The Malaysian Dream

A little more than a year ago, I was sitting on the couch, channel surfing out of boredom when I chanced upon something thought provoking. It was a scene from one of those old black and white P. Ramlee movies. Not really unusual for RTM1 to screen such movies on a Sunday night, except this one was different. There was none of the usual Ali Babas or Bujang Lapoks or Malaccan warriors. Nor was there the usual forbidden love theme. Instead, on the telly was a group of youths no older than I was; boys and girls of various races - Malays, Chinese, Indians and even a lone Sikh - riding bicycles together, singing a song about 'Malaya sudah merdeka'. And somehow, that scene made me smile. Not because it had became cheesy at this time and age, but because of the sense of optimism that it portrayed.

Yes, everything just looked so good for us back then didn't it? With independence came new hopes. For once, we were a nation and not just a colony ruled by a foreign people half a world away. We were free to create our own futures and chart our own destiny. It was supposed to be the beginning of a dream - the Malaysian Dream.

But how differently things have turned out for us almost fifty years later. Fractured by racism and strangled by chauvinism, the dream is dead. And the day the dream died was the day when people, including our leaders, started blaming each other's races for the failure of their own. It's the truth. The Malaysia we see now is merely a facade; a lid put on to cover the the boiling pot of discontent and tension. Nobody cares anymore about Malaysia. What is there to care about when there is only race and ethnicity in our eyes? A recent survey has proved it. Malays would rather be identified with their religion first while the Chinese would prefer to remain exactly that - Chinese - and not Malaysian. It's a shame. A shame because this is what a nation once so full of hope had become: a broken down old car, its parts not working together anymore while the driver gives it a new paint job every year to hide the defects inside the hood.

It's sad. I care for this country. I really do. But the things I hear everyday; the comments by politicians about 'bathing the keris in Chinese blood' and how other races will 'take advantage' of theirs. It just seems more and more to me that this nation is pointing in the wrong direction. I mean, are we so blind that we cannot see the invisible hands playing poker with racial cards? Or are we silent because of the threats that these hands make? Because of the fear that they have instilled in us? The fear that we will somehow 'lose' our identity as Malays, Chinese or Indians if we dare open our eyes and see what a truly Malaysian Malaysia can offer?

Yes, it is indeed sad. It is sad that we are being racially manipulated by people holding the reins of power. But what is even more sad is that we don't even know we are being manipulated. We bought everything they said hook, line and sinker. The hands that play the cards have played them very well indeed. This country is so divided now that to betray it isn't considered a crime. To betray your race is. And even then, the definition of betrayal has been perverted to the point where to suggest a system that is fair for all is considered 'selling out' your own race. And I'm not just referring to any one race. I'm referring to all the races, in particular the Chinese.

So just what then is the Malaysian dream? Well, if the American Dream is considered to be having two children and living in a suburban house with financial security and a 2 car garage, then perhaps the Malaysian Dream is to come home to a nice house in the suburbs after work, play with your two kids under the rambutan tree and then have dinner overlooking the beautiful lights of Kuala Lumpur. But even more important than that I feel, is to have my children grow up without having to see the world in tinted eyes. To have them grow up in a world where Ali, Ah Chong and Muthu all belong to the Malaysian race. Yes, perhaps that is what the Malaysian Dream is all about. My plea to our leaders is, please don't destroy it.

Selamat Hari Malaysia.