Nice to hear but... in reality?

Black-on-white or white-on-black stripes?

Here we are talking about equality and that we are 1-Malaysia. It is nice to talk when your next meal is non-brainer and your children and family are in the pink of health and the price increase of sugar by 20 sen means nothing to you. But, to a manual worker or a security guard who earns RM 2 per hour toiling day and night, everyday is survival!
Take a look at the example of one of the security guards working in Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah, Klang who was gunned down by a not so friendly fire by his working colleague recently. Instead of upholding serenity in the hospital, there themselves appear to need hospitalization. The deceased 22 year old guard and his 37 year old mother were employed by the same company as colleagues. This 22 year old man actually supports his mother and his siblings as well as being married to a bank teller with a 14 year old daughter. In the newspaper interview, the mother of the victim described the debilitated state of her financial status - the family was depending on the son's security guard pay to service the house loan monthly. Even with his paycheck, their utility bills have been outstanding for many months.
This event also reminded me a scenario which I witnessed many years ago in the same hospital. It involved two hospital attendants - an Indian and a Malay. The Indian lady was waiting impatiently for her bus which was late as usual. Along came her colleague, a Malay attendant, in her spanking new Kancil to offer her a ride. I am sure the first attendant will be wondering, "How come both of us are of the same strata at work, she can afford a car while I can't?" Of course there may be many reasons for this. Her husband could earning well, well planned family finances, perpetually living on credit, keeping up with the Joneses or just plain show off! It is very easy to complain along the line of race and how the Government is forever helping 'them' from cradle to grave. But then, you must ask why the  Bangladeshis who come here menial work are doing so well with their finances.
It is easy to whine and complain along racial lines. We should never forget that the Nazis' hatred of the Jews stemmed from the fact that their frugal calculative way of living managed to weather even the worse of the depressive times. It is much like the Chinese in Malaysia (and in part of world), in spite of the various restrictions in doing business, they get around the system to excel through sheer hard work. The Education Ministry raised the standard of the Malay Language in public examinations so to aid the Bumiputra students. The plan simply backfired the Chinese students improved exponentially as well.  When Malaysian Chinese students started thronging the halls of Manipal for medical education, the pioneer batch of students had a hard time acclimatizing to the spicy Indian cooking. What did they do? They hired personal cooks and trained them in basic Chinese cooking. Now, the whole Manipal is beaming with dishes cooked in the Oriental style of cooking - a haven indeed for the new students. It makes them feel like they never left home!
Anywhere in this world, we have marginalized groups of citizens who are forever in the bottom rung of the society. It is up to them to give a kick to themselves to jump start themselves into a new future.
Anyway, Selamat Hari Malaysia! We are one if we chose to be, for better for worse. Simone Groove*

*Simone Groove - Zulu. African National Congress' (ANC) call to all South Africans to unite when apartheid ended in 1994.  Of course, it was a political slogan, much like 1Malaysia, meaning we are all one. In 1997, when my sister in law got married in Durban, South Africa, I delivered a speech on behalf of the Malaysian entourage. This term was included in the closing remarks of my speech much to the delight of the audience who were mainly ANC supporters!