Forging neighbourly bonds (Poll Inside)

PETALING JAYA: There is that kind woman next door who brings you home-cooked soup, but there is also that neighbour from your nightmares.

Almost everybody has a story to share about the people living next door.

Going by a sprawling survey of 14.8 million people in Malaysia by the Statistics Department (DOSM), it appears that about 93% of these respondents would engage with their neighbours.

But 958,908 of them confessed that they never had any face-to-face interaction with them. About six million said they have daily interactions.

So, are you a good neighbour?

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“Say you cooked something extra today. Or, you bought extra durians. Why not share with your neighbours? Or invite them to your child’s birthday party,” said community activist V. Kabilan.

“Also, get their phone numbers in case of emergency.

“Look after their houses when they are away on a holiday or get their advice on things that they know about to spark a conversation.

“These are very simple things to do and yet, it would help strengthen relations with your neighbours.”

The government, he said, should create more activities that encourage the public to interact with each other.

“Even simple activities like dengue awareness programmes at the community level will bring people together.

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“Others, like gotong-royong, are good too,” he said when contacted yesterday.

Findings of DOSM’s MyCensus 2020: Population Well-being (Social Relations), which were released two months ago, found strong family and community values continue to prevail.

The survey found that Sarawak, Sabah and Perak topped the list with the highest interaction with neighbours. Others such as Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Penang recorded lower percentages.

Universiti Malaya’s Department of Socioculture lecturer Prof Dr Awang Azman Awang Pawi said that all Malaysians could learn from Sarawak and Sabah on strengthening relations with neighbours.

Awang Azman, who is part of a study on Sabah and Sarawak’s Social Cohesion Model Development by the National Unity Ministry where he heads the Sarawak cluster, said the people of Borneo are instilled with the “love thy neighbour” spirit from an early age.

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“In Sarawak, for example, the Iban community is the largest group there but they only comprise 33%.

“They make the effort to get to know those from other ethnic groups, which is why the concept of social cohesion is blended in them,” he said.

However, Awang Azman pointed out that it is unfair to label city dwellers as unfriendly, as there are issues in urban areas that cannot be dismissed.

“Living in a big city means heavier traffic. It also means people from different states moving far away from their hometowns and renting instead of having a permanent address.

“When we rent, we could easily move to a new place and we don’t have enough time to create happy memories with our neighbours.”

Awang Azman suggested that Malaysians fully utilise social media platforms to enhance their interactions with neighbours and conduct community programmes.

“We could revive the spirit of harmony among neighbours through social media.

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“Create WhatsApp groups to update each other and organise programmes that can bring us together.

“Our neighbours are important because they are the closest to us. When we know each other, there will be less prejudice and more trust.

“It will also unite the society, especially in addressing social issues such as crimes.

“Don’t forget that having good relations with neighbours is one of the sources of happiness because we will feel much safer living in our houses knowing there are neighbours we can depend on,” he added.

Alliance for a Safe Community chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said stronger neighbourhood relations would only start when people begin making efforts.

“Enhancing interaction with neighbours is good for national harmony. A simple chat or a joke with each other is good,” he said.

At the end of the day, he said everyone has to make the effort to build such social interactions.