false) notion that the other side has it better.
Live long enough and you’ll learn that the grass is green on both sides of the fence. It’s just the smell of the s**t is stronger on your own side only because it’s closer.
Dengki (envy) is also a strong part of our local culture because too many of us are still stuck in a scarcity mentality, believing that for someone to prosper, someone else must have less and it shouldn’t be us.
I wish Malaysians could see what other people see when they come here, all the things they wish they had where they came from.
Americans, for instance, marvel at our being able to pay with QR codes everywhere while they need to rely on cumbersome apps.
Maybe you can’t share a plate of char siew with your Malay neighbour but there’s still tea, oranges and kuih kapit you can enjoy instead.
While open houses aren’t nearly as commonplace now as they used to be (I blame the economy) now more than ever, in this time of global instability, I think Malaysians need to cultivate open hearts that will remain welcoming all year around.
The world is hard enough; we shouldn’t let our hearts forget how to be soft.
We can be mad at each other, then once we’re done, find the nearest mamak for some teh tarik and complain about the government like the true Malaysians we are.
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
