notwoxer (An RB Amero Blog)

THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED IN FREESPACE IN THE SUN Wikipedia defines culture (partly) as patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activity significance. Acceptable I’d say, but in a pluralistic society like Malaysia, is there one single Malaysian culture? Quite unlikely. Each race in this country has its own set of cultures and beliefs, passed on from generation to generation. Some hold on steadfastly to the values, some apply them on occasion, and still some totally abstain. Strangely, as I see it anyway, while a modern person may not necessarily live the culture, he or she is likely to defend it to the death. A burger-gobbling, pop-drinking and fashionable Malay, Chinese, Indian, Kadazan etc. may yet argue till blue in the face that his or her traditional values should not be impeded for any reason. Try telling the above-described Malaysian that he or she can no longer wear kebaya/cheongsam/saree for whatever reason, and the uproar will be louder than th...