Over a cup of uber sweet teh tarik and roti pratha/cannai we came to chit chat and catched up on the on goings of our lives.
My friend is going back home (not malaysia) at the end of the year.
Something that he said got me thinking, As a foriegner, he has noted that malaysian life and society is one of the most racist he's ever come across. Eventhough he's talking in absolutes when its a relative matter, I think its something to reflect on. He asked me to look around the mamak stall, there were no diverse malaysian groupings, people seemed to be segregated amongst the races. People sat on tables which were overwhelmingly one race. Malays with malays, chinese with chinese, that sort.
Now one of the definitions of racism in the dictionary is that noun: Discrimination or prejudice based on race.
What can be more described as that which I was seeing? There's nothing to stop races from sharing a moment together over a cup of teh tarik? right? People were just practising prejudiced and discriminatory behaviour out of choice! Music, art and other subject matters and orientation should bring these people together as they can chat over subject matter, alas what brings people together is race. How sad.
Now I am putting my foot in my mouth, this is not an absolute, but it is certainly overwhelmingly the case. There are people who have racially diverse friends, You just hardly or never see them.
My country Malaysia, I can proudly say has one of the most diverse populations in the world, a shame to let that diversity go to waste. Shame on us Malaysians, its uber nasty behaviour.
