We had visitors from Oregon, a mother and daughter and the mother is a long time friend who was a schoolmate while I was living in Kuala Terengganu on the East Coast of Malaysia. Bakyah is married to an American who is from Oregon and they have two children, Kakani and her younger brother Kai. They are visiting Penang ecause Kakani who is a Marine Biologist is attending her work related seminars here. I had visited the Young Family some years ago when I was living in San Francisco and Kakani was a young girl of twelve or so. My daughter and Kakani hit it off like old friends and I was happy to be be able to hang out and reflect our good old high school days with Bakyah.
The next day I took Bakyah for a tour of the City of Georgetown and one of the places we visited was the Burmese Buddhist Temple. Wat Buppharam, a Historical landmark in Georgetown. We talked about life and religion being married to White Americans and having lived and raised children in the West. Like me she too has to grapple with faith and cultural issues especially when dealing with our Muslim siblings relatives and friends in Malaysia. Whether overtly or in secrecy, we had faced frowns and rejections in how we had lived our lives counter to the Muslim Malays' code of conduct; we have become the fringe people, living on the periphery of the Malay Muslim society like outcasts. I still maintain that humanity would be better off if there be more intermarriage in this world. It is in the defend of pure blood lines that has caused much discord and narrowmindedness in society. Nowhere in the world is the Malays more Malays, the Chinese more Chinese and Indians more Indians in their self projection than in Malaysia.
Having being adopted by my uncle and raised as a Buddhist for the first twelve years of my life before I was converted to Islam, I, unlike most Malay Muslims have no qualms about visiting Buddhist temples or any other houses of worship albeit Hindu or Christian churches. Most Muslims will hesitate to step into a temple especially where there are idols and altars. When it comes to spirituality I find the Muslims to be the most paranoid if not ignorant in respecting other faiths and cultures. One rarely see Malay Muslims visiting temples and churches even if out of sheer curiosity much less to understand what it is all about. I see this as a lack of faith in one's own, I believe a true Muslim or Christian, Hindu or Buddhist would dare walk into hell and back by virtue of the strong and true faith in who they are.
Despite being a multi-ethnic and and religious society for the last one hundred odd year, Malaysians are still at loggerheads when it comes to the subject of faith and culture. Today religion has become a tool of contention in the governing of the country. Islam is the National religion of the country according to the constitution, however the existence of other faiths has become a political target when all else fail. Islam is being used as a political tool by the predominantly Muslim political party that is vying to gain control and run the government. Being viewed internationally Malaysia as one of the most corrupted nation on earth, those arrested or being put on trial for corruption in this country are Muslim Malay leaders and government officials. It is an irony and yet it is a fact well documented but less acknowledged by the Malay Muslims themselves.
I have vowed never to write about politics in my Blogging as it is too messy and often outrageous in this country, however I cannot help but feel it to be wrong to involve religion with politics, it is a recipe for disaster and it is happening here just as everywhere else in the world. Most would hurl blame upon the religions instead of those who profess to lead the masses, the Imams, the Priests and Monks. Each claiming theirs is the right Path to Salvation and most are willing to defend their claims to the death and often at the expense of the civil society or well being of the nation as a whole. Rarely do i see a celebration of true multiplicity of Race and Culture without a hint of doubt and suspicion among the believers. As it is said, 'The devil is in the details,' yet very few would attempt or even dare to venture beyond in understanding another's faith but many would shun this effort even if it means saving the well being of the nation as a whole especially one that has such diversity of faith and beliefs.
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