Our duty to voice valid concerns
By Terence Fernandez, The Sun
When politics and social engineering creep into the school system, we all have a responsibility to voice our concerns and opinions. At the end of the day, what these attempts are aimed at is to further drive a wedge between the main communities which have been living comfortably side by side for over a century.
MY column on Tuesday on the distortion of history evoked a great deal of response. Many were disgusted at the new revelations by historians on how the nation’s past was skewed and the contributions of the minorities downplayed. Many reminded me that the likes of the Bujang Valley was only given cursory mention in tourism brochures (if any) and felt that the country’s cultural mosaic which should be something that we are proud of is slowly being diluted and “sanitised”.
At the same time, there were those who said the nation’s history used to be very British-centric and hence that the parts about the migrants who came to work the land here were “glorified”. And that the migrants were “opportunistic”, as are their descendants. One person accused me of being an opposition agent and I was told that I myself have no idea where I belong – either India or Portugal (since I’m an Indian dude with a Portugese name). Worse, there were those who alleged that I was a racist and had my own seditious agenda!
I thank everyone for their comments and feedback and I must add that I am not a historian and I do not propose to know everything about our past. More importantly, I must stress that I have no disregard for any particular group and believe that a nation – including this one – is built by the contributions of all its peoples irrespective of race, colour, creed or political affiliation.
In fact I have family members and relatives from the three main ethnic communities and am confortable celebrating Hari Raya, Chinese New Year or Deepavali, as I am with observing Christmas.
Having said that, there are those who think they have greater ownership of this country than others. And sometimes one cannot blame them. There are those who continue to disparage this nation abroad and even throw their support behind foreign sports teams when our own athletes are competing. It cannot be helped if the loyalties of this section of Malaysians are suspect. I for one may be unhappy about certain things in this country but will defend it aggressively abroad when foreigners and even fellow Malaysians disparage our homeland.
Speaking of which, I don’t intend to go anywhere, as like millions of others, this is my home and believe I, like everyone else, have a stake in this country and am responsible for protecting and defending it to the last drop of my blood.
Here is where many are confused between country and government. Just because one has issues with the ruling party does not mean that they should dislike the country. Like one friend who supports the opposition pact always says: “Hate your government, but never hate your country.”
Hence it is wrong to paint one as anti-national when one brings up valid concerns over the education of our children, of which historian Dr Ranjit Singh Malhi was accused when he highlighted the distortions and bias in history textbooks. When politics and social engineering creep into the school system, we all have a responsibility to voice our concerns and opinions. At the end of the day, what these attempts are aimed at is to further drive a wedge between the main communities which have been living comfortably side by side for over a century.
Yes, there may be some differences of opinions, but instead of teaching our children about strength in diversity, school syllabuses and even the civil service are teeming with political and racial propaganda. When top leaders headed by the prime minister himself have worked tirelessly to bridge the gap between the various ethnic communities, why are there those trying so hard to throw a spanner in the works? These are the real anti-national elements.
These are the subversive components we have in our midst that are trying to divide and conquer. Afraid of their own shadow and a fallacy that there are those out there waiting to rob them of what is rightfully theirs. If there are such elements, irrespective of ethnicity and background, then their efforts must be thwarted immediately. At the same time we have to ensure that our children are not being made pawns of in the political games of some people as it will have far reaching consequences – long after we are gone. Our spirits then will never rest in peace when future generations curse us for the legacy of doom that we had left them.
