A diverse workplace
WHILE it may be not be too difficult to find a private clinic with staff of two or more races in Malaysia, it is rare to find one that actively ensures its employees are multiracial and multilingual.
In a clinic tucked away in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, the nine staff comprise three doctors (Chinese, Indian Muslim and Indian), a clinic manager (Lun Bawang ethnic group from Sarawak), two counsellors (Indian and Chinese), two administrative-cum-reception staff (Chinese and Indian) and an assistant pharmacist (Malay).
“I believe all workplaces should be multiracial. A patient is always more comfortable when they see someone of their own race,” says consultant psychiatrist Dr Subash Kumar Pillai, who runs the clinic.
“Besides, some patients may have a language barrier, and although we all speak Bahasa Malaysia, there are some who understand Indian or Chinese dialects better and request for someone who can speak these languages.
“So we are equipped to cater to them.
“If need be, we’ll mix bits of several languages to get the message across, and if we really cannot communicate well, then we refer them elsewhere.”
Good communication is particularly crucial in diagnosing and treating mental health problems.
Growing up, Dr Subash went to national schools in Johor and Perak.
“I had friends of all races and the fact that we have a common language to communicate in, while keeping our respective culture and religion, is something unique.
“I have always been able to blend in anywhere I go locally and I want our patients and staff to also experience that,” he says.
The clinic manager is also his spouse, Darlene Sia, who hails from Lawas, a small frontier town in northeastern Sarawak’s Limbang Division.
“People think I am Chinese because of my father’s name (Sia), and I may look like one, but I am not!” says the cheery lady.
“When a patient is sick, they come to us seeking hope and comfort because they want to heal.
“Race, religion and skin colour are forgotten.
“Also, with a multiracial team, taking leave during religious or cultural holidays is not an issue as there is always someone at work.”
Manning the front desk
For clinic administrator-cum-receptionist, P. Raj Vambuli, 26, his colleagues are like his extended family.
A product of a Tamil primary school, the psychology graduate from Seremban, Negri Sembilan, had difficulty adapting to a national secondary school.
He says, “The teachers and students used to refer to me as the ‘Tamil school boy’ and bullied me when I entered Form One.
“I cried so much in the beginning and didn’t want to go to school.
“It took me a few months to adapt to having classmates of other races.
“Eventually, I realised that this is the reality and slowly settled in,” Raj shares.
Raj did his internship at the clinic and enjoyed it so much that he decided to apply for a permanent position.
Assisting Raj is Brendan Lee, 22, the youngest in the multiracial team.
“I like working here because I’m meeting people from all walks of life.
“If language is a barrier, I’ll ask one of my colleagues to communicate as I only speak English and Bahasa Malaysia,” says Lee, who describes himself as a reserved person.
He is slowly opening up to others due to the requirements of his job.
As for what is unique about being a Malaysian, he says: “I can walk anywhere and call someone abang or brother to strike up a conversation.”
Mixed marriage
Darlene met Dr Subash in Miri where she was working as an insurance agent.
He was then a medical officer at Miri Hospital and was the attending doctor to Darlene’s grandmother, who was warded in critical condition.
Although Darlene’s grandmother subsequently passed away, Dr Subash reveals that she called to thank him afterwards.
“One phone call became two and three, and that’s how it happened!” he recalls.
When he was invited to her hometown, it was with much trepidation that he agreed.
He shares, “It was unchartered waters for me – like a scene from the 1960s comedy Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner?
“The Lun Bawang community had never seen an Indian in their village before and everyone turned to look at me, wondering what species I was!
“But the family was so warm in welcoming me as some of them had met me at the hospital while I was treating Darlene’s grandmother.
“As for my parents, they had no problems accepting her as long as I was happy.”
Only after marrying Dr Subash in 2000 did Darlene make her maiden voyage to Peninsular Malaysia and she was in for a shock.
She says, “The pollution in Kuala Lumpur was (and is) so bad that it triggered my sinus and it hasn’t stopped.
“Then I was surprised that many shops, in and out of malls, were manned by only one race.
“In Miri, the shop owner would be Chinese, but the staff would be a mix of Chinese, Malay and indigenous people.
“In my opinion, there is more mingling and harmony among the races in Sarawak because there are so many tribes.”
The couple has two teenage children.