Tricia Yeoh

The end of the beginning.

What a year it has been indeed.

One of major controversies. It started out with religious apostasy taking the front seat. Article 11, a coalition of NGOs, was formed. People protested. Tried to stop public forums on religious freedoms from taking place. Letters were issued. Muslim NGOs stood out to form their own protests in mass groups. Tensions arose. Tempers flared.

Dr M, our own Old Man, awakened from his silent slumber. Condemnations flowered the papers (or should I say weeded). His cutting remarks brought blushes to the cheeks of even veteran politicians. How can he make such direct statements and criticisms? Malaysians ought to be subtle and answer in slight nuances, not in your face! Prime Minister Badawi was shamed, having to stoop down and say “Hey I am still in control. Whatever makes people say I am not in control?” What a silly statement to have to make. Honestly.

We had the CPPS controversial equity report that flamed the major newspapers in the country. Statistics became the flavour of the day. Numbers and issues flooded the minds of you and me, the local folk, the financial market, the stock folk, the political folk – and yes, even the Ah Pek in the local hawker centre, the Ahmad in the mamak stall and so on. Ministers jumped up and made stupid statements. They thought they had it made when calling the report “sampah” (rubbish) – they slapped themselves on the face when making contradictory remarks and misquoting international bodies. Shame on you, Malaysian representatives! What will our foreign partners think? Then again, perhaps they don’t really care what the foreigners think…

Because anyway, the religious authorities might as well go around apartments and convict foreign Married couples of khalwat, right? Who cares that this is scaring the heck out of your tourists from around the world. If they can be arrested for doing the thing they are legally allowed to do anywhere in the world (and I mean everywhere) then why bother coming to Malaysia? What’s the point of promoting tourism Malaysia, what is the real point of producing “Malaysia, truly Asia” advertisements so fantabulously (that even the airport guy in Europe can sing the jingle for me) if on the converse, certain quarters are making it ridiculously difficult for me to entice my friends to come over for a visit. Hey, come and visit me. I *assure* you that you won’t be caught for holding hands with your legitimate wife/husband in KLCC park. (oh maybe on a bad day, you may get caught. but it’s a 50-50 chance. let’s take the chance and party while we can!)

You have foreign minister mentors calling our society discriminatory. And the discriminated parties in the country shaking their heads wondering what the big fuss was all about when all responded up in arms.

Keris shaking and kissing all resonated well within the party that condemned other races without being served legal papers on sedition. All very well and done with, every other component party being clueless as to how to react.

What a year it has been indeed. Let’s drink a toast to Malaysia, truly confused Malaysia.

Or maybe we can’t really wave our wine glasses too high in the air after all. Perhaps it is not publicly and politically acceptable after all. It might offend others. Perhaps we may get fined RM500.

The beginning of the end. Or which?

Coming back to Malaysia after being in Pakistan has been quite a change. Not so much culturally, but politically.

Pakistan, located in South Asia and much closer to the Middle-East region, is exposed to a much more global political and current affairs scene that is Malaysia. Sensitivities are heightened. Issues loom larger than our petty ones back in KL. They’re about life and death. Islam and its interpretations. Religion and international relations. Militancy and decency.

Air strikes at Bafaur, killing 80 youth in their twenties: controversy arising from whether they were indeed militants in training by a banned Islamic extremist group, or students attending a madrasah. Were they conducted by Americans or the Pakistan government? Is there a difference? Why did the government disallow journalists to come on site the attack?

Political strikeback: suicide bomber in Dargai, killing 43 people. Opposition parties in Balochistan (one of the provinces in Pakistan) refusing to attend meetings. Main opposition party MMA grouping together wanting to oust the President because he is not listening to the sentiment on the ground.

A very pro-American government, hardlined against “terrorists” and taking a military approach in handling them. A slow but steady uprising from the local madrasahs and street peddlars, calling him “Busharraf” instead, stating their religious conviction with full might. They hate Bush and hate America. They kid around with us foreigners, poking each other in the ribs saying the other is a terrorist from Afghanistan. They consider it a big joke.

Indeed, it is a big joke. What a land of controversy and paradox. The liberals and the conservatives; a match for the other. Face to face in a street market stall.

The patriarchal society. Men walking around in their very traditional shawal kamis, it is an official gear as well. They go about their business, in eateries and work duties. The women strangely behind the scenes (yes, the odd one or two high powered lady within government departments; only the elite educated). Where is the woman’s culture? In the shops, buying cloth and fabric for daily wear, weddings and future festivals.

But what a lovely, hospitable and friendly society. I love these people. They live in full colour and vibrancy, embracing many other aspects of life we tend to forget. Donkeys and sheep on Lahori streets. Dust and smog fill the lungs, but what beauty comes out of this calour, this chaos I can imagine is home for them. Music and dance, percussion heavy beat, rhythm waning deep into the night, wee hours of the morning in the distance so I cannot hear myself breathe. Instead, I breathe the air of Pakistan, this full sweet sticky smell deep.

Intellectuals are intellectual. High class is high class. Their flair for writing is incredible, I scan their daily newspapers in awe, especially “Dawn”, the oldest newspaper founded by Mohd Ali Jinnah (Pakistan’s founder as well) – beats any Malaysian newspaper flat I tell you, flat! The level of discourse, writing style, focus upon issues that are important and relevant. Coming back to the NST and Star is just horrible – I crave that broadsheet in the early mornings, proper news one can digest into one’s system before the start of day.

Interpretation of religion differing from our “seperti katak di bawah tempurung” one. Women domestic and home-grown, but hardly conservative in nature – headscarves used as a fashion item, not for religious reasons. More than willing to own dogs in households. The only creeping Islamisation comes probably from the religious schools. And publicly of course, they are an Islamic republic – therefore, no legal sale of alcohol, drugs or women. Publicly of course. Behind the scenes, you’ve got yourself a modern nation, a generation of youth exposed to everything Western you can imagine.

Incredible food and fabric, reds and oranges and goldens and yellows. Greens and meats, dry and thick, saag and soggy, intense and heated. Lethal, beauty and brains. Hard flavours, sharp to the tongue and mind, piercing your tastebuds with tastes so strong that you forget you’ve ever tasted anything else before.

A beautiful country, northern areas surrounded by hills. In wintertime, snow falls and covers the tips of Margalla hills. Mountain ranges up north will be an interesting place to go. Next trip, travel up to Murree, Gilgit, and perhaps sneak a glimpse at the Himalayas. You can travel through Khyber Pass and get through to China from Pakistan as well. The Shangri-La mountain roof is located nearby as well. If one dares, one should visit Kashmir. The old beauty of a Cashmere is now distorted by troops and military protection, but the mountains are still the mountains. Valleys and lush green put together – you have an Asian Switzerland, and pay much less. (Pakistan, I’m doing you a real free tourism advertisement here!) Yes, I would return to this country.

Because it is curious, an interesting heart of Asia that holds India’s oldest Indus civilisation. It is where Babur, the first Moghul king, started his empire. The country is rich with heritage, history, culture, arts, music, dance, natural beauty – and foreign direct investment is flowing in like nobody’s business. Well, of course it is their business. Hotels are sprouting out (Dubai’s 7 star hotel company is going to build one in Islamabad!), brands are spotting the 160 million people population this significant country has. It’s any marketer’s dream destination land, really. Watch out world, here comes Pakistan tagging very closely behind India.

Thanks everyone for making my stay there so incredibly heartwarming! I had loads of fun experiencing the local people, delicious delicious food (I have a long list of things to scout out in Little India, Malaysia, now), dress and culture, political environment, government administration, and most importantly having interesting conversations aap kaisa hei aap ka nam kia hei bogat shukria.

Lahore Lahore Hei! Zindabar Pakistan! Allah Hafiz.

In another interesting conversation tonight, we talked about barriers and their effects upon society. Do they make or break the fabric of society?

The creation of identification labels allows members of a similar group to feel a sense of solidarity through a set of common beliefs, ,values and experiences. For example, people depend upon the shared experience (good or bad) to garner support and comfort. This rule is applied in Alcoholics Anonymous groups, and stretches to religion. We can easily imagine how Christian cell groups, Muslim prayer groups and so on, create an environment of sisterhood and brotherhood – a strong ground for fellowship and community. This, I believe, is important. Not only is it essential in the development of an individual within communities, but it is only natural for birds of a feather to flock together.

However, the flipside is that with such labels (placed artificially or un-) comes the unavoidable barrier. By creating an identity of race, religion, gender, anything at all, a boundary is formed between “me” and “you”. This, as argued during the conversation, was the root cause of division within societies. The very need for people to draw attention to these differences perpetuates animosity. It may not necessarily lead to war and fighting, but it creates a very fertile environment for it to take place.

By building up the unity of one group, you concurrently create room for disunity. So it is up to the leaders of a country to decide, really, what is the most important at stake. Should a leader give up unity within a particular race, in order for the greater good of the country – national unity? Or would a leader be willing to play that card and offer national interests up as a sacrificial lamb instead?

Of course, an alternative solution is to ensure no such barriers are raised, and if those natural ones do take place, it is up to the leadership/government to ensure the barriers are lowered as far as possible. Why make such a big deal out of it?

We aren’t so different after all.

I had an interesting conversation with someone who recently migrated to New Zealand. (no, not another disillusioned Malaysian, but this time a Singaporean)

New Zealanders have apparently become rather Maori-fied. Its natives get the better deal, and as a result the whites consider it an honour being a Maori. One in Three White Kiwis claim they have native blood. This is because tremendous amounts of benefits have been given to the natives of the land, since they took a lot of it away many years ago. As a result, they now bend their backs over to give what they took (rightly or wrongly) away.

They do this because they recognise that the natives were really the original people of New Zealand. They do not need fishing licenses, and get privileges all around.

Their language is used in opening ceremonies and official meetings. Their national anthem is proudly sung in the original native Maori language, even if there are no Maoris present. The whites truly pay respect to the original heritage and culture. And this is something different, not seen anywhere else in the world.

Imagine Malaysia, giving its original people its rightful place: privileges, singing Negaraku in their native language, focusing on their development.

No, the Orang Asli community has lost out on all of these…