Reject conflicts, enhance unity

KUALA LUMPUR: Having coexisted harmoniously for decades, Malaysians are ingrained with the spirit of comradeship.

This sense of fellowship did not only exist during the struggle for independence by this nation’s founding fathers but has prevailed among the subsequent generations of Malaysians.

If truth be told, Malaysians do live in unity and are ever ready to lend a helping hand to one another, regardless of race and religion.

Harmony is always the order of the day when people of various ethnicities show tolerance and embrace diversities.

In schools, universities and at workplaces, students and colleagues interact freely. At restaurants, it is not uncommon to see the Malays enjoying chicken rice for lunch and ‘ tosei’ for breakfast, and the Chinese and Indians making a beeline for ‘nasi lemak’.

As a matter of fact, food is the tool that unifies the various races – what’s more, Malay, Chinese and Indian cuisines are known for their wide variety of delicious fare, so there is no shortage of good food to keep the people united. Hence, it is not much of a surprise that Malaysians tend to greet one another by enquiring if they had eaten! Yardstick to measure unity Certain recent incidents and events in the country have raised the spectre of disunity but the truth is, they cannot be used as yardsticks to measure unity.

For instance, the riots that took place at the Sri Maha Mariamman temple in USJ 25, Subang Jaya, on Nov 26 were caused by criminals and had no racial elements.

Last Saturday’s rally to oppose the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination ( ICERD), organised by various nongovernmental organisations such as Pertubuhan Muafakat Sejahtera Masyarakat and Gerakan Pembela Ummah, was also not indicative of the existence of racial conflicts.

Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) Strategic Communications director Prof Dr Mohd Yahya Mohamed Ariffin said racial and religious harmony in Malaysia, in general, was still at a healthy level with the people living in an atmosphere of mutual respect, harmony and peace.

This, he said, was evident in the way the people went about their daily lives. They go to school, college or office or operate their businesses or engage in social activities without fear or concern.

“As proven since independence, racial and religious harmony has led to peace, as well as political and social stability in Malaysia and the people have been enjoying the fruits of the nation’s prosperity and economic wealth.

“The people should be grateful that, unlike some other countries, Malaysia has remained peaceful and prosperous even though it has a multiracial population,” he said.

There was also nothing to stop Malaysians from coming together to celebrate the various festivals and participate in sports and games, as well as take part in activities and programmes related to environmental conservation, health awareness or enhancing neighbourliness, he pointed out. Isolated cases Stressing that the recent rally had nothing to do with unity issues, Mohd Yahya said the people behind it just wanted to voice out their dissatisfaction over certain issues.

“And, the recent incident (temple riots) was an isolated one, which the authorities have brought under control,” he said.

Universiti Putra Malaysia senior lecturer Dr Syed Agil Syed Alsagoff also agreed that racial harmony was still intact despite the occurrence of some incidents with racist undertones.

“They are just isolated cases due to some misunderstanding. I still believe that racial unity in our country is still strong although it gets tested from time to time,” said Syed Agil, who is attached to the Department of Communications at the Faculty of Modern Languages and Communications.

Commenting on last Saturday’s rally, he said it was just a channel for the organisers and participants to have their voices heard.

“They held a peaceful demonstration to champion certain issues. It is a sign that democratic principles are still alive in our country. The people are allowed to take part in rallies and demonstrate in a peaceful manner,” he said. Importance of unity When racial unity prevails, there is peace and harmony and political stability, which allows the government to plan and implement development programmes to improve the living standards of the people.

“It is important for the people to understand, respect and practice whatever is enshrined in the Constitution, including those articles related to the special privileges of the Malays and Bumiputera, as well as the position of Islam and the Malay rulers,” said USIM’s Mohd Yahya.

He said the Malays and Bumiputera, on their part, should also recognise the rights of the non-Malays as provided for in the Constitution.

“If the people don’t heed the Constitution, dissatisfaction will continue to exist and it will be a thorn in the flesh where racial unity and harmony are concerned,” he added.

Syed Agil, meanwhile, felt that the government should organise more unity-themed campaigns and restructure community associations to promote and forge unity.

He said the school curriculum should also focus on racial unity so that students can be educated on the importance of maintaining solidarity.

“The setting up of the Malaysian Future Leaders School to replace the National Service training programme is an approach by the government to realise the spirit of racial unity through a programme to stimulate patriotism. It will definitely be of benefit to our younger generation,” he said.

Pointing out that the people too have to play a role in maintaining unity and harmony, he said they should refrain from highlighting sensitive issues that could trigger conflicts. — Bernama