by Dr. Lim Teck Ghee
CPI Asia
With their front page headlines highlighting developments on the massive Sime loss, readers of the country’s two main English papers may not have noticed the news report of the speech by Raja Zarith Sofiah Sultan Idris Shah, the consort of the Sultan of Johor, which was buried in the inner pages.
The occasion of the speech was a conference on ‘Voices of Peace, Conscience and Reason’ held on Nov 16 in Kuala Lumpur. The prime mover of the meeting in which I participated as a panelist was PCORE, a group that is representative of Malaysians who embrace and share the notion of peace as the way forward to achieve unity and integration.
Credit must go to the PCORE leadership for bringing together a diverse mix of young and older people from different backgrounds to voice their frank concerns on current issues and developments in the country.
For me the real star of the conference was Raja Zarith Sofiah. Readers who missed the news item may be interested in the excerpt from the news report of her speech.
“In her keynote address at the Voices of Peace, Conscience and Reason conference, she described the use of ‘pendatang’ to describe non-Bumiputeras as “hurtful and ignorant”, and that more discussions were needed to address and resolve the gulf between ethnic and religious communities.
“Rather than simplify and shy away from sensitive issues, we should fight destructive rhetoric with constructive dialogue. It is shameful when apparently educated and mature individuals use such terms or suggest fellow Malaysians go back to where they came from.
Describing her own ancestral background as a mix between Sumatran and Peranakan Chinese, she said it was important to recognise the diversity of Malaysian society, brought about by centuries of interracial and interfaith marriages and communication.” (New Straits Times, Nov 17, 2010)
This open and proud acknowledgment of her mixed ancestral background is quite unprecedented. It puts to shame the way in which many of our leaders who have a similar mixed ancestry either try to hide or suppress the inconvenient truth, or engage in flaunting or agitating a mono-ethnic or religious stance as if this has been part of their, and the country’s DNA from time immemorial.
Raja Zarith Sofiah’s speech was much more than what was reported in the newspapers. It also covered her personal experience and thinking on religions and the importance for Muslims to learn about other cultures and religions and their heritage.
She spoke from the heart, simply and without the need for any convoluted intellectual argument or high sounding clichés to drive home the importance of cherishing and protecting the country that belongs to all of us — highly or lowly born; brown, yellow or black; and worshipping one, many or no god.
eaders may not be aware of the wide ranging accomplishments and interests of Raja Zarith Sofiah. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and Master’s Degree from Oxford University (her BA is in Chinese Studies). Besides Malay and English, she is able to communicate in Mandarin, Italian and French. She is a patron of the arts, an artist and author who has written children’s books including Puteri Gunung Ledang. She is also the columnist of The Star’s ‘Mind Matters’ column, and let out that her articles are being put together in book form soon.
Although I am a republican at heart, logic tells me that we may need the type of monarchy she personifies more than ever to hold the country together and to remind us of our common humanity. With her and other royalty who care for the country in the way she does, there is greater hope that the nation can overcome the racial and religious demons that torment us.
Finally, I should point out that I was privileged to sit at her table where I and others — during the lunch chit-chat on topics ranging from how the handphone and Skype have transformed our lives to the inconvenience of sleep apnea – learnt that she has sleepless nights thinking about the predicament of our country and our people, and wondering how best she can be of service. The insomnia that troubles her, I am sure, also afflicts all of us concerned about the way ahead for the country.
Rather than simplify and shy away from sensitive issues, we should fight destructive rhetoric with constructive dialogue. It is shameful when apparently educated and mature individuals use such terms or suggest fellow Malaysians go back to where they came from. by Raja Zarith
If only the abovesaid educated and mature individuals(or ignorant ones) try their best to
set the good examples or bring about the best of malaysian to get moving forward then the”Best World Awards”would be reserved n deserved to be theirs.Unfortunately this will never happen in bolehland for sure.Touch the wood,God bless us.
We need more utterances from such leaders in the country. The mind-set of many has been distorted by sloganeering designed for self-interests that they would speak even against their ancestors. The human race, after million of years cannot be pure anymore. We forget that the notion of nationhood is a recent creation by the West, hence with a boundary drawn across the bare land, neighbours become strangers.
We can only hope that such enlightened mind will continue to voice out her concern on the path some of those people is taking; a path which can only end in Zimbabwe!
Raja Zarith Sofiah, thank you.
At least we know and are reassured that there is more than one type of Oxford product. You represent the perfumed and thinking type.
The other one who is UMNO Youth Chief – well, we know what type he is and would rather not to resort to calling him names. That would be counter-productive. Besides, I may let out one expletive too many and live to regret it.
Suffice to say that Oxford represents intellectual honesty and not prostitution of the mind for some political expediency or for filthy lucre.
Amen.
To reach the caliber of Raja Zarith Sofiah, one needs to be first a Malay. After that one needs to be properly educated most likely overseas where racial apartheid does not exist and men are all treated equal. Then one has to escape the BTN indoctrination on Malay supremacy. In the end you need a certain amount of IQ and flair in writing. I do not think there are many or will be many Malays who can ever reach this stage. That is why the county is very much doomed and especially so when that mamak is alive because his mission in life is to see that this does not happen and to prove that he can just one man destroy the whole nation. He has almost put Malaysia on a non reversible course of destruction. How many Malays know it. I doubt many.
Ok let talk about sensitive issues now. But first, some very very very basic rules. Patriotism. Only umnoputras can talk about. Because only umnoputras are patriotic. Islam. Out of bounds. You see Islam jenis umno is supreme to all other religions. NEP and umnoputras’ ketuanan. Its, err, “No No”. Dont even dream of it in your sleep. And whatever talked about, umno has the sole right to draw the final conclusion.
OK. Got it? Now talk.
Hey. I say talk.
Huh? WTK! No talk? Next time dont say I didnt allow freedom to speak.
Celaka punya orang semua ni.
Good article, Teck Ghee.
However, it is also saddening to realize that such an article is even necessary. In most countries, what she said would be motherhood statements that will not even merit reporting, let alone he hailed as extraordinary.
Malaysia, truly extraordinary.
///This open and proud acknowledgment of her mixed ancestral background is quite unprecedented. It puts to shame the way in which many of our leaders who have a similar mixed ancestry either try to hide or suppress the inconvenient truth, or engage in flaunting or agitating a mono-ethnic or religious stance as if this has been part of their, and the country’s DNA from time immemorial.///– Lim Teck Ghee
Mamakthir deeds immediately come to mind.
Oh peranakan chinese blood flowing in her. So wot according to umno that would make her partly sepet? And and and oh – more exciting. That means umno would say she is also partly a decendant of some prostitute? Wow. She is one of us man. Definitely one of us. Err so that means what she said and all her views carry no weight at all in this umnoputras controlled country.
Exactly right #7 dagen.
That’s why over 50 years,non-malays have been regarded or treated like lat loh.Umno n pirate gangs have to depend on race n religion rhetorics to enrich themself.The lowest dignity of humankind on earth.
Throughout Malaysia history, there have always been more enlightened Malays that have resisted calls by the ultras for self-destructive behaviour, Onn Bin Jaffar, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Razaleigh, etc.. But as years go by, these enlightened groups keeps getting sidelined more and more although they have not been marginalized. Essentially Malay politics/philosophy have vacillated between enligtenment and self-destructive behaviour as they struggle with modernity and now globalization.
The cross-roads now stand where self-destructive behavior threaten to take over and marginalize the more englihthened group due to insecurities. Such struggles are not uncommon in history and many countries. Tts also the pattern that the self-destructive behaviour tend to create history rather than the enlightened ones even in Western countries and past civilization.
The normal thing would be for such people such as the consort to be marginalized. Its actually the extraordinary she would not be.
With the racist UMNO leaders, we have been robbed for the past 40 over years. People’s power is the only way to kick them out.