LETTER | Is Malaysia truly Asia?

LETTER | For the past quarter century, “Malaysia Truly Asia” was the best tagline used for promoting a tourist destination, thanks to all those who conceptualised, supported and approved it for use to market Malaysia from 1999.

It sums up our nation as a convergence of great civilisations.

Ironically, while the three words are easily understood by people around the world, some Malaysians can be very indifferent. Instead of celebrating or at least accepting diversity, they choose superiority over others and condemn cultures and practices different from theirs.

This is a far cry from long ago when people were more civilised even without the benefit of formal education.

Today, after 11 years of schooling and more in tertiary institutions, many are still not truly educated from largely rote learning and indoctrination, as displayed by their bad behaviours.

Interestingly, Malacca was already “Truly Asia” more than 500 years ago when the Portuguese arrived to negotiate a trade agreement.

It was then a bustling port with merchant ships and people from West, South, Southeast and East Asia visiting for trade or residing there.

Malacca truly Asia

In its heyday, as many as 84 different languages were spoken, making Malacca a microcosm of Asia. In 1511, the Portuguese captured Malacca, then the Dutch drove them out in 1641, and the British took control in 1824 but lost it to the Japanese in 1942 during the Second World War.

Earlier from 1405 to 1433, Admiral Zheng He led seven voyages through the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea, Red Sea and east coast of Africa, stopping at Malacca.

From this period, people from East Asia, Southeast Asia and South Asia began to settle on our shores.

The number of settlers swelled in the 1840s after rich tin deposits were discovered in Selangor and Perak and attracted large numbers of Chinese migrants. From the late 19th century, the British brought many labourers from South India to work in rubber plantations.

Economically, this country was founded by tin and built by rubber. We then prospered from oil from palm fruits grown on land and petroleum deep under the ground beneath the seabed.

Today, about 3.6 million people or 23.6 percent of the workforce are employed in the tourism industry.

Playing racial card

Sadly, the descendants of these early pioneers were given the back seat from 1970 and later were often labelled as “immigrants” even by those whose ancestors came later to settle in Malaysia, no thanks to our poor education system and made worse by selfish politicians.

Just like people everywhere bent on garnering support to gain position and power, those bankrupt of principles and ideas would play racial and religious cards, as most voters are easily swayed by emotions and oblivious to the truth being hidden in plain sight.

If politicians keep drumming up identity politics uninhibited, it will affect tourist arrivals and foreign investments. More than half of all foreign visitors have Chinese roots and they are mainly from Southeast Asian countries such as Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand.

All have one thing in common - they identify themselves by nationality and they are loyal to the country they choose to call home and for generations have contributed more than their fair share to their nation’s economy.

If we get our act together by making the effort to embrace people of diverse ethnicities, visitors from all four corners of the earth will feel welcomed in Malaysia. “Malaysia Truly Asia” must not be just lip service but should be put into action, which can yield great dividends.

Finest moment

One of our country’s finest moments was when the 16th Commonwealth Games was held in Kuala Lumpur in 1998, and all 70 Commonwealth countries took part for the first time. With changes over time and for various reasons, we are unlikely to host such games in the future.

We have never tried to bid for hosting the Asian Games, as even holding the Southeast Asian Games in 2027 is already proving quite a challenge.

While we may never again see the flags of 70 countries being paraded in the open in Malaysia as in 1998, it is possible to have 47 Asian countries including Palestine but excluding Israel participating in a cultural parade on the streets of Kuala Lumpur.

That will be a great start for Visit Malaysia 2026 as the many hotels in and around Jalan Bukit Bintang and Jalan Sultan Ismail will be able to house all the participants, with them starting and ending at their hotels and avoiding the horror of having to use portable toilets and logistics.

Starting Visit Malaysia 2026 right

Each country will be led by a flag bearer and marching band if they can bring one of their own. If not, it could be one from our uniformed services or a school band. Following behind each band would be a procession of citizens from the country, preferably in traditional clothes and hats.

The number of participants is to be controlled to ensure that each group is not too large or small, and Malaysians and other Asians can be roped in as volunteers to make up the numbers for countries unable to provide a minimal size.

Each country may choose a different route with some longer or shorter than others but all are to be within Jalan Imbi, Bukit Bintang, Sultan Ismail, Raja Chulan, P Ramlee and Jalan Pinang. They can participate in the Saturday night parade, early Sunday morning, or both.

The theme of the cultural parade is “Asians March for Peace” and many countries would send their TV crews to record the event with the Kuala Lumpur skyline and prominent buildings such as the Petronas Twin Towers, KL Tower, Merdeka 118 and The Exchange in the background.

Countless numbers of videos will go viral on social media and many people in Asia will want to watch those with their marching bands and citizens in the procession.

Lest we forget, cultural tourism is not limited to showcasing our culture to the world, but also in embracing others.

If so, there is no better way to prove that Malaysia is Truly Asia by celebrating those who have been here for centuries, and also reaching out to new friends, particularly in Central Asia.

That would also make Malaysians the pride of Asia and “Malaysians Truly Asians”.

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