Where Hard Work Is A Dirty Word

By Natalie Shobana Ambrose
theSun, Malaysia
November 18th, 2010

When I think of nasi lemak, there are a few absolute non-negotiables. So on my flight back from London, I ditched the boring omelette for my favourite - nasi lemak. After ten hours of delayed gratification thinking about nasi lemak, I peeled open the foil to find some chicken, rice and sambal. That can’t be it. I manoeuvred the chicken thinking there must be more. I found nothing else… this is not nasi lemak. Where is the ikan bilis, kacang, cucumber and egg? I was not pleased, though I did eat it but felt quite cheated.

See at the very least nasi lemak must have ikan bilis, kacang, cucumber, sambal and coconut rice. Whether it’s the Rm1.50 packet nasi lemak or one at a high street restaurant, that is what nasi lemak is. If not give it another name.

You might be laughing thinking that I take my nasi lemak too seriously, but the truth is I feel that we are constantly lowering our standards when we should be striving for better and expecting more – and it’s not just about nasi lemak.

If we look at the general work ethic in this country, I dare say, we are slackers and sometimes cheat. Not much is done well. Why can’t people just do the job they are paid to do? It’s not even about going above and beyond, it’s about doing what you’re paid to do. We have a mentality that has no consciousness about making excuses, blames everyone else and that thinks doing the job is really doing every one else a favour.

It ranges from the simple things like when the dustbin lorry comes round – there is always a trace of ‘juice’ or a rubbish trail left behind. When it comes to road works, how many potholes do you avoid each day, or how often are you caught in a traffic jam because our public transport system does not work efficiently.

We think we are headed towards developed status but really our mentality has not caught up. Hard work is a dirty word and better for some else to do but everyone wants the big bucks without having to work for it – after all there are so many cheats who get away. The lack of integrity has become our culture and now a long standing tradition.

The Auditor-General’s Report is not just peppered with such indecency but teeming with outrages exploitation of the rakyat’s funds. Children were sold sardine sandwiches without the sardines. Where is the integrity that people choose daily to rob children of food that they pay for? I am only touching the surface. Our politicians think it is acceptable to spend stimulus funds on chandeliers and wall paper, so I must be delusional if I’m expecting the fish monger not to cheat me!

It is almost like we are heading on a blind path thinking that if we continue the way we are we’ll fool the rest of the world into thinking that mediocrity equals excellence. Wrong!

Integrity is not conditional and singing songs about it on national television does not make it magically appear. If we are aiming to become a developed nation, we need a shift in mentality and not more towers or shopping malls. Instead, focus on being towering personalities, focus on creating policies that advocate equality, focus on giving justice her blind-fold back, focus on giving the rakyat their dignity and focus on providing basic freedoms.

I probably sound like a broken record, so perhaps I’ll just keep hoping that I find a complete nasi lemak soon.

Natalie is tired of the ‘tidak apa’ attitude of irresponsibility that plagues our society.

Comments: letters@thesundaily.com

The Language Of Multiculturalism

By Natalie Shobana Ambrose
theSun, Malaysia
November 4th, 2010

Multiculturalism can be romantically described as the beautiful colours of the batik design on a sarong, the strokes of the tjantings and how the intertwined patterns of the wax unite. I’ve also heard it described as the myriad colours of the kasut manek-manek worn with traditional outfits. It’s heart-warming to define multiculturalism through rose coloured glasses. It’s the feeling you get when you see photos of a dog and a panda playing, or a rhino and a turtle keeping each other company or a cat snuggling up under a sleeping dog’s ear.

German Chancellor Merkel had identified that multiculturalism or the concept of ‘multikulti’ in which people of different heritages would live happily together had ‘utterly failed’ in her country . There are many that didn’t agree with her statement but she was daring enough to address the issue as unpopular as it sounds. Merkel had a few suggestions, one was that immigrants needed to adapt to the host country, learn the language and the customs.

Most times, our human nature is to gravitate towards that which is familiar, this of course can pose a problem and if not addressed, countries end up having pockets of immigrants who basically imported everything from their country of origin and set up camp in the new country – refusing to integrate. It can be hard to integrate but these are the challenges of choosing to move.

In Malaysia we have some who choose not to speak Bahasa Malaysia or English while we have others who have totally integrated into the melting pot of cultures that we boast about. I have found myself frustrated many times not being able to understand conversations because I do not speak ethnic languages of other dominate races in Malaysia and I’m not the only one to echo this dissatisfaction.

Most all Malaysians are multilingual and that is a great advantage however we have to have the wisdom in our multicultural society to know that not everyone is able to understand ethnic languages. And though it is everyone’s right to speak in their mother tongue it does not help to ostracise those who do not understand it especially when a common language can be spoken in the midst of those that do not understand.

I recently spent some time in Spain. Prior to me heading there, I spent a few weeks learning Spanish so that I would be able to travel comfortably and independently without looking too lost. Also, I felt it important that I make an effort to understand Spanish instead of expecting the locals to accommodate me.

In the company of friends, I found that my beginners level Spanish could not fully comprehend the quick tongued Spanish or the complex Basque language . However, most people I met tried very hard to translate or keep me in the loop of what was being said which I appreciated very much especially since it was a huge effort on their part.

It saddened me though that in my own country, on many occasions, I have found myself lost because pockets of people end up speaking their own mother tongue not realising that there are those that do not understand. It is even more disheartening when it is deliberately spoken to exclude.

I understand the need to preserve the sanctity of one’s mother tongue and to converse in it out of respect to one’s fellow ethnic buddies. Believe me, many a time, I’ve found myself wishing I spoke a foreign language only so that I could nit-pick another or secretly tell someone the prices of goods in the store were too high. But more often than not, I wished we respected each other because I understand the frustration of constantly feeling ostracized.

So how far do we embrace our multi-ethnic-cultural-lingual inheritance? All this talk about unfair policies, unjust plans, affirmative action are serious issues heavily weighted in a multicultural society such as ours, however, simple things like being courteous might go further in making a difference to everyday life.

We already have politicians who constantly play the race card but in our own capacity we could be more cohesive by speaking the positive language of multiculturalism in our everyday lives.

Natalie believes in a multiethnic, multicultural, multilingual Malaysia. She also believes in the right of comprehension for a more unified Malaysia. Happy Deepavali.

Comments: letters@thesundaily.com