Back when I was still in school, donkey years ago, my friend Yoke(my staple table mate throughout secondary school except for that one year when we were 15) and I were always sitting in front of or behind girls who were not the same "bangsa" as us. We made fun of each other constantly. She will say "Amacam Macbeth awak?" (in reference to our English Literature subject) and we in turn will ask them "eh, pokok kelapa you masih sana ke?"( in reference to their Kesusasteraan dalam BM subject). And eventhough after PJ (Pendidikan Jasmani for those who are not in the know) she and her table mate will not openly change their T-shirts in the classroom like us, that did not stop us from "pakating" with each other to run out of the class before it was time for recess, or to have a prefect line up to buy laksa for us so that we dont have to jostle with the masses.
Back then I do not remember thinking to myself that she was not the same race as me and therefore she was very different and should be treated differently. We spoke the same language, we laughed at the same silly jokes, we were all bad in either chemistry or physics, we compared our add maths scores and hope it would add up and make two digits and we all made fun of the teachers. And eventhough she wore a tudung, I never once thought of making a snide remark or stereotyping her. She was just my classmate whom I had lots of fun and enjoyed being able to spend my secondary school days with.
Today, the disparity between the races are being emphasised and taught in schools and Universities. The fact that UPM has not taken action against the students who harassed fellow students (it was quite obvious they were of different races) smacks of biasness. And that they actually produced a book which emphasis on the wrongs the Chinese have done to cause racial riots amazes me. And that our very own PM's son in law made racists comments and was not disciplined shocks me to the very core. (How can the PM not know what his son in law said in the media?) The fact that Hang Tuah is no longer in our history books because they realised that he may have been Chinese (in line with HANG Li Po) and therefore not the national warrior that he was is quite alarming.
Why is it that the country has taken such a sharp turn in the wrong direction? While many people recognise the need to avoid the racial riots of 1969, nothing much has been done to make the country more muhibbah and to encourage better understanding,acceptance and recognisition of each other. We are suppose to recognise and accept each other, not tolerate. I hate that word in this context. To tolerate is to say "Oh, I dont like you very much but to avoid unnecessary conflicts, I shall "tolerate" you."
Damn.
We all have a right to be in this country. No one race is more superior or inferior to another. We all fought for the independence of Malaysia. We all worked hard to make the country what it is today.
How I wish life were just like how it was when I was in school. Those carefree, happy days where we were all happy and we enjoyed each other's company. We were too busy having fun to sit down and think about "tolerating" each other.
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