Suggestions and Ideas on how to instil racial harmony

As of late, the talks of 'racial harmony' has increased. Even more so in the recent events of disturbances by people who made choices according to their emotions instead of their logical mind. And this has created somewhat a tensed environment because the sensitivity has been stirred with unnecessary events and doings. So my suggestion is to instil racial harmony through a series of ideas. But not the cliché suggestions, something out of the norm. out of the ordinary. So here is my list of suggestions that i hope would add a little something extra, i hope we can reach 'racial harmony' in an interesting fun way.

1) Food Mania

I suggest that we instil awareness of the different cultures in Malaysia through food. Firstly, I think we should start with the youngsters. I suggest that in the school canteen, every 1st monday of every month, we prepare delicacies from the different cultures.

For example, 1st Monday of the month of January, is Chinese delicacies. And for the following month, it could be the Kadazan delicacies. Kadazan is a race from Sabah, which is part of the Borneo. Even after 52 years of independence, many people are still not aware of the races in Sabah and Sarawak.

We can introduce the different type of delicacies from different races starting with the young kids in school. Subconsciously, we are encouraging them to get to know and appreciate what the other races has to offer. They can learn about the different cultures through the medium of food. It is an approach that we can try and start early on with the kids. Hopefully while they eat, their friends from the race the delicacy is can share antidotes and stories, and in turn they can be connected through all of this.

2) Dress up Day

The wonders and advantage of living in Malaysia is how colourful it is. With all of the different races we have so many types of traditional clothes. My second suggestion is that we have a 'Dress up Day'. We can implement this in educational institutions as well as workplaces. I suggest that we have one day every month where everyone dress up from the different races traditional clothes. There are so many options from the Punjabi suit, to Samfoo, Sari,Kebaya,Cheong Sam, Baju Melayu and a lot more. It would be an interesting and fun way to incorporate racial harmony and get conversations started.

3) Education through Art

Art is one of medium for an outlet of our feelings. It is like food to our soul. Most of the time, most of us are so driven with our emotions that we make irrational decisions and choices. Sometimes frustrations and anger can lead to us overacting. When we live in a multi-race country, it is not easy to always be happy. It is not realistic that all of us are content with everything and everyone all the time. Therefore, sometimes it creates racial tension because it is as if we have exploded from keeping all the frustration and anger bottled up inside

I suggest that all of us have an outlet. There are so many art medium that can be used for this outlet. It can also be an activity, that can be done with family or friends. It should also be an activity in school.

For example in school we should educate kids from a young age a healthy way to express and find a healthy outlet for all their emotions. We can also include racial harmony in this activity. For instance, give all the kids one word, say, harmony. And let them decide how they interprate it. Be it through a sculpture, a poem, a short story, a song, a painting. And then get them all to present and cheer each other on. Then hopefully through this activity they can connect with one another by letting their guards down.

Those are some of my suggestions that I hope, can be used someday to strengthen our ties with one another. Because the reality is that, without the diferent races, Malaysia would not be what it is today. It would not be where it is today. We all worked toward this together and i hope all of us can tolerate and exist in harmony, even through the tough time.