I finally got back to Kuching on Monday. We were not supposed to stay as long as we did but the stay was extended because my father got invited to appear on TV. The topic was about 'Perpaduan' or Unity.
As it turned out, there were four members of the panel. My father (Sarawak), YBM Raja Nazimuddin (UMNO MP), YB Teresa Kok (DAP MP) and another guy from the Persatuan Pelajar Melayu Semenanjung or something like that. I wasn't too impressed with him so I couldn't be bothered to remember him much. Maybe his name will come back to me later. Anyway, these people were supposed to discuss the integration of unity and sports and the effectiveness.
And how did it turn out? The show became a political party bashing session! The issue was raised but was not fully discussed. Instead the UMNO guy started bashing the DAP and it became a circus. The Persatuan Pelajar representative didn't speak but gave lectures all the way, probably trying to impress these Members of Parliament. All he did was show himself to be a bigot, as far as I am concerned.
Then my father got annoyed with them and decided he had had enough. So he declared that to know what unity really means and how effectively it works, people should come to Sarawak. We Sarawakians are the truly united people. We care not for race or religion. We sit where we want to sit, eat where we want to eat and, most of all, marry whoever we want to. Even our political parties here don't cater to only one particular ethnic group or race.
I agree, not just because he is my father but because it's the truth. Where else in Malaysia can you find a Muslim sitting in a Chinese restaurant drinking coffee or a Chinese speaking the local Malay dialect or an Iban conversing in perfect Hokkien? In Sarawak, we are more open-minded. We listen to and sing Christmas carols, we karaoke to the Chinese New Year songs and we enjoy Zainal Abidin. We respect other religions. We tolerate it when the mosque calls for prayers in a Chinese area, we make way for midnight mass in the church in the center of town on Christmas eve and we smile when the lion dance and the fireworks go off on Chinese New Year. We don't make a political or social big deal of it.
It's just how we live here in Sarawak. Which is why we live to ripe, old ages and we are happier.
As it turned out, there were four members of the panel. My father (Sarawak), YBM Raja Nazimuddin (UMNO MP), YB Teresa Kok (DAP MP) and another guy from the Persatuan Pelajar Melayu Semenanjung or something like that. I wasn't too impressed with him so I couldn't be bothered to remember him much. Maybe his name will come back to me later. Anyway, these people were supposed to discuss the integration of unity and sports and the effectiveness.
And how did it turn out? The show became a political party bashing session! The issue was raised but was not fully discussed. Instead the UMNO guy started bashing the DAP and it became a circus. The Persatuan Pelajar representative didn't speak but gave lectures all the way, probably trying to impress these Members of Parliament. All he did was show himself to be a bigot, as far as I am concerned.
Then my father got annoyed with them and decided he had had enough. So he declared that to know what unity really means and how effectively it works, people should come to Sarawak. We Sarawakians are the truly united people. We care not for race or religion. We sit where we want to sit, eat where we want to eat and, most of all, marry whoever we want to. Even our political parties here don't cater to only one particular ethnic group or race.
I agree, not just because he is my father but because it's the truth. Where else in Malaysia can you find a Muslim sitting in a Chinese restaurant drinking coffee or a Chinese speaking the local Malay dialect or an Iban conversing in perfect Hokkien? In Sarawak, we are more open-minded. We listen to and sing Christmas carols, we karaoke to the Chinese New Year songs and we enjoy Zainal Abidin. We respect other religions. We tolerate it when the mosque calls for prayers in a Chinese area, we make way for midnight mass in the church in the center of town on Christmas eve and we smile when the lion dance and the fireworks go off on Chinese New Year. We don't make a political or social big deal of it.
It's just how we live here in Sarawak. Which is why we live to ripe, old ages and we are happier.
12:40 pm |
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