Indonesia is a proud country, and we Malaysians can learn many useful lessons from them providing we set aside our odd behaviour and quirky obsessions.

INDONESIA holds a special place for the Malaysians who truly appreciate the country and its wealth. To them this is not a country which provides cheap labour to Malaysia; this is a country which places its politics, arts, traditions and nationalism above everything else.

Indonesia is a proud country, and has many lessons Malaysia can learn from.

I have to say that our Indonesian counterparts find us Malaysians odd. When I was in Jakarta in March, I caught up with old friends about whom I had written in my book, I Am Muslim.

The gang at Nursyifa are still busy with healing, and have a steady stream of Malaysian Muslims visiting the centre for all sorts of ailments. The number one treatment we Malaysians seem to seek, according to Mas Reno, is to be rid of jins and spirits.

Voracious readers: One way of discovering Indonesia is to visit the local bookshops which store books on a wealth of topics that interest a wide section of the public.

“Di Malaysia banyak jin ya? Kami di Nursyifa terapi untuk berfikiran positif, tetapi warga Malaysia yang datang ke sini, semuanya mahu buang jin!” (“Are there a lot of jins in Malaysia? Nursyifa teaches positive thinking and healing, but the Malaysians who come here want to get rid of jins!”)

Likewise in Yogyakarta. I was in Yogyakarta recently, on a work-vacation trip. It’s a popular destination for Malaysians, especially for artists and intellectuals, and also wedding planners who flock to the city for cheap buys and wedding accoutrement.

Its residents find us amusing. Newfound friends told me how Malaysians expect them and the whole world to stand to attention when they visit, because they are “… Datuk… Tan Sri…”

“They tell you that?” I was aghast.

“Yes! We comply… but (giggle) we know that a lot of them buy their titles from the Sultan of Solo!”

This is embarrassing! After one too many questions on why Malaysians are odd, I thought that perhaps the next time I visit Indonesia, I will tell people I am Japanese.

One way of discovering a country is to visit the local bookshops. Indonesia is a paradise for book lovers. Is it any wonder that its people are able to articulate ideas, and have a sense of their country and history?

Two bookshops I visited – Togo Mas and Sosial Agensi – were a revelation. Put aside the dodgy air circulation, the two shops were filled to the brim with books. Mind you, the books were not printed on the best of paper, and the shops were not Kinokuniya, but there’s a wealth of topics.

Customers buying books were also given the choice of wrapping their new purchases; books would have their covers protected by a plastic wrap. You won’t see this in Malaysia.

And the people who come to browse and buy books – they are not the rich or middle class. They are truly the heart of Yogyakarta. Students, working class families, young professionals and academics, are all over the tokoh buku.

Another way of understanding a country’s people is by delving into its pop culture. In the case of Malaysia and Indonesia, it would have to be the ever popular religious books on zikirs, doas, prayers.

In Indonesia, the plethora of Islamic books is mind boggling. What we Malaysians would shun away from, in Indonesia, there is debate and an openness to Islamic thought.

The humble buku doas in our country, which advise Malaysians on prayers et al, cannot even begin to match the Indonesian buku doas.

I bought a book on Indonesian Islamic history written by a local historian and was blown away by his craft and story telling.

I don’t want to sound like a jaded Malaysian, but I have yet to read a Malaysian history book which engages and invites the reader to actually explore his country. The closest I can think of would be Dr Farish Noor and his books.

Coming home has been somewhat of a low. We put down our neighbour but we are still way behind the Indonesians on many things, including literature.

Our so-called wealth and progress have made us forget who we really are. Our idea of culture and patriotism is crass, sadly. We could be like Indonesia, but we have taken a route that has made us not know who we are when we look at ourselves in the mirror.

Malaysia needs a revolution to find the soul it lost. Can we call ourselves a progressive society when we who come back from Indonesia, enthralled by the country’s charms, treat its people who work in Malaysia badly?

> The writer is working on a book on socio-religious histories and personalities. Overly emotional people will not be included in it. Frankly, they should be shipped to a remote island where they can cannibalise each other.

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