An Indian thing

December 9, 2007

The rest of the world knows us from that great tourism tagline, ‘Malaysia, Truly Asia’. So why haven’t we truly embraced it ourselves?

CULTURE CUL DE SAC
By JACQUELINE PEREIRA

IT was a blazing hot day. I passed a truck parked by the roadside, and watched two busy cendol-men doling out ice-cold bowls to sweaty, thirsty people impatiently gathering around the truck. I was tempted, too.

After I had ordered a special with pulut, I watched as one of the two Indian men – the older one with short greying hair and a kindly face – pull up a stool near my table and begin to wash the growing pile of used bowls. His fingers were gnarled and, from the perspiration pouring down his face, you could see that he was well and truly wilting in the heat. Yet he diligently continued with his task of fulfilling his customers’ demands, without a moment’s respite.

Then a thought crossed my mind. Could he have been one of the thousands that gathered at the Hindraf rally, the peaceful demonstration-that-turned-violent? And rocked our nation once again. He was an Indian man, so I could not help but wonder…. I’m certain many Malaysians, after Nov 25, have looked at Indians from that day onwards with the same thought. That Sunday could be named, if one is in the mood for jokes, “The Day They Began to Watch the Indians”.

For years I have ardently avoided stereotypes: whether of gender, race or religion. Though they influence who we are, a person is surely so much more than a mere convenient categorisation. But you know the drill in our country. Every festival, the feel-good advertisements flood the print and TV media. A return to nostalgia is in order to whip up unity, and the three races are filmed living in picture-perfect frames. Every August, a row of pretty Malay, Chinese and Indian girls front magazine covers, putting forward a version of unity that most people consciously don’t feel or think about any more – if they ever did.

Much as the choice is ours to switch to another channel or pick up another magazine, the inescapable official tick boxes (and sometimes unofficial) never fail to remind us once of who we are in terms of race, religion, and gender.

Even after 50 years of nation building, much as we loathe to admit it, this country’s citizens remain divided. All well-meaning efforts to integrate seem to have reached an impasse. From a common binding language to an outfit that best represents our nation, we still can’t agree on a commonality that will bind us as one.

Once a young scion of a revered Italian fashion house, just before the brand’s fashion show in Florence, picked me out of a group of journalists and enquired, ever so politely, if I was from India. When I said I was from Malaysia, he burst into a spirited “Malaysia, Truly Asia”.

In my last column, I shared the journey of a 30-year-old friendship. I did not think it was necessary to mention my friend’s race, but she is not Indian. Browsing through quirky shops in one of Cochin’s atmospheric alleys, a fabric shop proprietor had this to say, when we divulged that we were from Malaysia: “Wow! You two are truly Asia.”

So, we have got a great tagline. Known around the world, and embedded in everyone’s mind – almost – when they think of Malaysia. Whether it is inadvertently or by design, I think it is the most honest appraisal of Malaysia. We are a nation made up of Asians. We are three very distinctive races living in one country. But, in the same way that the British and the Americans are separated by a “common” language, as they say, we are segregated by a “common” culture.

Perhaps what is required is to finally let go of our race and religious hang-ups, and genuinely celebrate our unity in diversity. We are, after all, Truly Asia. The tagline readily trips off the traveller’s tongue, so perhaps we Malaysians should finally embrace it, too.

I have always thought of myself as more Malaysian than Indian. My tastes vary and I readily delve into books, movies and music from around the world. Sure, I like my glittery saris, jasmine flowers and spicy curries. But I have never thought my race was a crucial part of my make-up.

But recent events, even if they were not meant to, have brought something else into focus – what it means to be an Indian in Malaysia (if you’re Indian) and how you see an Indian (if you’re not).

# People, places and perceptions inspire writer Jacqueline Pereira. In this column, she rummages through cultural differences and revels in discovering similarities.

Source: http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/
2007/12/9/lifefocus/19694609&sec=lifefocus