This year I am away from home on Malaysia's 69th Independence Day celebrations. Malaysia has grown and advanced exponentially, and yet social prejudice remains an issue. Have we done enough for the population to disregard someone's ethnicity, race, and religion and consider them on the same level as everyone else? There is no superior race or religion over another. Men have always discriminated in this regard. We are all bound by humanity's law and order, and if we fail to see that, we fail as humans and attract indifference and hatred.
There seems to be a stark lack of tolerance and understanding among our own citizens. Are our children taught to accept differences in others? It is important to know that no race can live in harmony without the other. We need each other to lift up a country like Malaysia, with its diversity and multicultural and racial ratio. We need to be role models, with acceptance and diversity playing a crucial role in moulding our world to be a better place for future generations.
This used to be a country for all. Is it still considered a country of peace and understanding? People condone injustices, which is why there are wars everywhere. We need to teach our children to understand the value of accepting the diversity that exists in our country in the first place, before we think of building better communities. Otherwise, it will all be in vain when our own teachers and leaders fail to embrace differences and practice them, and play lip service just to avoid the slurs and racial bias that exist on the sly. It is a sad situation for our children to undergo when they are criticised or discriminated for being different. We have to first accept that the world belongs to each of us, and that it is made up of differences.
Home is where the heart is, and my home is Malaysia.
Happy Independence Day, Malaysia.
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