IF an average Malaysian tried to sell Malaysia as a product by using a single image or a five-word slogan, most likely, there would be a gross misrepresentation or in some cases, an exaggeration that could warrant a cynical response.

We often criticise how certain government-sanctioned policies reek of racial discrimination and condemn the insistence of labelling us based on our ethnicities. Yes, race is still very much pervasive in Malaysian society and religion is regarded as the upmost truth where no one can ever question the validity of sermons or doctrines.

But let’s focus on cultural identity, and more specifically, the Malaysian cultural identity. The notion of culture is in fact, a sort of myth by definition. At this present age, there aren’t a lot of “pure” cultures left. Malaysia, including our Eastern brothers and sisters, has been carrying around the multicultural Malaysian image like a security blanket but again, the image that is being marketed does not exactly do Sabah and Sarawak any justice.

Part of this problem is that the old images are extremely limited and our recorded social history is not conceptually complete. We understand the term multiculturalism and how it clearly embodies the Malaysian spirit, in fact, this term was carefully designed to embrace the diverse cultures in a society.

The Malaysian BN-led government has basically created this problem ; the main three races Malays, Chinese and Indians have become the ‘faces’ of Malaysia but seriously, it isn’t exactly the most honest representation. This is nothing more than a bid to stabilise the status quo and numerous ethnicities or in this case, the ‘lain-lain’ that exist in our country have been left out in this equation.

However, we should never assume that dropping one’s cultural identity is easy nor is assuming an entirely different set of values unproblematic. Being diverse and embodying different social/cultural codes is not something to be ashamed about but with how certain issues are being played up and how bigoted some members of our society have become, it does seem like being different is now a crime.

So the question here is, do we want a Malaysia that celebrates diversity or one that celebrates uninspiring socio-cultural doormats? Should we deny our heritage, our ancestral families, to achieve some sort of demographic decal?

One of the main causes of intolerance is fearing things we are not familiar with. Humans have been socially conditioned to reject things that are different and things we do not understand. Such attitudes can be broken by questioning, discourse and sometimes, biting the bullet by having a cup of teh tarik with someone you would not normally hang out with.

You see, humans are a bit like sheep – we want to imitate and we are conditioned to follow but such biasness can be broken by knowing about other cultures, religions and being exposed to new ideas.

The fear of change will cause us to retaliate against the factors that force change upon us but at the heart of it all, human beings want the same thing – we all need that sense of belonging and right now, there are Malaysians who feel as though they are strangers in their own country.

Perhaps, it’s time for us to grow up and realise that before we can achieve regional eminence or global prominence, we need to figure out where we as Malaysians stand because under the present social system, national unity (the kind that we want and not what BN envisions) will be difficult to achieve. – July 15, 2017.

* Syerleena is a councillor at the Penang Island City Council (MBPP). She is a Malaysian who believes that our life experiences shape us into fascinating beings.

* 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.