JANUARY 4 — Let me start by stating the obvious. We are a multi-religious, multi-cultural, multi-lingual and multi-ethnic society.
It is equally important for us to realise the not so obvious, that within the so-called “same” ethnic and religious grouping, there are also diversities.
The Malay ethnic grouping is made of sub groups such as Jawa, Boyan, Mendeling, Bugis, Pakistanis and Mamaks, among others. Likewise, the Chinese is made up of sub groups such as Hokkien, Cantonese, Hainan, Hakka, Teo Chiew, to name a few.
The Indians, for example, among them are the Telegus, Tamilians and the Malayalees. We also have categories made up of the Punjabis, Sri Lankans, and so on. Not forgetting the East Malaysians with the diverse ethnic groupings such as Kadazan Dusun, Dayaks, Melanau and many more.
Bahasa Malaysia largely enabled the diverse non-Malays to communicate with each other. Hence, the obvious fact is Malaysia is extremely diverse even within a so-called specific ethnic grouping.
In terms of religion, we are equally diverse with Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Baha’i, Sikhism, Taoism, Animism, and so on.
There is diversity within a specific religious grouping itself, too. Not only is there Christianity and Islam but there are Catholics and Protestants, and there are Sunnis and Shias. There are further religious sub groups within the same groups. While the diversity within the Christian group is not regulated by the laws of this country, the diversity in Islam is regulated by law. In Malaysia, there is a “recognised version” of Islam called the Sunnah wal Jamaah while any other variations are generally considered as deviant and regulated by the religious laws as enacted in this country.
Since the majority religion in this country is Islam, it appears there is a political necessity to regulate and organise the “religion of Islam”.
The practical questions that urgently need to be asked, if we want to build a great nation, are: within this framework of ethnic, religious and cultural diversity, what is the Malaysian dream? How do we identify it?
All these years we may have primarily focused on physical development of the country and economy without having the political will nor the insight to forge or identify a common dream that all Malaysians can share irrespective of ethnicity or religious differences. This Malaysian dream could very well have encompassed the economic growth and distribution factors, too, had we given the vision a comprehensive thought. Our political masters may have proceeded on the incorrect premise that economic growth alone is sufficient to foster true unity and understanding between different ethnic and religious groups.
Hence, today we seem to have Malaysia at conflicts among its own citizens tugging between an “Islamist” dream against a democratic dream, a dream of a country guided by the clear provisions of the constitution as opposed to arbitrary exercise of control by religionists. There appears to be increasing opposition to pluralistic existence in our country which is the very nature of human existence globally.
The conflicts and stress at every level are clear and they are occurring not only between ethic and religious groups but between different sub classes within the same ethnic and religious groups.
Sooner or later, this conflict will become more self evident and may even tear the country apart.
However, an honest, thinking, visionary and courageous government will be able to see that it is occurring now unless it chooses to listen to its sycophants who will insist that everything is rosy.
I would rather confront the bulls by the horns now and start addressing the Malaysian dream without which we will be experiencing diverse nightmares. The quest for the Malaysian dream must start today.
I am hoping that this year, our priority is to identify the Malaysian dream that can excite, inspire and unite all of us as Malaysians without the shackles of ethnicity and religion. There ought to be seminars, dialogues and discussions on what and how we can achieve that dream. These discussions should involve as many of the ordinary citizens as possible so that we get a realistic vision of the dream. We do not want to end up with a scholastic or political vision that is far removed from the realistic aspirations of the ordinary folks. We should make it nationwide with the hope that at the end of the time period allocated we have a framework on which the Malaysian dream can be formulated.
Realistically, we should also be cautious that these discussions are not hijacked by extremists, racial or religious, and selfish vested interest loud minority groups.
A nation without a common dream is fragmented and is forever susceptible to various forms of “attacks” by enemies —internal and external — whose actions will detrimentally affect our general well-being in the long run. If and when that happens, regret is of no use.
* Jahaberdeen is a senior lawyer and founder of Rapera, a movement that encourages thinking and compassionate citizens. He can be reached at [email protected]
** This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.
