Malaysia is a very unique country in its diversity. This country is made up of people of different races, different beliefs and different cultures. These people have lived together harmoniously and built the nation together in many ways. Malaysia has proven herself to be a model of unity in diversity.
I grew up in a multicultural and multi-religious Malaysia. My neighbours and classmates were people from different races and cultures. We speak different languages and dialects but we all also learn to communicate in Bahasa Malaysia. We play together, we visit one another and we eat together, enjoying the many different cuisines. Those were the days of Muhibbah; days of loving one another, caring for one another and living harmoniously demonstrating goodwill and friendship to all. As such, even when I started working in the city, I converse a lot in Bahasa Malaysia and English. My use of dialects and Mandarin was limited. This led my neighbours in the city to ask me, “Are you a Chinese?” I wear modern jeans and T-shirts and I wear the samfu, cheongsam, kebaya, baju kurung as well as the Punjabi salwar suit. Many decades ago, a man commuting on the same bus actually ask me, “What race are you?” Maybe, not many people then actually had a wide selection of traditional clothes in their wardrobe. Now, as a retiree, I enjoy wearing the sarong and a simple T-shirt or blouse at home. It is just so comfortable.
I also like the diverse variety of food in this country. Chinese food, Malay food, Indian food is available almost everywhere. Nowadays, the selection has expanded to Western food, Thai food, Korean food, Japanese food and more. Growing up in Malacca, I have also enjoyed a variety of Nonya food. As I believe in learning to cook what I enjoy eating, today I have actually learnt to cook a few authentic Nonya delicacies as well as various Malaysian street food. Indeed, Malaysia is a food paradise. Malaysia is truly Asia.
Let us treasure our rich heritage and guard it well. I would say that Malaysia is truly a blessed nation, free from many natural disasters and calamities like earthquakes and floods, volcanic eruptions, droughts or forest fires.
So, as we celebrate our national day this August, let us all thank God for this beautiful nation and determine in our hearts to unite and build a strong nation.
God bless Malaysia!
By Mei Wong
Mei Wong 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. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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