Beautifully written William.
There’s a problem within US.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10216648654263505&id=1074811645&sfnsn=mo
We have a problem. And the problem is us.
Not Zakir Naik. Not Tan Sri KYY. Not the guy who defaced Jalur Gemilang to make a point. Not a fatal incident that came from a fender bender. Not even the politicians for stirring the shit or those not doing anything else.
Those were occurrences. Incidents. Catalysts maybe. Situations perhaps arising from misunderstanding, fear, bigotry, racism. But that wasn't the problem.
The problem is us.
For choosing to succumb to all the hatred and rhetoric. For deciding to act the way we act. To judge, to act, to speak...based on our bias. Based on our choice to misunderstand and fear.
The problem is us deciding to take sides or painting a whole race/religion as "bad" because of what one or a few person said. The PROBLEM is deciding to only choose what we want to take as an example that serves our cause, and ignoring others when it doesn't.
You know what else is the problem?
Many have decided that they no longer want to make it their choice to foster better understanding. Better relations. To make it a choice to understand. To make it their choice to compromise or sacrifice.
You know, nearly all the staff at Kembara Kitchen, whether full or part time, are Malay Muslims. And when we spend weeks away on project, inevitably eating times become a question mark because both YiLyn Chan and I are not Muslims. In places like Penang, most eateries are non-halal. We always have a choice. To eat with the team, or go our separate ways so we can eat our non-halal stuff while the rest eat halal.
Most times we choose to eat with the team. Do you know why?
Because I treasure the time spent with the team more than I want to eat pork. Because it is more meaningful for me to eat with them, to build a better relationship, out of a choice we make, rather than a forced condition. And you know what? On days that we do go our separate ways, none of the team members feel offended. Nor do we feel we did not meet our obligations. It is a relationship that is built on respect because both sides do their best to build it such. Not forced. But willingly. A choice we make.
Now let me ask you when was the last time you made such a choice to build that better relationship with a fellow Malaysian but one of a different race and/or religion?
Don't tell me you have many colleagues who are from a different race or religion. That's a condition beyond your control. It's not a choice. When did you last decide to make it a point to do something with your friend, neighbours even relatives, from a different belief than yours, just so you could build better relationships with them? And no..company/family functions do not count.
The problem is us. We made a choice. And the choice is isolating ourselves from each other. Demonising the other. Giving us justification on why our stand is right.
Finally, you know what other choice did we make? We chose not to make things better. We made that choice. No one else made that choice for us.
We took things for granted and decided not to work on us. And when things started going downhill, we looked for something and someone to blame, when all the while it was the choices we made.
So when we complain that racial relations are at an all time low... I hope you realise..the problem is us.
