Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Every Votes Counts

“Every vote counts!” this used to be a cliché is Malaysian politics until the 8th of March 2008. With this single vote many Malaysians finally understood what it means to have a voice in our country. It also meant that everyone had a path in actually determining the future (the next five years at least) of our country. It was a euphoric moment for many of us. Finally we can see and hope for accountability in our legislative process.

But as the dust begin to settle, reality strikes back. Is our contribution just limited on that one vote? Do we or can we be more involved in the running of this country? Or do we just go back to our normal religious contribution of just praying and fasting for our leaders? Do not doubt the importance of praying and fasting but surely there is more that we can do.

Do share on how you think we can contribute to this country. Be creative as many of us really want to know of our place in this country.

Monday, March 03, 2008

World Full Of Strangers

“Sadly enough, making friends with local Malaysian students in my university (I don’t know if it is true for others) has been a very difficult and frustrating effort to most of us, the blacks. During the first few months of our arrival, we were so excited at the thought of having new friends and thought that we could adapt easily. But unfortunately, making friends with Malaysians has not been very easy. Standing before our course-mates often times get them scared. Many a times they leave the road for us when they see us coming towards their direction. We would often ask ourselves, “Why? What have we done?” What makes the situation worse is the fact that some fellow Christian students, sorry to say, behave the same way towards us. This is the thing that pains me the most.”
“Some of us got to find out that before our arrival, the local students that were supposed to study together with us went to the school authority and told them that they don’t want to learn together with us. They were so serious about it that the school just had to grant them this request and they never learnt with us. We were taught separately for the first two semesters of our foundation programme. They did everything possible to see that we didn’t have anything in common with them. When it came to group assignments, they would want only the Malaysians to be in their group and us, the non-Malaysians, to be on our own. There was no good interaction with local students. We were all alone and we feel so rejected.”
We, Malaysians, are often warned not to talk to strangers, and the media portrays the Blacks as being aggressive and dangerous. All these often shape the way we view and treat them. But Jesus calls us to live a counter-culture life, and He leaves us an example to follow – He reached out to those who were rejected by others. What did Jesus mean when He asked us to “Love your neighbours”? Have we forgotten that the international students are also our neighbours?
I was told by some international students that they would very much appreciate it if we could just acknowledge their presence by giving them a smile or just talking to them when we see them. However, the sad reality is that we often see the international students being segregated from the local students.
Come let us follow the example of our Lord Jesus, by reaching out to the international students in our midst and welcoming them. Let us share with them the love that we ourselves have experienced through our Lord Jesus Christ.