LETTER | Celebrate cultural diversity, live harmoniously

LETTER | As a Malaysian citizen of Chinese ethnicity, I feel I am qualified to air my views on how we feel being proud Malaysians.

While it is a fact that our forefathers migrated to this beautiful country more than a century or two ago, we have never exhibited disloyalty towards the country.

Driven by abject poverty in China, our forefathers made a most daring and perilous decision to cross the South China Sea in search of a better future in then Malaya.

Having undergone and tasted what real hunger was, most of them toiled hard to have food on the table. They also knew that sound education was the only out of the vicious poverty cycle.

We plan our journey through life as soon as we settle down. Most Chinese families do not have more than three children so they can afford to provide them with the best education possible.

These two strong beliefs remain the main tenets of our Chinese culture until today.

Hard work and education

Across the three main races - Malays, Chinese and Indians - some are rich and some are poor.

While they differ in terms of percentage, the Chinese seem to be on the receiving end when the topic of economic well-being is brought up. Without citing success stories of other races, this bashing is unfair, unjustified and uncalled for.

The seemingly more well-to-do Chinese have achieved all these through hard work and education, not through mere handouts and preferential treatment. They deserve a better life through sweat and tears.

This is largely due to thousands of years of harsh life experiences in China. If we take a look at Chinese immigrants everywhere - Australia, Europe, the United States and South America - we see a parallel life experience.

Very soon, we will see the same scenario in African countries. They are reaping what they and their forefathers have sowed.

We now hear of politicians questioning our loyalty, with a veteran politician going as far as equating loyalty with Malay assimilation. Loyalty stems from our hearts, which are translated through words and actions.

Loyal as any other true Malaysian

The Chinese have worked hard to evade hardship and poverty. Being successful, they pay taxes and contribute to the nation's coffers. They are law-abiding and contribute to every economic sector.

The same applies to other ethnic minorities. I believe all citizens here have just one allegiance - to be loyal Malaysians. A leopard does not become a sheep by changing its fur.

Let’s not get riled up by politicians trying to stay relevant. Their words reflect their grey matter. Like the Chinese medicine pedlar in our childhood days, the snake charmer will still draw a small crowd.

The fluty music always succeeds in drawing a curious crowd. This charm will slither away soon in this age of high technology and artificial intelligence.

We are committed to striving hard for a better life ourselves and along with this, we contribute to the country’s development in our little way.

We are as loyal as any other true Malaysian.

I sincerely hope all Malaysians join hands and unite in the true spirit of nationhood for the sake of common prosperity and well-being.

We should celebrate our cultural diversity and live harmoniously, dispelling ill-intentioned politicians’ rhetorics.

Just amuse yourself with the free-of-charge snake charming.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.