Unity the recipe for Malaysia's success

PETALING JAYA: This Malaysia Day, do not let our differences divide us - instead, let our love for the country unite us. 

That is the message of a video by bakery owner Chan Su Yin, who stumbled upon the idea during a conversation on the country’s seeming state of disunity. 

“Yin’s Sourdough Bakery is a mini Malaysia - the kitchen consists of people from different backgrounds, languages, religions and races. 

“We work together quite harmoniously, so I thought - why not come up with a clip?” said the baker to The Star Online. 

The video takes the viewer through the painstaking process of preparing fresh sourdough bread from scratch every day, and was filmed on location at Pesara Claimant in George Town, Penang by Kampung Studio.

Chan was also inspired by the #AnakAnakMalaysia campaign by property developer Eco World Development Group and The Star, which sought to celebrate the spirit of unity and 58 years of Independence. 

“Even though Malaysia is made up of different races, we thought that we should use it because we are Malaysians first,” she added. 

Thus, the hashtag is prominently featured in the video, which took two weekends to film. 

It explains how a chaotic kitchen comes together in harmony to produce good results.

With modern Malaysia being such a mix of different races, religions and backgrounds, Chan believes it is similar to said “chaotic kitchen”. 

“It’s sad that some misuse our diversity to create suspicion among ourselves. We should focus on working together.

“Our small kitchen - which is staffed by a senior citizen, quite a number of bumiputera, and a single mum - has a common goal. To produce good, natural sourdough bread,” she said of her all-Malaysian workforce. 

“So in this country, we can all be doing things in our way, but we shouldn’t be suspicious of one another if all the different little tasks are done in harmony for the love of our country,” Chan added. 

For instance, conversations in English, Mandarin, Dusun, Bahasa Melayu and Hokkien ring throughout the kitchen, with local customers stopping by to chat in Hakka. 

Yet everybody gets along, thanks to their passion for quality baked goods. 

‘We never question each other’s intentions, because we trust each other. And I think it should be the same thing for our country,” Chan concluded.