THREE news items covered by social media have caused me consternation and deep concern.

First was a report on a complaint received by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) regarding a “media policy violation”. I didn’t see the specific complaint or follow-up report.

But what alerted me to it was one social group I belong to, which some of us call the “third voice”, comprising non-government individuals (NGIs) who have come together to make our voices heard.

The complaint bothered me enough that I forwarded it to Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo. He explained the facts, and promised me that the matter will be discussed in the cabinet and he will subsequently make a statement. I have not yet seen this statement.

I also communicated the minister’s response to the NGIs, who are allies for the cause of good governance in Malaysia, regardless of the blue- or red-corner choices we make. After all, boxing rings have two sides.

Among the NGIs, some are true-blue freethinkers, and there are also atheists and agnostics. This fact bothers some in the group, but we are all Malaysians concerned about our beloved nation.

So, I have reframed our multiethnic approach as an interpretive theological system way of thinking, rather than seek to reduce serious discourse to meaningless, endless blabber.

The second matter was on the number of media outlets stating “first Chinese cured of coronavirus”. The story, credited from Langkawi, carried pictures of a Chinese-looking family.

Why report on their ethnicity when they obviously have Chinese origins? My only concern is whether they are Malaysians.

Why is their ethnicity so important? Why is it necessary to report, for instance, that a “Chinese driver kills Malay kids” in a road accident?

Is not an accident one by definition? Can we impute motives to any accident? We can have doubts, and if there are serious ones, police must investigate.

Thirdly, when the health minister declared that Malaysia was medically prepared in the face of the coronavirus outbreak, there was genuine anxiety. Now that the World Health Organisation has confirmed it, why is there still doubt?

It didn’t help that the rumour mills were churning overtime, including one journalist’s statement about the finance minister and how his home state was closing an eye to the outbreak. The reporter has been charged, and rightly so.

But maybe, it’s time we all stop such simplistic labelling, or at least such thinking. Why do I call it simplistic? I’ve written about this before, and my friend and teacher, Professor S.H. Nasr of George Washington University, has also delivered a lecture on this matter.

Malaysian ‘onion peel model’

On March 10, 2018, my civil society group, Oriental Hearts and Minds Study Institute, launched a video on the occasion of our 8th NCOI kick-off event on how we can reframe identity politics in Malaysia and the rest of the world.

I asked Professor Nasr to deliver it as a message to the majority of Malaysians, who are Muslims. The video can be found here.

The Malaysian “onion peel model”, or MyOPM, defines all humans as having at least five layers of natural and built-in identity factors.

Our outermost layer is called nationality. We all carry an identity document, the passport.

The next layer is ethnicity, whereby there is a colloquial language following a mother tongue. Our mother tongue is not only learnt from her, but our tastes, too, are framed by her.

There is another important layer called religion, a formalised system of beliefs and truth statements that define our core beliefs or implicit assumptions about life.

We can label it academically as a “worldview”, and whether we know it or not, we all hold fast to these truth statements. We also hold dearly to most of our assumptions, as our life/death is defined by them.

The next layer can be labelled psychological. This may vary in concepts and terms, and is usually framed in more ways than one. It helps us move towards fully understanding ourselves as human beings.

The final layer is our core, the human conscience. It defines who we are as humans, and explains the why, where, what, when and how of our faith and cultural dimensions.

We use this five-layer model to decide the rights and wrongs in life and living.

In conclusion, personal faith is the ultimate definition of our space or face dimensions. We make choices at the workplace as we do in our living space.

All these define our human sense of dignity. – February 9, 2020.

* KJ John worked in public service for 32 years, retired, and started a civil group for which he is chairman of the board. He writes to inform and educate, arguing for integration with integrity in Malaysia. He believes such a transformation has to start with the mind before it sinks into the heart!

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.