Quit mocking religions!
The concerted thoughts of many, somewhat difficult to refute, was that the error was a deliberate attempt to ridicule Hinduism and Sikhism!
Darshan Singh Dhillon, The Malay Mail
Malaysia’s rich multicultural diversity has been our pride for years where we celebrate our differences living in harmony, together building a great nation. Fundamental to any multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-religious nation’s growth, is the unity among its people.
Over the past five decades, we have toiled together and achieved unparalleled success across socio-economic and political fronts.
We have together made Malaysia exemplary and demonstrated to the world that Malaysia is Truly Asia. Sadly, as it appears, our strength is slowly diminishing as years of racial integration efforts are beginning to fail miserably.
In this instance, I write in reference to the recent controversy on an educational module which demeaned the Hindus and Sikhs. The slides on the module which somehow got leaked went viral over social media causing uproar among the Sikh and Hindu communities.
More than anger, it was disappointing that fellow Malaysians, even after 58 years of independence, know little about each other. And so, we continue to witness such ugly situations. It is worth noting that Sikhs have been here for over a century, contributing towards the socio-economic development of the country.
In fact, it doesn’t surprise me that the term “Bengali” and derogatory term “Keling,” often used on Sikhs and Tamils by Malaysians at large, further demonstrates sheer ignorance.
It certainly reveals that the understanding of our cultures and beliefs among the wider Malaysian population is at such low levels, more so when it forms a part of teaching slides used at a reputable institution of higher learning. This is certainly unacceptable.
The intriguing question is, how could this be a mistake — that too, by an institution of higher learning? Are similar mistakes being made for other modules of varying disciplines — if yes, then there is a serious problem.
