I am no Jackie Chan, but really who am I?
Chinese! I bear Chinese name no doubt, but I was born in Malaysia after her independence in 1957. Hence I carry with me a Malaysian passport and identity card; which the locals here termed NRIC.
I went to Chinese primary school, where Mandarin was the main medium of communications before I proceeded to national schools and finished my General Certificate of Education (GCE ‘O’ Level) in late 70’s with aggregate 11 in 5 subjects. So what, to add to the mockery of the aforesaid examination, I‘d obtained better grade in English ( A2 ), Bahasa Malaysia ( C6 ), than Mandarin ( P7 ). So who am I by then? A Malaysian Chinese? So shameful!
By this time, I could easily converse in our national language – Bahasa Malaysia ( BM ), English, Mandarin plus my own dialect which is Fujian. Moreover, I can also understand some basic associated dialects like Cantonese, Hakka, Teochew, Hainanese etc.
Next, because I idolized Barry Gibb of the famous trio Bee Gees, I had adopted a “Christian Name” of Barry; although going to Sunday Mass is still alien to me till this very day! I remember telling a good childhood friend of mine donkey years ago; name Danny that we were actually “Anerican Chinese”, how strange! Who was I by then, I wonder?
As I progress and got assimilated into our cultural and religiously diverse society, I made many more friends from all walks of life, different in creed, color, origin & religion so I began to think again who am I?
A Malaysian Chinese?
A Chinese Malaysian?
A Malaysian? Or
None of the above? – As if I was filling some kind of forms……..
Correct me if I am wrong; I could still recalled that my English teacher Ms Teoh said – an adjective descript a nonce and I must say it was rather confusing even until now despite having As for my English during GCE “O” level. Which of the above were more appropriate?
In fact I was still juggling with the idea of being a Malaysian Chinese or vice versa until of late when I saw on live over TV how our Miss Wong Mei Choo gunned down – with her badminton racket Peoples’ Republic of China’s Xing fang Xie – World ranking No 1 to clinch the 2007 Chinese Badminton Open in Guangchow, China; that I’d awaken to be reminded how wonderful it must have being a Malaysian! The joy from within was beyond my power of expressions – being a Malaysian!
Coupled with the icing on the cake that Mei Choo’d eliminated 4 top ranking Chinese players en route to her maiden Championship, it was indeed a fantastic achievement. However, if this were to happen 30 years ago, Mei Choo would have been cursed and swear by fellow Chinese compatriots ‘seeking temporary shelter’ in Malaysia, which were never intended to be their permanent home then! To them, who am I? Chinese, off course?
Thousand apologies, I like to take to task the recent demand on education medium, street demonstrations, rally, demolition of temples, pig farms, lifting of Malay Kris and those referendums would have been unnecessary, if not irrelevant had we been taught to be a mere Malaysian; nothing more, nothing less!
I could understand it was quite sensitive to put such message through in our education system during the infancy stage of Malaysia’s independence; but not today, after we’d claimed the 50th glorious years of Nationhood; if only we try harder!
Our political leaders, championed with visions must have been enlightened to note that those days of harping in religious, racial, ethnic issues were over. Championing for a particular race, often misconstrued as at the expanse of another is but the most notorious yet invisible terrorist within every one of us. Who is Osama then?
If we could not have found a common yet uncommon platform to unite within despite all these years of living together as one nation; I fear our days of peace in diversity were numbered.
Given a chance, I urge those concern to immediately set up a salvation fund in the name of Tunku Abdul Rahman, our father of independence to aid whoever Malaysians, financially irrespective of background.
Since time immemorial, when men were contented with basic necessities of food, clothing, shelter and some basic amusement/entertainment; they would think twice going against such livelihoods.
Let’s hope for one nation, one race, the Malaysian Race! Further….
One Planet, One Race, The Human Race!
Proud just to be a simple Malaysian!