Mike Lee emailed me a blog hoping I could put it up here.

I read it and agreed. It provides a silver lining to the black clouds of nation-building a-gathering in recent months. An example of what every Malaysian can do as Bangsa Malaysia in everyday life to make the new generation feel that they are one united people instead of a separate divided nation.

It is something the keris-wielding Education Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein can learn from ordinary but conscientious and patriotic Malaysian teachers who care for all students regardless of race, religion or class instead of just wanting to be a communal hero!

This is a blog by a self-confessed “very stressed out English (PE) teacher who feels she is about to collapse with all the work she has” but has never lost sight of the responsibility and vision as a “human engineer” for the new generation of Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or class. Keep it up, Chris Chan. Dedicated teachers and nationalists like you keep alive and strong the hopes of a Bangsa Malaysia.

Friday, August 29, 2008
Majlis restu

Today marks a very important day in Sri Aman. Most people probably did not see its significance. But here it is …. why it is significant. Majlis restu has always been held for the PMR, SPM and STPM candidates in this school … ever since I could remember … for Muslims only. It was done with the purpose of encouraging the students and to remind them to turn to God at this time of severe stress and anxiety. For the first time, today, a separate majlis restu was held for the non-Muslim candidates. Why? Because ALL Sri Aman students deserve to have one done for them. ALL Sri Aman students are nervous, stressed and anxious about their public exams. So, under the Pendidikan Moral panel, the first ever Majlis Restu was held for the non-Muslim students.

Organising something that has no precedence is not easy. It was agreed that representatives of 4 religious groups would be invited to speak and pray for the students. So today, the Buddhists are ministered to by the Venerable Dhamajothi from the Maha Sri Vihara Temple in Brickfields, the Christians by Pastor Aaron Tham from PJ Evangelical Free Church, the Sikhs by Giani Lakhbir Singh who was a priest in the PJ Gurudhwara, and the Hindus by Mr Maniventhran of the Hindu Seva Sanga of Malaysia. The sessions done were generally well-received (I know some are better than others).

What is so amazing and wonderful is that students and religious leaders of 4 different faiths came together in one hall and participated in a function which involved prayers and words of wisdom from each faith. Students and teachers who have never before been part of any ceremony of other faiths had their eyes and minds opened to some practices they had never seen before. Imagine : a Buddhist monk who encourages breathing exercise and meditation, a Christian pastor who spoke about the Lord’s Prayer and prayed for the students, a Sikh priest who spoke about his religion and recited a prayer for the students, and a Hindu guru who spoke about meditations and chanted with the Hindu students. To me, that in itself is a victory. It is a victory because I saw people of different faiths coming together for a common goal : to encourage the students and pray for them; and the best thing that happened (to me, at least) was when they called each other ‘brothers’, and all the students were their ‘sisters’. There was no boundary. There was no caution of “don’t talk about sensitive issues”. We were all ONE family. I almost wanted to sing “You and me, in one world; we are family”, like in the Olympics theme song. Isn’t this a wonderful thing to happen? It only takes ONE precedence, and perhaps, next time, we will have a better organised function.

I have but ONE regret. I wish it was not only the 4 groups. I wish it included all the students. There was never any need to feel threatened or intimidated. We are, afterall, one Malaysia. Like what Dhamajothi said, all of us have blood that is red in colour. It matters not who we are, underneath it all, we are one human race. We all share the same kind of anxiety and worries when it comes to many issues, in this case, exams. I don’t know if this stirs up the hornet’s nest, but, deep in my heart, this is what I wish. (Am I opening myself to more issues that will turn this blog into a battleground?) Forgive me if this is sensitive to some people – yes, YOU. But it is MY wish, which I think is a meaningful one. And I might not be alone in wishing this.