FOOD ~ A PASSAGE TO UNITY

Forging Unity 'Through The Stomach'

Last update: 21/06/2019

By Ravindran Raman Kutty

KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama) -- During the recent Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations, I visited five open houses. The meals I had at the homes of my former boss and a friend were simply delicious.

After eating, we had our usual discussion on Malaysia and 'the way forward'.

We spoke about our economy, corruption issues and the new Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner. I played the devil’s advocate by seeking answers, rather than merely making assumptions or agreeing with the critics. The others who joined our discussion were a banker, an industrialist, an ustaz and a senior foreign audit partner.

Everyone agreed that the current government needs more time to make an impact. There was also a request that the current leaders must no longer dwell on the bad practices of the previous government.

The common consensus was that the B40 group's interests must be looked into. The B40 group is critical and they comprise a sizeable portion of the voters, so their grievances and concerns such as the escalating prices of food and cost of living, especially in the urban areas, must be looked into.

The banker was quick to add that although there is a glut of high-rise flats in the cities, it is not going to address the B40’s needs.

Latheefa Koya’s appointment was also a hot issue but everyone seems to be pretty comfortable with her. The new MACC chief was a former PJ councillor and she is also a force to be reckoned in the legal fraternity and a no-nonsense person.

The audit partner said Latheefa may be a woman of substance but how much of the MACC's workings and culture does she know?

The discussion became hotter when we started talking about national unity and how we can achieve more. The recent breaking of fast controversy in Johor, which raised the ire of the Johor royalty, was one of our hot topics of discussion. Everyone felt that the Johor royalty was ill-advised on this matter.

The industrialist said religion cannot be seen in the brand context. If religions are seen as a Cola, Reebok or Porsche, then we will never be able to think level-headedly.

The commercial brands are here for a reason, namely profit. Religions are here for humanity purposes. If we mix profit and humanity, then we will face a disaster.

Religions are not a brand for us to compare. We should never pitch one against another in the name of superiority. Every religion is here for a purpose. Every religion teaches its followers goodness and greatness. No one should underplay or negate another in the name of religion.

The ustaz, meanwhile, said there are too many 'pondok' religious schools and religious teachers who, according to him, were untrained. He urged the Ministry of Education to institute standard modules for all religious schools and bring them under its ambit to prevent the indoctrination of deviationist teachings. 

The banker said although a strong unity culture is embedded in the minds of most Malaysians, the same however cannot be said of the millennials, who are a critical stakeholder. He was quick to question the role of the media and politicians in promoting national unity.

To promote unity, Malaysians must talk about their diversity rather than adversity. The mainstream media must publish more articles on how we Malaysians work together, eat together and play together to win the Thomas Cup and medals at international sporting events.

We must promote our achievements continuously rather than propound the nonsense spewed by certain politicians. The media must highlight the unsung heroes among us who do so much, and not those politicians who are only seen or heard during elections.

The audit partner proposed that during national festivals, such as Hari Raya, Chinese New Year, Gawai and Deepavali, companies be given tax exemptions when they promote unity, for example through their advertisements.

This will encourage more private companies to play a greater role in national unity. The National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas) must also set an agenda for all film producers to make movies with national unity as the theme, similar to the films made by the late Tan Sri P Ramlee. One such exceptional movie is 'Gerimis'.

Our host -- my former boss -- then lamented that Malaysian food never gets good ratings globally although we have tasty food items. He said we must promote all types of Malaysian food irrespective of whether it is a Malay, Chinese or Indian dish.

It is iconic dishes like 'curry laksa', 'mi rebus' and 'char kway teow' that can make Malaysians congregate at food outlets. Like the saying, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, the best way to forge unity among Malaysians is also through the stomach!

National Unity is a very intricate yet simple subject, added the ustaz. Likening it to a man courting a woman, he said if the man succeeds in marrying her, then he has achieved unity.

We must all follow this simple rule of our ustaz and promote unity more aggressively and cohesively without paying attention to our religious and political beliefs. Politicians, added the ustaz, thrive on playing the race and religious cards for their gain and at our loss.

As Malaysians who are serious about our nation’s well-being, we must follow the cardinal rule of loving our neighbour irrespective of his/her race. If we begin at home, our children will follow too.

The Department of National Unity and Integration has a greater role to play too, added the banker. They must not only be heard but must also be seen promoting national unity. The department try must work closely with the Ministry of Education and religious institutions in coming up with programmes to bring Malaysians together.

The illustration materials in the English, Mathematics, Bahasa Melayu and History textbooks must be revisited to illustrate a society that reciprocates and preaches unity. I say illustrations because many textbooks treat Indians as gangsters and Chinese as 'Ah Longs', which is extremely derogative in nature.

All in all, the Hari Raya celebrations did not only add a few kilogrammes to my weight but also opened my views and thoughts on national unity. There is no unity if we argue to win a discussion. We all can differ in our thoughts but we can still express our views in a professional yet balanced way to build our nation.

(The views expressed in this commentary are the writer's own.)

Edited by Rema Nambiar