XENOPHOBIA in Malaysia is rearing its ugly head. Again.
The latest is in Johor, with a banner reading "Kami Tak Perlukan Anda Disini (We don't need you here)" going viral. It is directed at the Rohingya, the most persecuted people in the world. Fortunately, Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar has intervened. If royal intervention is needed to eradicate prejudice, then we are in a sad state.
Many conveniently blame the prejudice on Covid-19. Be not so quick. Xenophobia or any other hate-fuelled phobia has a source elsewhere. Look no further than the heart, for it is here the taint begins. And it is in this very same place the ugly spot can be removed. Let's not forget, the heart is the abode of love.
If we turn xenophobic against the Rohingya, what's the difference between us and the ethnic cleansers of Myanmar? Or for that matter, the xenophobes from elsewhere. Isn't there enough hate around the world? Must we add to this tinderbox that our troubled and troubling world already is? Whose side are we on?
The Myanmar military regime with genocidal tendencies, or those who fight for a more humane world? Humans or race? Granted, the origins of prejudice have a complex narrative. But it is all nurture and never nature. There is no original sin here. Prejudice is a pair of glasses we put on. It is a learned way of seeing. And a wrong way of seeing at that.
The good news is that it can be corrected though we must do plenty of work. Because what needs repair isn't the physical pair of eyes, but the "eyes" of the heart. This again is a learned way of seeing. A right way of seeing. This requires knowledge. Knowledge about the human race and everything in the universe that surrounds us.
Consider the Earth. It is not all ours. We share this beautiful planet with 7.7 billion others of all colours that our skin pigments allow. But this isn't the same as ethnicity, of which there are said to be 650 to 6,000, depending upon who is doing the seeing. This is understandable.
Like race, ethnicity is a mere social construct. Put another way, they are man-made constructs. What is real though is the human race that traces its origin to a common primordial pair. We are all related. This we often forget. Because it happened so long ago.
The Rohingya, the African-Americans, the Caucasians, the Malays, the Indians, the Chinese, and men and women of every other name we have taken to calling, are related. If we remember this, we will stop hating each other.
There is another thing. We share this generous Earth with other life forms, too. Experts tell us there are some 8.7 million species of plants and animals in the world. Hate them away and our lives will be threatened. Besides, they were here before we arrived some 7,000 to 8,000 years ago. Lest we forget, they hosted us. It's only just we return the favour.
We owe a favour to our human kind, too. It doesn't matter what label we give ourselves or others apply on us. Remember, it is a human construct. There is no ethnic label where we came from nor where we will go to. We learnt this here.
And we must unlearn it here, too. The heart of the matter is this: all lives matter.