In conjunction with the 67th National Day celebrations, I reminiscing the initiative of my team had on the book project for young Malaysians for the National Day 2005, titled “Our Malaysia Multi-Cultural Activity Book”. The objective was to motivate our future generations to move beyond knowledge and tolerance to understanding and reverence for each other's culture. We wanted them to experience our rich diversity in the spirit of enlightenment and active appreciation of unity in our harmoniously daily living. (www.arpitha.com)
For the contents of this 51-page Activity Book covered 46 topics on Myself, Let's Try It: Chinese Lanterns, My Family Tree, Who Are We?, What's in a Name?, Our National Anthem, The Malaysian Pledge (Rukun Negara), Calendars, Let's Try It: ‘Wau’, Many ‘New Years’ in One Year?, Religious Beliefs, Let's Try It: 'Kolam', What Your Zodiac Sign?, Festivals of Malaysia, What Language Do You Speak?, The Cultural Weddings, Traditional Costumes, Traditional Dances, Cultural Places of Interest, Traditional Games, Traditional Musical Instruments, State Flags, Martial Arts, Folk Songs, Malaysia's Plants, Flora & Animals, Malaysian Food Crossword Puzzle, Cross-Cultures, and so forth.
The book was originally published in English in 2005 and developed by a team headed by Yazdi Jehangir Bankwala and Dr. M. Nadarajah (Nat), who also doubled-up as the co-editors. This book project gracefully received attention & endorsement of a team comprising of cultural sociologists, an editor of children's books, communication experts, parents, teachers, researchers, scholars included, Datuk Dr. Syed Othman Alhabshi, V. Harcharan Singh, Dr. Asma Abdullah, Marilyn Ong Siew Ai, Luke Ashwin & Prof Dr. Haji Zulkifly Baharom.
Co-Editor Yazdi said, “For teaching children about diversity and unity of races and religions, it was not as simple as buying diversity-related books for the children reading pleasure. We suggested for parents and teachers involvement with the children guiding them to cultivate a knowledgeable generation and foster a spirit of harmony. An engaging hands-on program is crucial for maximising the impact. While books provide awareness, experiential learning allows children to truly feel in-depth the meaning of Malaysia Madani.”
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