The enlightening story of 3Malaysia

Malay, Chinese, Indian… what does it matter? All should better themselves without the need to challenge each other’s superiority.

COMMENT

I recently attended a roundtable discussion organised by the Global Movement of Moderates. The discussion was aimed at generating ideas and views on new research on Malaysia for moving “beyond race”.

Although I found the discussion a bit too intellectual for my simple mind, it did connect a few wires in my brain.

But before I share my personal take on racism as per the discussion and how it impacts the future of Malaysia (in my future writings), I would like to share a story.

Back in 2013, I staged a play titled “In A Nutty Shell”. Using “3Malaysia – In Malaysia, Your Race Is Who You Are” as the tagline, the satire openly criticised the everyday folk of Malaysia and how we functioned as a nation.

Being an Indian who is not a Hindu and a Muslim who is not a Malay, I have met many stereotypical members of our society. As such, I aimed to push the boundaries and present Malaysia as it was on stage. I thought it was time Malaysians sat down and watched themselves for a change.

To maintain the authenticity of the script, I conducted many interviews with people from all walks of life – different races, religions and status. As expected, many were reluctant to talk about racial stereotyping which although quite common in our country, is still considered taboo to talk about.

In the beginning most claimed to care and respect other members of society regardless of their race and religion. They kept using 1Malaysia to justify unity as their core strength.

But knowing the right buttons to push, it did not take long before they began blurting out their true perception of Malays, Chinese, Indians as well as the political scenario of the country.

I had the Malays telling me stories of having their opportunities being swept away by the Chinese. Some spoke of the double standards practiced by Chinese employers who paid Malay staff way lesser than others of the equal level. Most Malays told me how selfish, arrogant and greedy they thought the Chinese were.

I had the Chinese telling me how lazy and incompetent they thought Malays were. They blamed Malay supremacy for this. A few of them thought Malays were kind, god fearing people who were manipulated by the government. Some Chinese however blamed religious fanatics for creating gaps in society especially between the Chinese and Malays.

I had some Indians telling me how upset they were at being bullied by Malays, Chinese and the government. They told me stories of having their temples demolished while permits to build new ones were denied.

Having combined all these elements into a full length play, I soon became nervous as I realised I had a time bomb in my hands. I knew I was about to poke the bee hive with a super sensitive script.

What I witnessed throughout the five days that the show played for (hiding among the audience) was mind blowing.

You see, one of the essential requirements of a free, open, and democratic society is the ability to laugh at oneself. However during the show, it was crystal clear that despite living together for the past five decades as one family, we still belonged to our own race.

During scenes where the Malays were criticised and made fun of, the entire studio laughed – well, except the Malays. When the Chinese were criticised, it was their turn to frown. Lastly when the Indians were made fun of, the entire studio laughed, including the Indians themselves.

It’s funny, isn’t it? While the Malays and Chinese had trouble watching their version of reality portrayed on stage, the Indians were able to laugh at all the stereotypical jokes.

The Indians had every right to be offended just like the Malays and Chinese but they collectively chose to laugh it off.

This pattern of behaviour among the audience is exactly how our society functions.

Now I am not going to talk about stereotyping, prejudices and racism in our society. I am more fascinated about why Indians and not Malays and Chinese, are capable of handling such sensitive situations much better.

“Indians are loud and noisy. They don’t do dialogues, only monologues. They have a bad sense of fashion. Some of them smell bad. They are mostly rude and behave like ‘samseng’.”

Those were some of the lines delivered on stage. Why weren’t the Indians offended when they had all the right to be? What made them choose to brush it off with laughter?

My observation was so fascinating that I had to find the reason behind it. I began talking to my audience, collecting feedback. I pursued my little piece of research even after we were bumped-out of the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre where the play was staged.

What I discovered made me proud to be Indian.

According to the Indians I spoke to, in Malaysia, the Malays are considered first class citizens; the Chinese are special class citizens; and Indians are no class citizens.

Having always been looked down upon by the other races in our society, Indians feel isolated. Even the government tends to ignore their plight.

As one of the strangers I spoke to during the scriptwriting process put it, “Malays have Umno. Chinese have MCA. Both parties always take care of their own people. But what does MIC do? The only time they crawl out from their coconut shell is when the temples are demolished.”

As such, they have somewhat detached themselves from the need to compete with the Malays and the Chinese. The gap, economically and socially, is too big to put any effort to reduce.

Hence the Indians have learned to focus on developing themselves.

While the Chinese and Malays measure their success by comparing one against the another (and bickering along the way), the Indians only compare themselves with their previous generation.

“My grandfather sold kacang putih outside the Rex cinema back in the old days. My dad was a lorry driver. And I am a teacher. I think I am successful. Hopefully my son will do better – maybe become a doctor!” said one Indian in my audience who brought his students to watch the play.

Having focused on their own development without the need to feel inferior when others achieved greater success, was one key factor why Indians were able to gel in well in our multiracial society.

Now if only the Malays and Chinese stopped comparing themselves with each other and wiped out that “what I lose is what you gain” mentality, maybe we could build a healthier society – a society who is competing to better themselves without the need to challenge each other’s superiority.

Is that possible?

You tell me.