The ‘non-Bumis’ in our lives

Sometime in late 1998, Father Lawrence Andrew, the editor of Catholic weekly Herald, was called in to substitute the parish priest for the Sunday morning mass at the Church of Our Lady of Fatima in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur.

It was a period known for its "Reformasi" protests, not long after the sacking and subsequent arrest of former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

As far as I can recall, the country had not experienced such turmoil on the streets, let alone the scandalous accusations and "black-eye" incident, before. . . well, not since that fateful day in May 1969 anyway.

Fr Lawrence said then that so many people were complaining about the government and those in authority but they did not realise that the "sick" state of the country was not due only to the actions of those in power.

His homily that Sunday morning hit home with a message about the daily "injustices" that was happening in and around our own lives, be it within the family, with relatives, friends or at work. This included acts of discrimination, domestic abuse, extra-marital affairs, bribery, neglect, cheating at business, greed, selfishness, and even the lack of respect for elders, among other things.

Fr Lawrence explained how the ills of society reflects back on ourselves, with such wrongdoings or bad behaviour being manifested on a larger scale with even greater abuses by those to whom we have entrusted the nation and all that it holds.

It has been more than 16 years but I have never forgotten that message from Fr Lawrence. I believe that his message still rings true until today.

I have tried to figure out why does it continue and, of course, it can be said to be simply part of human nature, or as the French would put it "c'est la vie" (that's life).

But in our beloved Malaysia, I think it could also be because for a lot of people, on a subconscious level, there is one issue that clouds our nation and that issue overrides any other type of "injustice" or unfairness that they may impose on others.

It is the bumiputera and non-bumiputera divide that splits our nation at almost every facet of our lives – from school to university right through to our working life, buying property and running a business, too, of course.

It is as if the country has grown over the past 50-plus years, and more so in the past 40 years, with a belief by many people that the term "non-bumi" is the ultimate symbol, and possibly best definition, of discrimination.

And so it becomes hard to fathom other day-to-day acts of discrimination, greed, selfishness, and abuse being as bad as having to live under the shadow of that perceived or real state-sponsored discrimination.

So, since the term is always going to be around, I realised that maybe the best way to get the message across for a transformation among many Malaysians, is to ask yourself, "who do you treat differently or with disdain, and that you knowingly discriminate against or exploit in one way or another?" "Who are the 'non-bumis' in your life?"

Going back to Fr Lawrence's message, it could be a family member, a spouse, the maid, a colleague, a business partner, the person who washes your car, the migrant worker, or even the staff at government departments.

In other words, it is how you treat others that ultimately matters.

I realise that many are probably thinking I am only referring to the non-Malays here, but I am not.

There is also a state of mind due to the bumi/non-bumi divide that makes even the Malays feel like "victims". Of course, this has a lot to do with the political propaganda that has permeated over the past four decades.

But this is also quite real based on the statements we read from various groups and their continuous demands "by right". So, those who consider themselves the "economic have nots" or "victims" need also look into how they treat their own circle of family members, friends, staff and others in their life.

Let us face it, we have all grown up with the terms "bumi" and "non-bumi". There is no escaping it, so that is why I would rather equate the terms on a non-racial basis.

The "non-bumis" in your life may comprise Malaysians of all races and also the migrant workers (read "cheap labour") in our country.

No one deserves to be treated as second-class citizens or second-class people, and the more we realise that it applies to ALL of us, and not just those whom we accuse of state-sponsored discrimination, the sooner this country may be healed of decades of division and decline. – March 6, 2015.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.