1Malaysia

I have now been here for a little over 7 months, and as the new year arrived I realize that my remaining time here is short. I have been here long enough to realize just how little I really understand about what is going on here (the more you learn the more you realize you still have to learn). One of the reasons I was excited to come to Malaysia was to observe how things work in a truly multicultural country. Things here are much more complex than I initially imagined. I am not exactly sure what I will be able to learn from Malaysia that I can bring back to the US or what I have learned from the US that could be helpful here in Malaysia.

If you say "1Malaysia" to any Malaysian you will be sure to get a reaction. It appears to me that the issues related to "1Malaysia" are the critical issues facing Malaysia today. I am afraid that I won't be able to explain all of this super well, partly because I don't understand it well enough, and partly because this is an ongoing, and unresolved discussion going on among Malaysians.

1Malaysia

1Malaysia is a concept presented by the current Malaysian Prime Minister, Najib Tun Razak. According to Prime Minister Najib, "1Malaysia is a concept to foster unity amongst the multi-ethnic rakyat (people) of Malaysia, substantiated by key values that every Malaysian should observe"- culture of excellance, perseverence, humility, acceptance, loyalty, acceptance, education, and integrity.

"1Malaysia values and respects the ethnic identities of each community in Malaysia, and proudly regards them as an asset or advantage. 1Malaysia underlines the value of “Acceptance” amongst its multi-racial people, where one race embraces the uniqueness of other races so that we may live with mutual respect for each other as a nation. It is a distinct step above that of mere tolerance."

http://www.1malaysia.com.my/blog/the-1malaysia-concept-part-1/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1Malaysia

As you can see, 1Malaysia urges Malaysians to move from "tolerance" of different races to "acceptance" of different races. I agree that "acceptance" is a step up from "tolerance", but it seems to me that, even if true acceptance between the races should ever be achieved that Malaysia will still have a long way to go in achieving "unity". Interestingly, according to Prime Minister Najib, "unity as envisioned through the 1Malaysia concept varies greatly from the assimilation concept practiced in other countries where the ethnic identities are wiped out and replaced with one homogeneous national identity." I have to admit that I haven't seen any indication that anyone here really understands how to foster this idea of "unity" in Malaysia. It will be interesting to follow events over the next few decades.

Issues Related to 1Malaysia

The 1Malaysia symbol at the top of this post is a ubiquitous symbol around Malaysia (of course it is still not as common as the TTU cap on 7-11 doors). 1Malaysia signs can be found on food stalls, restraunts, shops, and even, this is my favorite, on the roof of "The Beach Club", KL's main meat-market night club. Thus, many Malaysians appear to think of "1Malaysia" as being a meaningless slogan. Others think of "1Malaysia" as being a political slogan. In fact, the Selangor state governement, which is run by the opposition party to Prime Minister Najib's coalition that rules the Federal government, recently banned the use of the "1Malaysia" symbol on businesses because it was a political symbol (they scaled back this law because of the huge outcry against this idea). Interesting aside- the website address "www.1malaysia.com.my" takes you to the Prime Minister's personal website.

My (unsolicited) Take on 1Malaysia

I will assume that PM Najib was well intended when he developed the 1Malaysia concept, but it still appears that it has quickly become a relatively meaningless slogan to most Malaysians. If Malaysians don't want to embrace the "melting pot" concept of unity that we have in the US, then they will have to develop some sort of a unique Malaysian identity. Recently, there was a brief moment of national unity when the Malaysian Football (soccer) team beat Indonesia to win the South East Asian Football Championship, but a country needs to have a greater unifying factor than just beating a hated rival.

My suggestion is that one thing that Malaysians of all races could unify around is their environment. Malaysia is blessed with an amazing abundance of biodiversity. I suggest all Malaysians could have great pride in their natural environment if only they were more aware of what treasures their country held.