Red World by Faith Goble

I was born biracial (bi-ethnic to be accurate), but the only race stamped on my ID card is of my mom's because well, the law says so. I don't like it but but then again, I'm not the kind of person who has that race-pride affliction complex.


Saying that you're proud solely because you're of a certain race or mixed race is rather unbecoming. I did not have a hand in my own birth so to me, the premise of being proud for something I have no control over is plain ridiculous.

I don't even see religion that way and up to this day I am apolitical. Perhaps if I were to be brainwashed at a very young age I would be different but then again I did go through a period of cultural brainwashing earlier in life that the only positive thing that had come out of it is that I no longer view life in such myopic manner.

There's an engrossing atmosphere of anticipation for real change in the country. On the very physical level, it's easy to underestimate the weight of it. Where on one side we have leaders struggling to maintain status quo, on the other, progressive minds can't wait for the glorious entrance into the new golden era where Malaysia transforms itself into becoming the wholesome nation that it's been hyped up to be.

Funny, all the hoo-hah after the GE13 corners itself back into the subjects of race and religion when it is 20-freaking-13. I don't echo the seemingly favorite stand of the so-called majority in this case for the mere fact that I just do not place any race/religion on a high pedestal.

We all have unique genetic roots but don't we ever get bored playing the race and religion cards every time? Barking like mad dogs over rights that are simply a privilege anointed on the basis of whether you're born into a selected race/religion highlights a dangerous and archaic mentality that is tragically backward.

I find that the whole spirit of 1Malaysia thing as advertised by the media so out of touch with the reality that we're living in as I'm sure those who have working brains would see it too.

We have been Malaysians regardless of race, religion, and bank balance for years now that to have this caricature of concept of so-called unity rubbed at us is rather aggravating when we have obviously been living and breathing the united and peaceful 'Malaysian Spirit' every single day.

What we all need is real substance to back up the true meaning of 1Malaysia. Stop with the gimmicks and get back to the root issues. Maybe my idealism is reaching but I hope it's not.

What do we mean by 1Malaysia really? Can we say that we're all the same when in fact there's a place of holy privilege for a selected group of people which is preserved and coddled by law?

What about those who do not fall in that category? What's with the race-based political group settings? At this stage, we just need people who ultimately care about other people for the only reason that we're of the human race.

Heck, if there are green or purple aliens from other planets visiting us in the future, we ought to try work things out with them too.

Ethnocentrism is not attractive even on a personal level; yet my country still lives in its smothering grip.

When 1Malaysia TV ads or print ads were rolled out a few years back, eye-rolling had become the norm in my family. And not only that, I'd suspected that these horrendous ads had actually influenced me in casting my first-time vote and got my index finger (not so) indelibly-inked.

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