MALAYSIANS are loving a video of a Malay and an Indian student sharing a packet of nasi lemak during recess at school.
The clip, which has been viewed over a million times, reminded many of their own childhood.
Some commentators voiced their delight with the camaraderie between the two girls, saying that Malaysians should always have such a bond with one another.
Food, which is very much part of our lives, is also essentially a unifying factor.
When people get together with friends of different creeds and faith, it is usually over food.
And we love our nasi lemak, regardless of our ethnic backgrounds.
Living away from my hometown, I have shared an apartment with people of different races over the years.
Cooking lunch and dinner together on days off was a favourite activity with a former housemate who was Chinese. Not only did we get to introduce our traditional foods to each other, but it also became a bonding time of sorts.
At work, I couldn’t have asked for a more diverse group of colleagues and lunch buddies who I count as friends. Malay, Chinese, Indian and even Eurasian, we bond over food.
Besides sharing meals together, it is common to witness inter-racial marriages among Malaysians. These couples of different cultural backgrounds make their marriage work by embracing each other’s differences.
And let’s not even get started with sports. The whole country comes together to cheer Malaysian athletes like what we saw in the recently concluded Olympic Games in Paris.
The National Unity Index study showed an increase in value from 0.567 in 2018 to 0.629 in 2022.
Based on the index score, 0.0 to 0.24 is considered as weak, 0.25 to 0.49 (low), 0.50 to 0.74 (moderate) and 0.75 to 1.00 (high).
The 12th Malaysia Plan has targeted the Index score to hit 0.7 by 2025.
In essence, the Unity Index is just hovering in the moderate level.
So what has been the stumbling block in achieving a high score now that we are already marking our 67th National Day?
One major example of acts that disrupt unity are the distasteful comments on social media mocking other races.
This is gradually turning into a toxic breeding ground for division where people do not hesitate to spew hateful remarks about race and religion.
When race and religious rhetoric becomes a threat to the unity we have painstakingly built over the years, we as a nation need to go back to the basics.
This starts at home and at school. While lessons on unity in school helps, we need to encourage the young ones to make friends from different races. We should teach them the value of human relationships and embracing each other despite the differences.
Most importantly, we need to teach them respect and to refrain from making remarks or doing anything that would hurt the sensitivities of people from other races and religions.
We need to start teaching our kids that all of us, at the end of the day, are the same Bangsa Malaysia.
Unity is not a concept which is alien to us. We are born in a multiracial country and it is part of our DNA as a country.
In the month of August, there are plenty of commercials and advertisements that remind us of our identity as Malaysians and unity is a recurring theme that is always showcased.
While this is to commemorate National Day, it is worth remembering that unity should not only be fostered in the month of August but throughout all the days of our lives as Malaysians.
And in the spirit of harmony and togetherness, let’s reflect on what the late Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, Malaysia’s Father of Independence wrote.
Tunku, who was once the chairman of The Star wrote in the column As I See It, published in this very newspaper on Dec 31, 1981:
“The alliance of Umno and MCA was formed and the constitutional battle for independence started.
“Tun Abdul Razak was unable to take an active part, being a state secretary and acting Mentri Besar of Pahang, and he could do no more than give us moral support. After our successes in the local council and municipal elections, the Malayan Indian Association under KL Devasar and later under the late Tun V. T. Sambanthan and Tan Sri Manickavasagam joined us.
“The greatest victory was the coming together of these main racial groupings for the first time in Malayan history. The British knew their rule in Malaya must come to an end and, like good sportsmen, they took it with good grace.
“Merdeka, Merdeka, Merdeka rang the air the length and breadth of Malaya and so it was that with the united and dedicated efforts of all races loyal to this country, we got our independence.”
So as we cheer on the National Day parade at Dataran Putrajaya today, let’s not forget how this great nation was formed.
Let’s always keep Tunku’s words in mind.
Our unity transcends our differences.
