THE unity among all the races in Malaysia created the strength and energy that gave us our independence more than sixty years ago, and it was based on this unity that we developed thenceforth. Nevertheless, history has taught us that the disintegration of unity would create unrest and chaos in a multicultural and multiracial country like ours.
As such, it is indeed seen as relevant for our prime minister to push forward the “Keluarga Malaysia” or “Malaysian Family” slogan to bring together all Malaysians, irrespective of their ethnicity, to work together towards nation-building.
However, the concern here is whether this slogan will be just another one of the many that have been loudly introduced, only to slowly but surely suffer a silent death.
After over six decades of independence, we cannot ignore the fact that one of our stumbling blocks seems to be in sustaining the many visions, missions and programmes introduced in the name of unity and nation-building.
Penang Hindu Association (PHA) welcomes the introduction of the “Keluarga Malaysia” concept, but worries about its sustainability with the passing of time.
Taking this concern into consideration, PHA is proposing the setting up of a “unity helpdesk” at all the elected YBs’ (state assemblymen and MPs) community centres to be manned by officers of different races.
These officers can be conversant in their mother tongues in order to be of assistance to people who come to seek help but are illiterate and can only converse in their own mother tongue.
The unity helpdesk officers can also help to organise and monitor unity-related programmes introduced by the government to ensure that the programmes reach the people on a fair basis without any racial discrimination.
This proposal is based on PHA’s observation that at some of the YBs’ offices, there are no multiracial staff to help people who cannot read, write and communicate in Bahasa Malaysia.
Those seeking help would end up not getting their issues across clearly and would leave the centre disgruntled. Due to this communication breakdown, many miss out on the opportunity to gain from the government’s programmes to help the needy.
This proposal should also be considered by multiracial political parties, which should begin setting up the unity helpdesks at the offices of their respective YBs, manned by staff of all races to ensure that government-initiated help reaches the electorate without any fear or favour.
Race-based discrimination still prevalent
PHA is hoping that this proposal will be given serious thought, as several complaints have been received about people being turned away at elected representative offices based on the following reasons:
1. Quota for a particular race has already been met for school uniform aid, laptop aid, and medical-based aid like wheelchairs, medical beds, first-aid kits, medicines as well as milk powder. Some of the people seeking help were told to go to other YBs’ offices where they can seek assistance from the officers of their own race.
2. Applications for PPR (People’s Housing Project) flats to the National Housing Department seem to take a waiting period of between five and 10 years. The YB’s responsibility seems to stop short at just providing a letter of support for an application, without any follow-up to check on the status or on delays with the housing department.
The same applies for applications for financial aid to the Social Welfare Department. The unity helpdesk would thus provide an avenue for the electorate to bring up such issues to seek further assistance with their elected representatives.
We should accept the fact that unity is important for the advancement of our nation. However, there is still much to be considered. Even today, when you look at advertisements for houses or rooms for rent, elements of racial bias are subtly or openly obvious.
The recent issue of race-based discrimination against a job applicant at a retail outlet may just be the tip of the iceberg. These real examples show that racial discrimination is still very much present in our country, despite the many slogans and unity-based videos shown only during festive seasons.
Voters not fooled anymore by politicians’ gimmicks
People are no longer gullible to YB walkabouts and interactions with various races whenever an election or a by-election is near. To many, these are merely gimmicks, and all the pomp and fanfare soon fade into a divided reality as time passes.
To sum up, our unity in diversity is a precious gem which our nation can be proud of to showcase to the world. PHA reiterates that one way to achieve this is by setting up the proposed unity helpdesk at all YB offices to assist the electorate of different ethnic backgrounds seeking help.
The unity helpdesk team can also organise unity-based programmes such as forums and talks at the YBs’ offices, schools, offices, hospitals and at places of worship in and around the YBs’ constituencies on a regular basis, and monitor the programmes throughout the year with the hope that people would start talking more about unity rather than coming out with racist statements.
To this end, elected representatives must be serious with the unity helpdesk proposal and must be willing to move the nation away as much as possible from race and religious discrimination.
As the old Malay adage says, “Bersatu teguh, bercerai roboh” (united we stand firm, divided we collapse). God bless our nation. – The Vibes, April 14, 2022
P. Murugiah is president of the Penang Hindu Association, an NGO actively involved in welfare aid
