SAY SOMETHING NICE CAMPAIGN : Why it's kewwl to be Malaysians Reason #2

We have the chance to be eclectic.

Ever wonder how it would be like being born and raised in a country where from the day you wake up to braise the dawn till the day you say good night to the only people you come to contact with who have the same look, dress the same way, cook and eat the same food, sing the same kind of songs? I don’t know about you, but THAT sounds boring to me. It would probably be living in The Matrix just minus the handsome Keanu Reeves. Maybe that was what our government had in mind when they came up with the tag line “Endless Possibilities”. To be honest, if I may be allowed to digress a little, I had a little panic attack with the term “Endless Possibilities” when my ears were for the first time feasted upon them; because judging from some of the scandals involving some of our politicians in the past, the word “Endless Possibilities” could well mean…..well…endless possibilities, but FOR Whom? That is an Endless Possibilities for the Rakyat to worry. Still..let's give them the benefit of the doubt now shall we.

Back on track. I think Malaysians have come a long way stepping out from our stereotype beings. I recall those days when I hear people grumbling, “Ish..Cina ni, rambut jer yang lurus” (“With Chinese, only their hair is straight”) and I doubt they meant straight in a heterosexual sense of it. Then, there’s “Melayu layu” and “India suka mabuk”.

Well, today, we have all the bad and the good traits in a Muhibbah proportion. We have Melayu, India, Cina suka mabuk together gether, which is one form of Muhibbah.  Don't get me wrong, I don't mean this in a bad way.  History had proven over and over again, that it was the sober ones who screwed the world up. I don't recall any world war started during the Happy Hour.  Although I must say I am a little bewildered with drunk Malays who can drink like a fish but stay away from pork like it's the plague. Or lately, we have our Chinese brothers joining us in the world of crime. One has to wonder, how bad is the economy when a person with the progressive China-man gene starts to turn to robbery. And since this is a "Say Something Nice Campaign", I will give concession to a Muhibbah Organized Crime by not commenting on what could be a Muhibbah form of alleged Organized Crime. So okay, not all Malays learn to make money like the Chinese by joining UM...politics.

Imagine, from the day we were born, we were/are exposed to so many cultures. All one has to do is to pick and choose what one wants to keep as his/her virtues. Maybe what we see in society today, good or bad is the fusion of the choices we pick from those virtues. Being eclectic is one of the virtues that serve as a stepping stone towards an evolution of mankind, and not in retrograde. Even the Pak Lebais recognizes this form of progress.  Although they like to insist on going backwards in many issues especially when it comes to women matters, still, they chose to drive the car instead of riding the camel to what they claim as "work".

If our forefathers the cave men chose to only stay in the cave and wear those hideous fur wrappings they call the closet, we would not be watching reality TV full of designers in the making for instance. (hmm...on second thoughts, maybe they should have stayed in the caves). Then again, some of the people of "civilization", some women may still be stuck with the Cave woman closet.  To women's defense, being the more superior being, although silently, we would attribute to the skimpy dressing to preparing for global warming. Or worst, if humans do not have the urge towards trying something new or progressing, we would all be talking Shakespeare English and I would not even bother writing these articles if so.

While it's a norm to want to preserve our culture and heritage, being eclectic is another type of culture that is worth giving some importance to. And where better to start than to be exposed to many cultures, religion etc, in someplace like Malaysia...