The Qualities Of A Malaysian Indian (presented on the National Conference on "Indian Youths in Malaysia" on 27th Sept 2009

The Qualities of a Malaysian Indian

By Abbey Thangiah, Methodist Youth Fellowship

The Hindraf Rallies in 2007 has certainly shaken the nation. The National elections in March 2008 have shaken it further. Indians who have been silent has rose up for their rights. The government is taking many necessary steps to ensure national unity by opening more avenues for the non majority race. There has never been such a time as this. We must pool or ideas and resources and come up with creative, constructive and innovative ways to get our rights without creating chaos in the country. We must ensure that our leaders actually speak for us and not be succumbed to the pressure of politics.

When we point one finger at others, we unconsciously point 3 fingers at ourselves. We must first look at ourselves before shifting the blame on others. Can we honestly say that we are not at fault? What have we done for our country? Have we helped the needy? Did we play our part in lifting up the less fortunate? Have we treated our brothers equally, disregarding the race, colour and gender of the person? Have we been thankful to our creator? Are we faithful in our religion? How we treat our Indian brothers from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka? Have we been fair and just to others as we want our country to treat us? Are we propagators of world peace? Are my questions even important?

As I shoot out this questions? I falter as well. I’m not perfect. In our quest of improving ourselves, we have neglected our part in improving the lives of others. I will use the acronym INDIANS to further probe my point. My aim is to take you on a journey in discovering the good and bad qualities embedded in us. I will also suggest ways on which we can enhance and improve our qualities.

INTELLIGENCE

In the movie “Monsters and Aliens”, we see the president of the United States turning to India to send in their technology experts when the aliens invade earth. Of all the races in the world, I wonder why India was chosen. Indians accounts for a large percentile of intellects in the world.We are able to create and innovate. Our youths are able to score high marks in International exams such as “O” level, “A“ level, SAM, SAT, CPU and many other undergraduate and postgraduate programmes around the globe. We praise God for creating us with an intelligent mind.

This is only true when we provide a necessary medium for our youths to grow. This medium is education. Dr. Abdul Qalam, the past President of India once quoted that we must always inspire and ignite the minds of our youth. Rev. Jesse Jackson, founder of the Rainbow PUSH organization quoted that when we neglect the education rights of an unfortunate child, a brilliant mind is wasted. As Indians, we must ensure that every child deserves an opportunity for education, be it technical or vocational. No Indian is stupid. We must realize that each of us is wired differently. We may not be good with numbers and books but we may have a skill. We must realize that a carpenter is as intelligent as a rocket scientist. The only difference is how God has created us to use our mind and hands.

NAÏVE

When I get the privilege, I often chat with Indian youths on their future after SPM and STPM. I am saddened when I get a very simple “I don’t know”. Even if they answer me, it’s usually doctor, lawyer, engineer and teacher. These are good and noble professions. The sad thing is, when I ask them why they chose the occupation, the answer is a plain “CUMMA” (that is Tamil for simply). Some didn’t even get to choose their future. Their parents asked them to do it. Those who don’t know what they want to be are simply whisked by the government. They simply drift wherever they are put. Like chaff, Indians simply flow with the current trends of political, parental, social and economic conditions of the country without having a stand on their own.

We often tend to listen to what others say without having our own opinion. This is because we are trained from a very young age not to question authority. Our choices don’t matter. We have been told since birth on what to wear, what to study, which stream to follow, what courses to take, who to marry, which house to buy and when to have children. The list goes on and on. As much as we despise these things, we find ourselves repeating this vicious cycle when we resume out leadership and parental roles in the future. The sad things are that when things go wrong, we are the ones who face the music, not our so called decision makers. Stop being naïve.

God created us with a brain. Let’s start using them. We must not be slaves of a system but continuously apply the spirit of “kaizen” (continuous improvement) in our everyday living. We must make our choices, learn from our mistakes and make better future. This circle of choices will always help us in making better choices in the future. These choices range from buying a toothbrush to deciding the direction of your multinational company in the future. We must always act on principle and not blow with the wind. As we make more choices, we learn more and will definitely make better choices. This will lead to the improvement of the nation at large.

DISCIPLINED

Indians are generally disciplined. As I write about this quality, my grandfather, Mr.S.D.Thangiah comes to mind. He was a man who was disciplined in waking up, praying, finances, relationship with other people, turning off the tap, cutting the hair and even to the extent of making sure the curtains are aligned before going to bed. He made sure that things we prim and proper. Although I found many of these attributes irritating, I now understand the wisdom of his disciplined life. As a railway shunter, he has raised 10 children successfully and providing most of them a house each. Many Indians will definitely know of rags to riches stories of our forefathers. I only quote this as an example of our parents, grandparents and great grandparents who were pioneers who took the painful decision of leaving their families in India and start fresh in our beloved Malaysia. It was discipline who pulled many of us from the line of poverty to riches. The simple habits of saving money actually compounded making the following generation better off. They sacrificed the luxuries of life in making sure we live comfortably.

Indians are generally more cultured and disciplined than many modern cultures of the world. We listen to our parents, we behave in schools, we come back on time, we study, we played sports, were school prefects and represented school, state and country in many events. I could go on and on.

Although we find discipline lacking in schools and colleges, we find that we resume our disciplined patterned when we start working. Even in a worst case scenario, if ever we don’t make it in life; we will make sure our future generation have a better life than us. We must learn when to say “NO”. We must learn to quit our addictive habits (cigarettes, alcohol, overeating, drugs, pornography etc.). We must learn to save money. We must learn to be loyal to our spouse, employers and country. All these require discipline and can only be learnt through perseverance and experience.

IGNORANCE

Indians are very ignorant people. We only think about ourselves. We just want to elevate ourselves. Once we’re up the pedestal, we forget who we once were and forget the people around us too. We forget our cultural roots. Some of us take this a step further and despise our culture. Do we know how many people die of hunger? Do we marginalize the less fortunate? Are we doing our part in protecting the environment? Do we actually think we can go about our lives without taking the welfare of others into concern?

Ignorance has certainly created a huge divide amongst us. On one end, we have this middle class onwards society where we generally have enough. We get a decent education, live comfortably and have extra to spare. On the other end we have another group of Indians who struggle to get their children a decent education. They live in low cost housing schemes struggling to pay their basic bills. They live stuffed in shared rooms with poor lighting and ventilation.

How then do we bridge this divide? Show compassion and care to everybody. Open your eyes and read newspapers, surf the internet and go for seminars. Be aware of what is happening with our fellow Indians and citizens of the world at large. Let us learn to be concerned of those outside our social circle. Let us stop thinking only of ourselves. We must always remember that we are only a piece of God’s puzzle.

ARROGANCE

We are not only ignorant but arrogant. If ignorance is an attitude in which we are basically unaware of others, arrogance takes this one step further. We not only not care for others but look down on them as well. It is okay to be proud to call yourself an Indian and appreciate your culture but this becomes arrogance when you demean others in the process Pride certainly comes before fall. Look where our arrogance has brought us. Division is the byproduct of arrogance. As Indians form about 8% of this nation, arrogance creates this subdivision of many race, religion and cast. We not only construct a social barrier but look down on other social barriers. When was the last time you actually had teh tarik with a person of a different social class than you?

Looking down on others is not going to help the Indian race. Thinking that we are above others created a stagnant atmosphere where we stop growing and prevent others from growing as well. This resonates with the Indian crab story where these groups of crabs prevent each other from going out of the cage with an opened lid. They pull each other down. We not only stop growing but prevent others from growing as well. This creates a lose-lose situation.

Let’s learn to be humble. We must always come with a win - win solutions. Let us seek first to understand others before seeking to be understood. Let us learn to live in tolerance and harmony with one another. Finally, always remember to put our pride aside and give glory to god to the great things he has done for us.

NATIONALISM

Nationalism has been embedded in our hearts since our forefathers. Though Indians fight among each other, we unconsciously unite when someone talks badly about our country or culture. We will unite and defend ourselves as often as possible. This is indeed positive. We must be proud of our country. Though we never got all our rights, we must be thankful for what we have. We could afford a decent place to stay. We can afford to eat at least 3 meals a day. We were provided with a decent education. We live in a country which practices democracy. We choose our leaders. We boast of one of the best infrastructure and facilities in the region. I’m not saying that Malaysia is perfect. Many expats and students from overseas come to Malaysia stand in awe at our achievements and actually learn from us. We have hundreds and thousands of foreign workers flocking to enter our country. Why?

As we begin to reflect on these things, let us learn to appreciate Malaysia and improve from there. Once we learn to appreciate our country, we unconsciously take efforts in making Malaysia a better place to live.

SPIRITUAL

Indians are spiritual. We have a strong sense of respect of our creator. Even if we don’t believe in God, we respect our sages and their teachings. We know that world peace is essential. We also know that peace is achieved when we are at peace with God, ourselves and at peace with others. We are also against the killing of innocent blood. We are supposed to live all lining creatures. We are supposed to protect the innocent. We must protect our environment. We must be always aware that justice is served. We must not discriminate one another. Though different, we actually have many more things in common. Let us focus on that which we have in common and actually come up with ways which we can unite and build ourselves.

As I draw this to a close, I just pray that we examine ourselves before condemning others.

Once we know our mistakes, we improve. As we improve, we will work together as one united race. When this happens, we will get our rights. People will look up to as civilizations once did a long time ago...