EVEN before campaigning began for what is expected to be heated state elections this month, a senior politician delivered a venomous narrative of a broken Malaysia on a platform provided by a political party that once was his sworn enemy.
When Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad recited that tired old story of Malaysia belonging to one race, and that other races are just “guests”, or pendatang, it hurt me to the core.
I am a Malay and a Muslim but I do not support this view at all.
In Islam it is decreed that God will reward those who help others regardless of race or faith, and those who honour commitments as well as respect each other.
Malaysia was formed together with Sabah and Sarawak.
The Tanah Melayu narrative of 1957 gave way to the new nation of Malaysia in 1963.
By now we should be moving full speed ahead in accepting each other’s cultures and faiths, and not be dwelling on a historical narrative that is irrelevant and destructive.
But, alas, politics is about winning votes and the easiest way to win votes is to make enemies among our citizen-voters.
Suddenly we are thrust back to the Merdeka years where race was a point of division and not strength.
In the midst of dealing with the pain of that speech, a letter written by a child came to my attention.
A 12-year-old pupil in a private international school in Shah Alam had written: “Ms Khadija, you are a great teacher and definitely one of my favourite teachers.
“You are always kind to us no matter how noisy the class gets.
“I promise one day I will TRY to excel and get As in BM.
“The entire class always looks forward to your classes. I wish you have an Early Happy Birthday!”
At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, my daughter Khadija was employed at another international school that closed down.
A blessing occurred when a new school started by a Malaysian hired her as she was asking to have practical training observation to complete her postgraduate diploma in teaching.
Before that she had tried many ways to make ends meet and had started an online class teaching Bahasa Malaysia, although her favourite subject is Mathematics.
Khadija, fourth of my five children, turned 29 yesterday, and is in her fourth year as a wife.
When that international school hired her it was, naturally, a great relief from the loss of employment during the pandemic.
The owner of the school is a strong supporter of my ideas and thoughts on nation-building.
At the school, there are more non-Malays than Malays, and Khadija is one of very few Malay teachers.
All of her online students and her pupils in the school hardly have any contact with Malay friends or families. This is, to me, a national tragedy.
The letter that my daughter showed me was written by a non-Malay child addressing a Malay teacher.
I believe it is a result of how Khadija treats all her students.
And I hope that in turn is a reflection of how my wife and I raised our five children to understand that it is ignorant to discriminate against people based on race, faith, or lifestyle.
I did this as a Muslim who understood the Prophet Muhammad when He advised Muslims to refrain from saying bad things about the fallen enemies of Islam for fear that their families might be hurt and would despise Islam.
Did Dr Mahathir miss this lesson? And what of the party that hosted him, does its leadership know this teaching?
I would not have expected such words from a former prime minister who had held the reins the longest.
The child’s letter is a letter of innocence. The child knows nothing of the toxicity of identity politics or even of the wisdom of sages about respecting others.
The child is merely responding naturally to the kindness and care that was shown in a classroom. It does not take a university education or many years of studying scriptures to understand that kindness begets kindness.
Isn’t it obvious now that our education system turns us against one another?
The over-emphasis on learning only “practical” subjects that will garner a high-paying salary has negated any natural affinity to love, empathise with, and respect all of humanity.
The letter reminds us that it is the acts of kindness, care, and the instinct to share our cultures, thoughts, and dreams that are the cornerstone of true education, not aiming for 10 As in an exam.
You would think that a senior politician who led a country would know that, but obviously he and many others like him believe that sowing mistrust and suspicious doubts about each other is the way ahead.
How do we regain the innocence and care of a child that is so evident in that letter?
Prof Dr Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi is Professor of Architecture at the Tan Sri Omar Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Studies at UCSI University.
The views expressed here are entirely the writer’s own.
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