THE CICAK.com

Defending apathy

By CHEAH WEN TAO

I understand the whole gung-ho demeanour of concerned Malaysian youths, what with all the silly things happening in our dear country and the sillier things our politicians are saying. I understand that changes for the betterment of our country stem only from action, on everyone’s part. I understand that our views count, no matter how young and naïve, no matter how many years we spend abroad.

And this is my view: that we all desperately need a generous helping of indifference!

I am not a regular theCICAK reader, and it came as quite a horrible coincidence that the recent writing competition asked for “Action against Inaction� just as I was about to give my two sen’s worth.

I am not going against the grain just for the sake of it – attention-seeking as I may be – but I am simply giving my views on the current political atmosphere in Malaysia. I am, as the title implies, pro-apathy.

I am not pessimistic. I am not lazy. I am not unpatriotic. And, of course, I care. But I feel that we need to be a little apathetic in our reactions towards the recent happenings, especially dealing with racial issues.

The electricity in Malaysian current affairs seems to be racially charged lately. This is, of course, not surprising, taking into consideration there are three major ethnic groups dan lain-lain (what a horrible tag!), unique constitutional arrangements with regards to race and religion, natural human emotions of envy and dissatisfaction, and other inherent facts about our rojak-of-a-country which keep racial issues at the forefront when it comes to Malaysian politics.

What we have is not a melting pot, but a pressure cooker of racial disharmony waiting to explode… again.

Lee Kuan Yew made some remarks, and our country shook to its very core. How idiotic is that? If only we, supposedly patriotic and tanah tumpah darah-loving citizens, reacted to the eco-crisis in equal measure, greenhouse gases would be a thing of the past!

A man, of waning influence and receding hairline, gives his personal opinion and we take it like a kick in the groin – why is that? Have we become so hazed by our pretensions of racial harmony that we turn doubly defensive when his comments poke at such matters?

I think it is silly, the way we have reacted – politicians screaming their heads off, anti-Lee opinion letters in the papers, demands for “clarification.�

What if the targeted remark came, not from an ikan bilis country like Singapore, but from President Bush or some other big fish? Would we have demanded a “clarification?� And if so, would we have received one?

I think it is fair, to an extent, how Pak Lah reacted: giving the cold shoulder and a frosty “I have taken note of [the ‘apology’].�

But we, as educated youths, should know better than to huff and puff over such insignificant matters. After all, that aging Singaporean Minister-Mentor did have a point when his “apology� pointed out that Dr. M had previously made similar remarks about the treatment of Malays beyond the causeway, without any hoo-ha reaction on their part.

Personally, I feel that we are over-responding simply because the remarks came from a Singaporean. I, myself, would have taken it like a slap in the face if a Singaporean had accused me of being kiasu or bad at Bahasa Malaysia, for example.

I believe, as a rule, that we take racial remarks far too seriously. To be offended so deeply by such passing remarks only goes to show how insecure we as a nation are with regards to our multiculturalism. In such instances, it might do us some good to take a wise dose of apathy.

In dealing with racial issues, what sort of “action� is needed? Does the government do something about the distribution of wealth between the races? Somehow, even if each ethnic group got an equal slice of the roti canai (33 percent to the Malays, 33 percent to the Chinese, 33 percent to the Indians, and the remaining one percent to “dan lain-lain,� I suppose), we would certainly not be satisfied.

Perhaps we should all try to be a little nicer to each other and build on true muhibbah-ness. How does that happen? Gotong-royong(joint community service)? Biting our tongues before making politically incorrect racist remarks?

This is what I believe in: NO ACTION! The only “action� that we seem to be doing is a whole lot of complaining. In many cases, including the whole hullabaloo about the keris at the UMNO general assembly, some good advice would be to shut up. Malaysia is hot enough as it is, what we do not need is more hot air.

With regards to sensitive stuff like racial issues, we tread on dangerous ground. And that is natural! A miracle cure-all for bigotry does not exist. Racism is icky stuff and we have to accept its natural existence. When you curse my mother and sister, I may head-butt you. When you make racist slurs, you are cursing my mother and father and sister and brother and grandfather and great-grandfather, and looking for a whole host of troubles. We steer naturally in defence of our own races and our own races’ comfort.

It seems to me that everyone is assuming the role of over-protective boyfriend. Whenever a racially grazing remark is uttered, everyone quickly bares their teeth and clenches their knuckles.

I understand that such remarks are uncalled for and frustrating, such as the unnecessary verbal diarrhoea by Khairy Jamaluddin, for example. But I fear that actions with the purest of intents may, in turn, have the worst of consequences.

I think, with respect to living together and living harmoniously, we are doing a great job. Compare us to the United States, a nation of immigrants whose citizens are supposedly integrated into a racially blind society. Look at how defensive the African-Americans (is it OK to say “black?�) get when racial remarks are made, and even when none are made.

Educated youths like us are getting too enthusiastic. We are all fired up, and ambitious, and from great universities with great ideals, thinking big, thumping our chests, ready to change the world. We need to douse those flames with a little apathy. We need to calm down a little.

Sure, Malaysia is far from perfect and changes are needed. But we live happily as we are. What do we really want? Un-meritocratic Malaysia or elitist Singapore? Racially distinct Malaysia or culturally uniform Thailand? Laid-back Malaysia or dog-eat-dog Japan? Self-censoring Malaysia or the disgustingly loud-mouthed United States?

We all deserve to take a step back and let the politicians do their job, no matter how competent or incompetent. Our country has its flaws, just like each and every one of us. And that is how we all frustratingly love it – our weird, flawed, sometimes hazy beauty… Malaysia.

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CHEAH WEN TAO is a contributing writer for theCICAK.