Celebrating Diversity

Based on my inaugural speech at the Kuching Toasmaster Club Meeting

Let me be specific about the topic of diversity. This is important as the topic is wide for the uninitiated. I want to talk about diversity as in cultural diversity; culture as in values or norms that guide a person’s way of life or how he/she looks at the world around him/her. 

I consider this topic interesting as I myself was born and brought up in a culturally diverse environment. My late father is a Filipino from the Ilo-Ilo province in the Philippines while my mother is a Lundayeh (or Lunbawang) from Sabah. My father did not tell me much about his cultural background until I discovered it myself in what I call an epic journey to Ilo-Ilo in July this year. My father is an Illonggo, one of the many ethnic groups in the Philippines. The Illonggos are regarded as “malambing” (gentle/soft-spoken). Generally, they also do not take life very seriously. This probably explains my father’s laid back and free-wheeling lifestyle! 

When I married to a Kenyah-Kelabit in 2005, I came to deeply appreciate cultural diversity even more. I remember my marriage was one that was full of cultural display. We had my uncle explaining to my wife’s family the significance of the traditional gifts we brought for the bride, and the bride’s family representative telling us about the Kenyah/Kelabit cultural uniqueness.  

At home, we celebrate cultural diversity in its various forms occasionally. We can taste different food menu, ranging from the Filipino’s highly popular “lechon” (roasted pig cooked over charcoal), the Lundayeh’s “telu” (pickled meat), to the Kelabit’s “duree” (minced vegetables). We also use different languages to communicate. When my wife asked me once whether I wanted to eat “labo”, I vehemently said no thinking that labo in the Lundayeh language means “rat” but in Kelabit it means “meat” — normally fish or pork meat!

But the most important point that I want to stress today is our country’s cultural diversity. There are more than 80 different ethnic groups in Malaysia — or probably more — if we take into account not only the main ethnic groups but the sub-ethnic groups as well. Each of these ethnic groups has its own language and tradition. One thing that makes Malaysia unique is that each of the main ethnic group can practise its own tradition without hindrance. What is more important is that the rights to practise our own culture are clearly spelt out in the constitution. Despite our cultural differences, we have been able to live in peace and harmony for more than 50 years. So our country’s strength, I must emphasise, is its cultural diversity. To ensure the survival of our country as a nation, it’s not about accepting other people’s cultural differences anymore; it’s about celebrating those differences with them!  

I would like to end by stating a quote from Mahatma Gandhi: “no culture can live if it attempts to be exclusive”. Let’s share with the world the uniqueness of our cultural background. By doing so, we may not only help in promoting it but also in prolonging its lifespan. Let’s also send a strong message to the world that “there is beauty and there is strength” in cultural diversity.