Chinese New Year is here and it's time to visit our Chinese friends to wish them Gong Xi Fa Cai, and savour some goodies when we visit them.
Apart from oranges and kacang goreng, the Muslim friends will think twice about consuming most other dishes being served.
Ah! Is it halal or not? Is the chicken slaughtered the Muslim way or not? If so, by whom? How is it cooked? What oil do they use? If it is catered, are they Muslim caterers? And also a host of other questions that are often raised by Muslims when they visit non-Muslim friends during the various festivities we celebrate in Malaysia.
Despite all the smiles and assurances, most of the time we will take only orange juice, kacang goreng, mandarin oranges, more smiles, then go home a little hungry.
It would be good if the gracious hosts are thoughtful enough to consider the sensitivities of the Muslim guests with specially catered halal fare.
Whenever I host a function in my house, and invite non-Muslim friends, we always include vegetarian dishes for our Indian friends. Fortunately, our Chinese friends do not have inhibitions, unless they are severely diabetic or have tubes running down all over the place; but then these people might not show up at all.
That reminds me, yes! I have a Chinese friend who has gone ultra vegan - no meats, no garlic, and string of other no no’s. We try to accommodate to please our guests.
I remember many many years ago during my school days when we visited our Chinese friends during Chinese New Year celebration. My friend’s mother told me “you can eat everything, I prepared special for you”. And I wasn’t even dating her daughter! They did not even serve pork for our table, all halal. Of course, those days we didn't have JAKIM or the likes of it, or didn’t know better, halal simply meant no pork, no questions asked about who cooked in what oil and who slaughtered the animals.
Those carefree days as a teenager. But even then, the parents of our friends also understood our sensitivities and respected our concerns.
I suppose things have changed now with more awareness of dietary restrictions, but I wonder whether non-Muslims have kept up with the details of these restrictions and sensitivities.
On the other hand, Muslims, too, have to accept that “yam seng’’ and mahjong tables and other traditional CNY activities are part of our cultural diversity. Unfortunately, some states in Malaysia have tried to impose restrictions on these activities, too.
Let's build on these areas where we can start to appreciate our real differences, if not already done, and to build on it towards creating a truly Malaysian society, to inculcate a sort of national code for mutual respect. This might include manner of address, dressing appropriately to respect the host and the occasion, manner of address.
Let's start now!
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