Actually, it's easy to be a Malaysian.

I remember my childhood and schooldays. Though I was then fairly weak physically, I enjoyed my life playing the games all children play. In Wellesley Primary School, Hutchings School, then Penang Free School, we played and mingled with anyone who wishes to join in our fun. When playing with marbles in the primary schools, we play to win without any thought on our friend’s race. Darker skin, lighter skin or whatever shade or colour, all those do not make any difference to us. As we played ‘Police and thief’, chasing each other, we only thought of catching friends for our team to win so that we could exchange roles in the game. Later, in the secondary school, we play rugby, football and other games as sports house members. No matter how rough we could be, we just played among students of the same school without a single thought of anyone’s race.

During those days, like any other children anywhere in the world, we sometimes disagree, get angry and fight. Sometimes we come back together as friends. There was never any worry about the other child’s race. It was just, “I don’t like him because he dirtied my shoes.” or something like that. The reason has nothing whatsoever about race. And when we support or cheer someone in a quarrel or fight, it was always ‘That’s my friend.’ who could be of another race.

Well, it is so easy to be a Malaysian. That was and is because when a child is born, he/she enters straight into this country as a Malaysian. He/She knows no other place he or she can call home. Malaysia is his/her home. It is only when divisive policies created by power-crazy politicians hammer into our heads that our ancestors come from another country and therefore we are less equal, less privileged and less advantaged in this land that we realise, people think we cannot call the land we are born in 'home' which is so wrong. After all, except for the Orang Asli or the original people of this land, every citizen's ancestors in my Mother Land comes from elsewhere. And anyone with just a little intelligence will have to agree with this truth. The truth is also that people like me who are born here knows of only this Mother Land and no other. This is home. If i am just a visitor, I could pack my bags to return home but because this is home, I write this so that my children and others can understand where home is for me.

In all things we did those days up to the time of the implementation of the National Economic Policy, we were just friends, acquaintances or enemies but there was nothing racial in it. How is that so? Well, for one thing, there was nothing in society, our education institutions or our lives where somebody was made more special, more privileged or more advantaged. Physically, mentally or emotionally; yes, there are people who are more special or more advantaged. Those people were born that way, not made to be like that by a government that divided its people into races with the excuse that a certain race is less capable of achieving what the others have achieved. I say excuse because if we sincerely wish to help our less capable or poorer people, all we need implement is a system by which all those who are less capable or poorer would be helped. With that, if most of the people from a particular state or race need such help, then certainly the people helped would mostly be from that state or race. So, there is no need to divide the country into states or races. In such an instance, the capable and rich will not have any reason to disagree and the problem of race would never exist.

It is because a race has been made special, more privileged and more advantaged, that our country finds it so difficult to have its people united. And this race problem is not easy to overcome, even though the government is moving towards helping every Malaysian according to merit. Why? How many are matured, truly educated (those who can really think clearly and correctly) and understanding enough to understand that the National Economic Policy was to help the poor and not everyone, even the very rich, in a particular race? Tell these less matured, less educated and less understanding people that places in the universities, contracts and job opportunities will not be specially reserved for them because they belong to a particular race and although they have riches beyond most Malaysians, they would protest and demand that they must be treated more equal than other Malaysians. And it is happening even as I put these thoughts to paper. No pampered son, even though he no longer needs any further help, would ever agreed to have other siblings be treated just as fair.

Thus, it is not easy to do away a bad practice. Pampered children grow up expecting to be treated better than the other siblings. He believes being pampered is his right. That, despite some of them going through a tertiary education (not educated, only literate), and having acquired much wealth. Oh God, what can be done with such pampered children.