By C C Pung
Justice of Peace
SUPPOSE I am celebrating a Buddhist occasion at my home.
Like any good host, I will let my guests know there’ll be a prayer and food, and knowing that my guests are of different faiths, I’ll be mindful to avoid beef (taboo to taoists and Hindus) or pork (haram to muslims) and keep my dogs out of sight in case some considered them filthy.
Like all good Malaysians, we are aware of the many religious practices among us but that doesn’t change the fact that I, in all sincerity, am keen to share the occasion and my home with people I call ‘friends’.
That being so, I think it’s fair not to expect me to tear out my Buddhist altar, renovate my kitchen, replace all my cooking utensils and cutlery, and background-check all my intended guests to ensure all their suspicions and religious idiosyncrasies are considered.
Who would do that?
By the same token, I don’t expect any of my Muslum friends, whenever they play host, to consider every guest’s chili tolerance level or if everyone is OK with lamb and ketupat or nasi kuning or lemang instead of white rice.
Didn’t our grandma’ teach us the etiquette of a good guest?
Be graceful.
Don’t verbalise your likes and dislikes because nobody asked.
Appreciate the differences between your host and you.
Be appreciative. Shut up if you have nothing good to say.
And the easiest you do is just turn down the invitation if you had any fear or reservation.
Everyone has some food, religious and cultural sensivities.
Wisdom tells you (if your grandma hasn’t) not to test your sensivities in an unsure environment.
Remember, the friend who invited you respect you (that’s why you were invited, stupid!) and has no interest in testing you.
So, if you start telling your host to do this and not do that as a condition for your attending, you’d lose his respect and you’d be told not to come.
To be social cohesion is when everyone respects the other’s boundaries and sensivities, and no one is entitled or superior.
Thus, for the socalled minister of religion to have the audacity to draw up guidelines for him and his likes to be present at an event is arrogance of the highest degree.
The funny bit is that, in trying to posture the supremacy of his religion, he’s admitting that he’s a person of little faith that could be undone or shaken if he’s not in a place with crucifixes or Taoist figurines, or hat the prayer of a different faith is said in his presence, or that he had used a spoon or drank tea in a restaurant or home not certified Halal.
Uphold multi culturalism.
You may be special. But you are not necessarily superior.
God is.
Editor: The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of talantang.com
