Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Being me..
I'm a Malaysian. I'm Chinese and I reside in the US. A lot of people that I've met always assume I'm from China because I'm Chinese, and some think I'm a Malay because I'm Malaysian. I tell them I'm Chinese ethnically and a Malaysian national, which just means I'm a Chinese born in Malaysia.
Not many people know where Malaysia is and I often explain to them that Malaysia is south of Thailand and north of Singapore. I don't think its hard to be me but I do find it hard to explain about the land which I was born in.
Malaysia is made up of 3 major and multiple smaller ethnic groups. The 3 big ones are the Malays, the Chinese and the Indians. Being a Islamic country, there are many out there who assumes we are like the terrorists/al-Qaeda/Taliban and so on. I defend my country telling them that we are not terrorists. We are melting pot of different ethnicity that respects each other and don't discriminate our neighbours. My mum would tell me she was always amazed how little children play with each other and seem to communicate even though we don't speak the same language. My father used to be a spare-part salesman for diesel engines. He used to travel around the country and we would go with him often. On those trips we would play with all the different kids around the many workshops that my father deals with. So I think its safe to say I've played with quite an assortment of kids from different backgrounds.
Unfortunately for me, I don't know how to defend my country and hold my head high when I read disturbing news from home. The incident with the cow's head in Shah Alam, the ban on the use of the word 'Allah', the vandalism on the churches...Its all very disconcerting. I do not believe that any religion tells you to act out this way. But that's only my opinion. Are there any religions out there that justifies those actions?
Recently a friend of mine passed away in a car accident. And being the emotional me, I cried quite a bit and it saddened me that I could not be there to see him off. I was confiding to a friend about the incident to a close friend to mine and she said,'Well, just think of it as he doesn't need to endure Malaysia anymore..'I'm stunned and taken aback. Has the place I grew up morphed into some hideous place? I don't know.
All I ask to anyone that reads this is to respect one another. Put aside your differences and dwell on the similarities. And let's try to make it a better place together.
Not many people know where Malaysia is and I often explain to them that Malaysia is south of Thailand and north of Singapore. I don't think its hard to be me but I do find it hard to explain about the land which I was born in.
Malaysia is made up of 3 major and multiple smaller ethnic groups. The 3 big ones are the Malays, the Chinese and the Indians. Being a Islamic country, there are many out there who assumes we are like the terrorists/al-Qaeda/Taliban and so on. I defend my country telling them that we are not terrorists. We are melting pot of different ethnicity that respects each other and don't discriminate our neighbours. My mum would tell me she was always amazed how little children play with each other and seem to communicate even though we don't speak the same language. My father used to be a spare-part salesman for diesel engines. He used to travel around the country and we would go with him often. On those trips we would play with all the different kids around the many workshops that my father deals with. So I think its safe to say I've played with quite an assortment of kids from different backgrounds.
Unfortunately for me, I don't know how to defend my country and hold my head high when I read disturbing news from home. The incident with the cow's head in Shah Alam, the ban on the use of the word 'Allah', the vandalism on the churches...Its all very disconcerting. I do not believe that any religion tells you to act out this way. But that's only my opinion. Are there any religions out there that justifies those actions?
Recently a friend of mine passed away in a car accident. And being the emotional me, I cried quite a bit and it saddened me that I could not be there to see him off. I was confiding to a friend about the incident to a close friend to mine and she said,'Well, just think of it as he doesn't need to endure Malaysia anymore..'I'm stunned and taken aback. Has the place I grew up morphed into some hideous place? I don't know.
All I ask to anyone that reads this is to respect one another. Put aside your differences and dwell on the similarities. And let's try to make it a better place together.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
