EVEN as we celebrate 50 years of living side by side tucking in each other’s nasi lemak, banana leaf rice, and chicken rice, we continue to come across comments and actions fractured, to varying degrees, along racial, cultural, and religious lines.
Discrimination originates not in the skin but in the human mind. At the root of all forms of discrimination and intolerance is the erroneous idea that humankind is somehow composed of separate and distinct races, peoples or castes, and that those sub-groups innately possess varying intellectual, moral, and/or physical capacities, which in turn justify different forms of treatment.
The reality is that there is only the one human race. We are a single people, inhabiting the planet Earth, one human family bound together in a common destiny, a single entity created from one same substance, obligated to be even as one soul.
The principle of human oneness strikes a chord in the deepest reaches of the human spirit. It is not yet another way of talking about the ideal of brotherhood or solidarity. Nor is it some vague hope or slogan. It reflects, rather, an eternal spiritual, moral and physical reality. Its emergence is more visible now because, for the first time in history, it has become possible for all of the peoples of the world to perceive their inter-dependence and to become conscious of their wholeness. It is within this “unity paradigm” that diversity has its meaning and enriches all our lives. Without unity, diversity leads to division; without diversity, unity leads to uniformity. Neither uniformity nor division is characteristic of a healthy society. “Unity in diversity” provides the underpinning for a framework of values, perceptions and actions that will prevent the continuation of the parallel lives but separate led by the various communities that make up the Malaysian society.
There must be transformation of individual, family, group, neighbourhood and societal perceptions, interactions and values if we are to build a cohesive society that will fully empower all of its members to learn and to use their talents and capacities for their own good and for the good of all.
Clearly education (spiritual, moral and citizenship education) has a central role to play in this transformation. This may be through formal classroom based education, but education for transformation is just as likely to take place in informal settings in the family, in places of worship, in work places and so on. Perhaps, the government should give thought to how such education for transformation can be promoted and funded.
An essential part of the transformative experience for our young people of different cultures and faiths is for them to socialise with each other in an environment of trust and equality of regard, and not just remain classmates in class or colleagues at work.
Malaysia would indeed be the ultimate winner the day the diverse strands of society overcome long-established emotional attachments to traditional attitudes that emphasise difference. All of us must learn to value and appreciate diversity, not impose uniformity or pretend that diversity and the issues it raises do not exist. It goes far beyond a simple condemnation of racial and cultural strife and a plea for tolerance or the belief that by unity is meant a mere recognition of, and respect for, those considered to be inherently and fundamentally different. Instead, we must categorically condemn racism and gender prejudice of all forms, and instead emphasise shared values as well as encourage the widest community consultation on issues of social concern. We have to think about holistic approaches to healing social ills - approaches at its core that recognise the essential unity of the human race.
appeared in Letters Section of The Sun
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