I am a 3rd generation Malaysian Chinese, 50 years old, living in a country that reached 65 years old today.
And yet, there are days when I feel like I am a foreigner. A 2nd class citizen. There are times, quite often, when I find myself facing discrimination due to race, religion, and even politics.
Let us first admit that these "issues" still exist in our country and not just sweep them under the carpet.
The "business" I built, was founded on the concept of providing aid to everyone, especially Malaysians, regardless of race, religion and politics. I tried to do whatever was needed to provide the confidence to our customers and beneficiaries, but still, there have been times, when I and our organisation have been judged on race and religion.
"Ini syarikat orang Cina. Tak mau la. Waswas", a statement that isn't unfamiliar to us. Never mind that our staff are 90% Malay or Muslim and half the directors are Malay Muslims.
Even without doing anything, our products are sometimes rejected just because the "owners" don't comply to the BMF movement. Something I cannot do anything about due to my birth.
Even in Sabah, I am told I can't get a license from Motac because "all the directors need to be Sabahan". So we've been advised to remove our Semenanjung directors if we want to register our company in Sabah. Otherwise, just register our company in Semenanjung.
In the past, when we deployed in disaster zones setting up field kitchens, some of our Muslim colleagues felt offended when they were questioned whether the food Kembara served was "halal" or not. Never mind that the head chef himself was there doing the cooking himself, an unmistakably tall and big Muslim Malay man surrounded by his fellow colleagues, some wearing tudung. Questions asked, just because the "face" of the organisation was a Malaysian Chinese.
And I haven't even touched on some very basic fundamentals such as finance, education, and of course, politics, where segregation policies still hold sway.
To make things worse, the so called minority, the Nons, the Non-Malays, the Non-Muslims, are not innocent parties either. "We" practise our own brand of discrimination, whether it be personal, employment, religion or even with the people we have relationships with.
I have seen how employers judge before even seeing. Where hiring is dependant on race and religion. I know and witnessed how businesses gauge clients on their skin colour. Many even use the race and religion card just to get business. Or to deny it. No, we are not innocent nor can we just apportion blame to someone else.
I could go on and on about this. And I will not lie when I say, I have very often felt disappointed and hurt. I will not lie and say I haven't thought of going elsewhere, another country where maybe, just maybe, I will not be treated as a second class citizen, just based on the colour of my skin and the belief I was born into.
After all, there must be some truth in the saying, "The grass is always greener on the other side".
Malaysia, at 65 years old, is definitely not a garden that is made up of lush green grass. There are so many patches of brown and dead and dying grass dotting what could have been a paradise.
But.........
There is no garden in this world that is a paradise of green grass. Every garden will have it's fair share of patches of brown dying grass. Every garden will experience a dog pissing on it's beautiful lawn and killing parts of it.
The question is...do you water, clean and care for the garden? Or do you just do the minimum, or none at all, whilst hoping for that beautiful lawn?
The grass is greener where you water it. And that's what we must remember as we reach 65 years old.
Yes, there have been people who question us based on our race, religion, politics etc. But at the same time, I have colleagues who have stood by us, with us, knowing what we do and our aspirations, for years. Remember I mentioned the 90% Muslim colleagues? For every person who practises discrimination, there are another 100 that do not. For every person who chooses to cast doubt, there are another 100 that choose to support.
For every policy, politician or organisation that still tries to use divisive methods to push their particular discriminatory agenda, there are many others, the same people who could have gained from it, who have stood up and said "no, that is wrong. We are Malaysians".
For every disaster we have deployed, anywhere in Malaysia, for that person who questioned the "Halalness" of Kembars Kitchen, we had another 100 volunteers who were Muslim. A 100 sponsor and supporter that went out of their way to help. From monetary aid to even finding housing for our team. Some even risked their lives just to make sure we, as a team, was safe. For every negative experience we faced, there were so many more that counter balanced it, and more.
I don't like to call myself a Malaysian Chinese. I identify only as Malaysian. There will be people who don't agree with this. There will be people who won't understand.
But this much I will say. It isn't enough for you to fly Jalur Gemilang on our national days, nor be proud of your country when times are good. You cannot call yourself Malaysian, only when it suits you or when you feel like it.
If you want this country to be the paradise that you wish it to be, you have to work for it. You take the good and the bad. You question yourself, and those around you, when you see wrong. But you must also make the effort to make it right. It isn't just the job of the politicians (whom I personally think are doing a bad job of it), but also the duty of every citizen.
I don't expect to live long enough to see Malaysia become a lush garden of green grass. But maybe my children, and yours, may see it. So I keep weeding and watering.
You have to believe in this dream, if you want it to become a reality. You have to put in the work and effort. I believe in Malaysia. I know my duty.
Selamat Menyambut Hari Kemerdekaan ke-65.
William Cheah is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav.
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