No Race Issue, Only Rice.
Posted in FOOD, LIFE, THE WORD OF TRUTH, PICTURE TALK, MALAYSIA, CITIZEN'S COLUMN, NEWS on November 3rd, 2008
Last night I had my dinner at the famous nasi kandar stall along Jalan Kapitan Keling (formerly Pitt Street). The stall is just next to the mosque. This place is well known to nasi kandar lovers all over Malaysia. Actually there are two stalls there. One starts from lunch till about 11pm. And the other will take over from then till early in the morning. It is said the one that starts at 11pm is better. But honestly, to me they are both the same as long as you get there when the food is just cooked, fresh and hot.
Anyway, this is not about nasi kandar. It is about what I witnessed there. We talked about racial harmony, Bangsa Malaysia, tolerance, living with one another regardless of race or religions. All these are just mere terminology if we never put into practice.
While having my nasi kandar, a Malay family of 5 came and sat next to my table. The wife and children were seated while the father went to queue up to place the order. Then I saw him waved to the waiter to come over. He then told the waiter to ask an old Chinese man sitting near the queue if he wanted a drink. The Chinese man said that’s ok, but the Malay guy insisted and told the waiter to get him a teh tarik. And if that’s not enough he asked the Chinese man if he would like some chicken but the Chinese man again said it’s ok.
I turned around and I saw that the Chinese man was having just curry on the rice and some fried cabbage and a glass of plain water, probably tap water.
My point here is that, the Malay man did not see the color of the skin of the Chinese man. He saw a poor old man who could use some proper food. He sees through the skin into the pain and sadness. And probably hunger. He sees another human being in needs.
After I paid my bill and walked away, I felt so bad that I’ve not noticed the Chinese old man. But I guess I was not the only one; there were like 30 to 40 other customers who did not notice the old man too. Anyway, that’s no excuse. The question is, would I have done the same?
When I reached my car, an old rugged Malay “jaga kereta” man came over and directed me to reverse my car. I always see that Malay man there but I’ve not “seen” him. Like the Old Book says, “Having eyes, see ye not? And having ears, hear ye not?” Sometimes we can be blind even we have good eyesight. And our ears are often deaf to the cry of those who are in needs around us.
When I looked into man’s eyes, I saw pain, sadness and hunger.. I then took out my wallet and gladly gave him a few ringgit and asked him to go and have a good meal. Thanks to the anonymous Malay man, and many other unsung good Samaritans out there. These are the people who don’t just preach, they walk the talk about racial harmony, Bangsa Malaysia, tolerance, living with one another regardless of race or religions.
Maybe there is a lesson we can all learn from Nasi Kandar. Whether we are Malays, Chinese or Indians we love our nasi kandar. We sit next to each other, we eat the same food, some like it a bit spicy and some not too spicy but it’s still nasi kandar and we love it. There is no race issue at the nasi kandar stall, only rice.
