By Ranjit Singh
THE furore over Chinese New Year decorations put up in a school in Puchong, Selangor, early this week clearly shows that racial tolerance in the country is at its lowest ebb.
Earlier this week, Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia (Putra) vice-president Mohd Khairul Azam Abdul Aziz threatened legal action against the school for supposedly having “excessive Chinese New Year decorations”, which he said had upset several Muslim parents.
Among other things, Khairul claimed that the school was trying to propagate non-Islamic religious tenets among the Muslim students in the school.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), in a response to the incident, said the school in Puchong which had put up decorations for the upcoming Chinese New Year had in no way caused religious propagation.
What is worrying about the whole saga is the lack of religious empathy among some segments of Malaysians. The religious and cultural tolerance which has been the edifice of this nation has come under siege from narrow thinking.
First of all, Chinese New Year is not a religious celebration and how does putting up celebratory décorations pose any threat to the sanctity of any religion?
We need to collectively nip this dangerous thinking in the bud or we would fail as a diverse and multi-religious society. Politicians who have been playing the racial card to elicit support have to realise that their actions are a serious threat to the social fabric of the country.
Schools are the right place to educate the young on our diverse religions and culture and this whole episode has demonstrated that even the schools are not spared from racist and narrow thinking. This threatens the very essence of a multi-religious Malaysia.
Students need to learn about the various religions in the country and any move to quell this should be opposed fiercely. We need to build bridges to connect the races in the country rather than encourage racist overtures in our actions.
Taking a cue from this debacle, it is high time politicians in office do more to build a strong cohesive society. Of late, racial polemic has been at an all-time high and if we are not careful, this could develop into a dangerous situation which may lead to unrest.
We need to stop looking at everything from a religious and racial perspective and emphasise that we are one race, Malaysians first. If we inculcate such thinking, the future will be extremely bright for us as a nation.
On the other hand, if we go down the path of extreme religious and racial sensitivities, we would be seriously threatening the trust which has been built among the races for a long time.
Politicians from both sides of the divide must be cognisant of the fact that they play a pivotal role in sowing seeds of trust and mutual respect among the races. There is no place for divisive thinking in a united and tolerant Malaysia. – Jan 9, 2020
