REMINDER:
PLEASE DO NOT PLAGIARISE THIS ESSAY.
PLAGIARISM IS A SERIOUS ACADEMIC OFFENSE!
You
attended a talk at school in conjunction with Malaysia's Independence Day.
During the talk, the guest speaker made the following statement:
"The lack of appreciation for
our culture has caused Malaysians to lose their true identity.”
Write an
essay expressing your opinion on the statement. Write at least 250 words. [60]
--&&&---
Culture
is among one of the important aspects of our life. Culture is said to have the
ability to help mould our true identities. Yet, is it true that the lack of
appreciation for our culture has made Malaysians to lose their true identity? I
agree with the statement as the Malaysian multiracial culture is diminishing,
Malaysians are embracing an international culture and a true Malaysian identity
has never existed.
First
and foremost, the Malaysian multiracial culture is diminishing and at a fast
rate too. Malaysia has been known as a multiracial and multicultural country
for centuries. Its people – namely the Malays, Chinese, Indians and several
other indigenuous races like the Ibans – have been sharing and co-existing in
this small, prosperous country for so long. All of these people have
been mixing with each other, respecting one anothers’ beliefs and celebrating everyone’s
different festivals perhaps since Independence was declared in 1957. This is
the true multicultural and multiracial Malaysia. Yet, with the advancement of
technology, this culture of Malaysia is diminishing at a very fast rate. The
technological advancement, which led to the creation of non-face-to-face
communication applications such as WhatsApp, Skype, Face Time, video calls and
emails brought about less connections and communications in the real world,
with real people. Many of us are opting for this kind of communication and
interaction, due to its simplicity and time saving traits. Subsequently, there
is less of mixing, socialising and interacting with the general Malaysian
public of different backgrounds, ethnicities, cultures and beliefs; causing a
lack of understanding, appreciation and respect for other Malaysians and
ultimately the multicultural, multiracial Malaysia. Many of us now tend to
respect only our own race, culture and belief and could be said to have
developed a dislike and hatred towards cultures and beliefs that are different
from ours. Following this position and situation, the appreciation for our
multicultural and multiracial Malaysian culture is slowly being eroded;
resulting in each Malaysian to also slowly lose connection with his own
country, yet more connected to his historical country of origin. For example, some Malays of Middle Eastern descent are now looking back to Middle East for a cultural
connection. Some even start giving their children Middle Eastern names, using more of some Arabic words at home; and reviving, cooking and serving recipes
from “back home”. They sometimes often feel proud of and boast of their heritage instead of being Malaysians. In this way, Malaysians could lose their identity as citizens of
Malaysia, feeling more connected to their original countries, history, racial
as well as cultural backgrounds; and hence would prefer this identity more rather than as Malaysians. Thus, it appears true to say that the lack
of appreciation for our culture due to the appraisal for one’s own culture has
made Malaysians to lose their true identity.
Next,
Malaysians are embracing the international identity. The world is now a global
village, thanks to the process of globalisation. Far and remote areas are
joining the united “big world” to become a complete federation of the countries
of the world. Perhaps, in a few years to come, there will be no country known
according to its original name as the world strengthens its unity and would
only be known by one-yet-representing-all name. As this wave of "global
identity" extends its fingers to every nook and corner of the world, Malaysia
is not spared. Many of our young people are embracing the international look,
style, lifestyles and even names. To hear Malaysians being addressed using
Western or Korean names is not strange anymore now. Businesses also are
metamorphosing into a “global” icon or image, leading to us feeling like we are
in a foreign business area rather than in Malaysia. Names that resemble
international places such as Farenheit88, Design Village, Crescent Dew or Starhill
Gallery are common in Malaysia now. Therefore, as Malaysians look outwards to
foreign countries in their vision to be part of the global village, the
absorption of the foreign cultures and customs are inevitable. More and more
Malaysians are claiming that they are part of the world community and thus, are
more appreciative of the world or global culture than of their original
country. We could see this when Malaysians are found to be quicker to celebrate
international festivals like Bon Odori or Songkran, joining in the festivities
rather than the Thaipusam congregation or the Penang International Boat Race. Some
Malaysians are even integrating this new culture into their personal lives by
opting for “international” names like Mikhail, Anastasia or Aidan – names that
are not nor do not sound Malaysian. As
they embrace the identity of world citizen, celebrating and appreciating perhaps
all cultures and their festivals, inevitably the appreciation of our own
culture would be less; and as they label or claim themselves more as the
citizens of the world or the people of the global village, they would lose their
identity as Malaysians. It is in this way that the given statement is found true,
and so it could be said that the Malaysian identity is lost due to the lack of
appreciation for our culture and the growth of appreciation for the world
culture.
Finally,
a true Malaysian identity has never existed. Being multiracial and
multicultural since its inception in 1957, and after its re-birth in 1963,
Malaysia has always been accepted as represented by its three main races namely
the Malays, Chinese and Indians. There just could not be one race representing
this country without the other two. As so, there has never been one single
identity for the citizens of Malaysia. If ever the name “Malaysia” is spoken
whether in a local or international platform, these three races or ethnicities
would automatically come into mind. In terms of food and festivals, it is those
of these three races that are being highlighted, promoted and accepted as
representative of Malaysia, like Hari Raya, Chinese New Year and Deepavali and
food such as Nasi Lemak, Mooncakes and Thosai. Never has there been one single
cultural festival or one same traditional food for all Malaysians to associate with.
Due to this emphasis on the main three races of Malaysia, their food and
festivals, one true single identity of Malaysians has never existed. As a
result of this, citizens of Malaysia frequently celebrate these festivals and
appreciate the corresponding cultures separately according to their
ethnicities, religious beliefs and connections to the respective racial groups.
In other words, as an example, only the Muslims and Malays would celebrate Hari
Raya with their extended or nuclear families; and likewise for the other races.
Malaysia has no festival which every Malaysian would celebrate together as a
way to relish its culture and heritage like the Thanksgiving Day in the USA. Such
is the situation, Malaysian’s identity could be said as always “fragmented”.
Malaysians would mainly associate themselves to these three main races or to
their own racial and cultural background should they not belong to one of these
groups. When there is no single identity of Malaysians, there is also no single
culture of Malaysia. Almost everyone is Malaysia is just celebrating their own
cultural heritage but renaming it as the Malaysian culture. Ultimately, the
actual Malaysian culture which consists of that of the three main races lacks
appreciation and Malaysians are left without one single identity that everyone
could feel belonged to. Thus, as explained here, Malaysians lose their true
identity due to the lack of appreciation for our culture is undeniable due to
the inexistence of a single true identity for Malaysians and of course, the
inexistence of a single culture for Malaysia and the appreciation for it.
In
a nutshell, the claim that
the lack of appreciation for our culture has caused Malaysians
to lose their true identity has been proven true due to reasons such as
Malaysia’s multiracial culture is diminishing fast, Malaysians are embracing
the international culture and identity; and there has never been one single
culture and identity for Malaysia and Malaysians. It is hoped that despite
their differences, Malaysians would always find one single cause that would
unite all of them regardless of their cultural and historical heritage, the
importance of which has been implied by the late Kofi Annan, “We may have
different religions, different languages, different coloured skin, but we
belong to one human race.”
---&&&---
A Personal Comment: I find this question rather tough, being a Muet teacher myself. I wrote this essay in about 3 days. I wonder how the candidates could or would do it in just 50 minutes. Furthermore, this question requires vast knowledge on the aspects of "identity", "Malaysia and Malaysian identity" and also those of other countries as well in order to provide comparison, etc. To candidates, I hope you realise the need to be knowledgable in order to keep up with the difficulty level of this task - MuetMzsa
