Balancing Racial Harmony on UKEC's 8th Malaysian Student Leaders Summit

I started off as a cheerful young boy receiving primary school education at a Chinese vernacular school in East Malaysia. At the age of 13, I attended public school. Subsequently, I was given a choice to either pursue form six in a public school or A-levels in a private institution, and I opted for the latter. I completed my A-levels, and here I am, in West Malaysia, pursuing my first degree in a private institution.

I consider myself a privileged Malaysian to be exposed to a variety of education system, both in East and west Malaysia. Spare me a few minutes, to share what I have I have been exposed to these years.

Coming from an English speaking family, I was fortunate to have the importance of English instilled in me at a very young age. It was also smooth sailing throughout my primary school days as I had to only deal with people “my type”. So it was pretty much an enclosed circle, where we had to learn Chinese together, and consequently, it became our medium of communication. It is instinctive, or part of my roots I would say.

What I did not realize, is something I experienced during the transition period between a Chinese vernacular school and a public school. Last I recalled, it was pretty tough. It was the first time in my life I am exposed to people “not my type”. Spare me the criticisms before I continue. What I mean by “not my type”, is the Malays and other indigenous people of Sabah, to be precise the Kadazan Dusun Murut community. They do not speak Chinese and very few of them speak fluent English. To make things worse, even the food we eat and the way we eat is different! I was not a fan of spicy food back then, and seeing people eat with hands, was something very strange to me. They say people are scared of things they do not know, and it really applies to situations like this. I felt that life was difficult because most my schoolmates are “not my type”.

But as time went on, I began having a taste bud for spicy food and got used to seeing my fellow classmates eat with hands. I even started conversing in Malay more frequently. This habit was brought back home. I remember the weird look my “kakak” gave me when I asked her to cook things like “rendang” and “ayam masak merah”. Even my mother did, when I started speaking Malay to her.

Thinking back, I had a great time throughout my secondary school days. I played football together and skipped classes togetherwith people “not my type”. At times, we would even be reprimanded together after being caught “escaping” school. I remember climbing over the fences of our school gate and even running as fast as we can to avoid being caught. We were “bad boys” back then in an all-boys school, or rather “naughty boys” feeling on top of the world every time we did something against the rules.

Hey, we are not that different after all. I soon realized that despite coming from different backgrounds and classes in society, we are similar to each other. This was something I enjoyed throughout my primary and secondary school days. All in all, a big chunk of the fun part, were with people “not my type”.

Then came another transition period when I enrolled into a private institution for the first time. People around me conversed either in English or Chinese. It was a like a long gone memory being recalled and revived. Strangely this time, I did not feel comfortable. I could sense the prejudicial sentiments of some people “my type”, feeling they were a class above others, both financially and intellectually. It is certainly not pleasant to hear people “not my type” being generalized as racists or lazy people. I have spent 5 years with them, and all I have, are good memories. Till today, I maintain a good relationship with these people who are “not my type”. 

Here I am today, also in a private institute, but in West Malaysia instead of East Malaysia. It is the same, probably worse. Racism is not something done behind the scenes; it is on the front page of mainstream media made by public figures. Tales of temples, places of worship, premises and outlets being raided without proper justifications was something I have never heard of in the East. I have to admit I experienced a culture shock. The unthinkable efforts being made to drive the wedge between races, and brickbats swung to widen the gaps between Malaysians. I was given an impression, that West Malaysia is a battlefield. It was tougher than ever, and I needed three months to adapt.

What happened to the Malaysia I read on my history text books in public school? “Malaysia, truly Asia” feels nothing more than a slogan on giant billboards. It is not something I can truly feel from my heart. Back in the East when Europeans or foreigners tell me how multiethnic societies cohabit together without issues, I would brim with a smile. Unfortunately, I have yet to hear any of such comments here.

The joke of Sabahans living on trees is unheard of, but it was pretty disappointing also, to realize that there are in fact people in KL who did not know Kota Kinabalu is in Sabah. I did not take it as an insult, instead I found it amusing. Back in Sabah, there were not less than five occasions where I encountered questions like “Adrian study mana nanti?”, and I would tell them “KL”. You would not imagine the expression on their faces. To these villagers, KL is akin to a total different country, a class above everywhere else in Malaysia because of the infrastructure and intelligence of its people. Hence, it felt like an oxymoronic situation, where people who were thought of as “extra intelligent” do not in fact know the Malaysian map!

I do not hold grudges against these people. In fact, for a start, the blame could not be placed entirely on them. Instead, I felt it was the administration’s ignorance that resulted in such ignorance. Misleading history text books, one sided news and lopsided reporting all play a crucial part. Needless I add, all these play a role in the divisive Malaysia we are in today.

To make matters worse, the East Malaysian citizens are often the ones overlooked. Despite the state’s wealthy resources, Sabah remains the poorest state in Malaysia up to 2013. Likewise in Sarawak, despite having vast resources, we have yet to see it developing proportionally.

We have to admit, Malaysia is divided in many ways. Despite the racial tolerance Sabahans and Sarawakians enjoy, it comes at a price- the continued erosion of the natural resources and rights. The Peninsular on the other hand, enjoys vast development, but it loses out in terms of racial tolerance. Admit it, we are divided.

On the bright side however, we can see hope. There is a glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel. Politicians who were racists were rejected by electorates. These changes need time. While we admire the tolerance and development both infrastructure wise and intellectually of countries like the United States or United Kingdom, we have to accept that they have been independent long before Malaysia did. Society has to go through trials and turbulences to reach a certain level of maturity. But do not be discouraged. Every participant joining the coming Malaysian Student Leaders Summit has a burning desire to steer the nation to greater heights. We can learn from the past to make Malaysia a better place.