The discriminatory policies, unbalanced rights, and special privileges for the majority ethnic group say otherwise. It’s the textbook definition of our country, which we love to repeat over and over again to ourselves, and to the rest of the world. Our prime minister keeps proclaiming at every opportunity that a Malay child, a Chinese child, an Indian child, an Iban child, and a Kadazan child, are all Malaysian children.
A multicultural nation is characterised by people of different races, and ethnicities living together in the same community. In these communities, people retain, celebrate, and share their unique cultural ways of life, languages, arts, traditions, and practices. Growing up in Penang, my next door neighbour to the right was En Hussein’s family, and to the left was Mr Tan’s family. The Santhirams were in the middle. We regularly played badminton across our fences, and exchanged “Pyrex” bowls filled with the Husseins’ mee hoon goreng, the Santhiram’s mutton curry, and the Tan’s delectable cakes. The goodies would be passed back and forth between our houses