Separate culture, religion from politics, Sarawakians reminded
MIRI: There is a need to separate culture and religion from politics, opines Assistant Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Datuk Lee Kim Shin.
He believes that there are irresponsible parties who use these subjects to serve their selfish political agenda, which could jeopardise the existing unity and harmony among the multi-racial and multi-religious communities in Malaysia.
“Sarawakians should be grateful for able to live in peace and harmony with one another, regardless of their different races, religions, cultures and backgrounds.
“We may not agree with one another due to different political ideologies, but we must set aside these differences and come together for the sake of unity,” he spoke during a ‘ Tang Yuan’ gathering at Miri Hopoh Association’s building in Krokop near here recently.
Lee, who is Senadin assemblyman, strongly felt that it is a vital for the people to safeguard the sanctity of their respective religions and cultures from being tarnished by any ‘selfi sh political agenda’.
“The government, all this while, has given the freedom for the people to practise and even promote their respective cultures and religious beliefs.
“Therefore, it is important for us continue to safeguard these things, to ensure that they can be inherited from one generation to the next, especially in the aspect of culture.”
On the gathering, Lee described ‘ Tang Yuan’ as an actual dessert – usually served in celebrating the ‘ Winter Solstice Festival’.
The Chinese, he added, would eat the dessert as part of their tradition, which has been around for over 1,000 years.
According to Lee, the round shape of the ‘ Tang Yuan’ symbolises ‘ family togetherness’.
“This is why ‘ Tang Yuan’ stands as an important food for many Chinese families during the Winter Solstice Festival.”
Lee also disclosed that a number of people in Mainland China had told him about the Chinese culture being practised by the Chinese community in Sarawak, ‘is much more genuine than the one practised by the people of China themselves’.
“According to them, the modern lifestyle has caused the people, particularly the younger generation, to be less interested in following and practising the old traditional practices.
“Thus, it is important for us in Sarawak continue upholding the good culture that we have practised because culture symbolises the true identity for a community.”