Our Majority Neighbours

Being Malaysians and having lived in Malaysia for so many years now, it’s not surprising that every where we go, we are bound to see our Majority Neighbours around. In our campus, in our hostel blocks, in the apartment we stay in, in the housing area we are in, at the places we eat, at the post office and banks, everywhere! It’s no way we can escape it. But sometimes we do tend to turn our heads away from them; sometimes we automatically shut our eyes and ears towards them. Sometimes we also tend to make statements like “Aiya, they are like that wan la. Cannot help already”. Why? Perhaps it is the many prejudices we have towards them. Perhaps it is because someone with lower grades preceded us in a better university. Perhaps it is because of the political situations our country is in.

Stop. Listen to ourselves. Many times I myself have been caught red-handed generalizing our Majority Neighbours. But, really, aren’t we a lot like them too? We are as human as they are human too. We have needs just as they have needs too. We are broken just as they are broken too. We struggle with our studies just as they struggle too. We have fun and are crazy just as much as they have fun and are crazy. So then what makes us think that we are more of a human than they are or perhaps some may say, we are treated less of a human than they are?

I have a few Majority Neighbour good friends myself and I can very well say that they are just as human as I am. They are not like some robots that have been sucked into some kind of system. Some of them are in fact very nice people! They struggle just as much as I do. They work their way to succeed just as much as I do. They strive for spirituality and God just as much as I do. They cry and have fun just as much as I do. So yea, I’m just as much like them as they are like me. Sometimes we may think that they are the most privileged people in Malaysia. But in actual fact, many are not happy with the “privileges” given to them. They don’t have a freedom of religion. They don’t have as much of an opportunity in the secular world as we do because of the prejudices they face.

Perhaps it’s time we get thrown off of our seats to get to know our Majority Neighbours who sits next to us in class, or those who stay in the same block as us. Maybe even start by giving someone of the Majority Neighbour, who works in the post office, immigration office, post office, a smile to cheer their day up! Come back then and share your experiences with us. Perhaps you have already been a friend to our Majority Neighbours. Come and share with us your experiences too!