NUR ASHYIKIN BINTI MOIDEEN

 

LEARN TO RESPECT OTHER CULTURE

Malaysia has been recognised as a synthesis of three major cultures that have been taught to children since childhood which is Malay, Chinese, and Indian. However, cultural inequality is often intertwined with political, social, and economic inequality, and it can even be found in schools.

When I was 12 years old, which is in primary school, I was in a situation of cultural inequality. It started when we had to choose group members for our science project. The truth is that I had no friends in primary school because I was in the first grade and there were more Chinese students than Malays or Indians.

As the teacher instructed, we must sit in groups, everyone has their own group rather than me.So, I decided to go to the group that consists of three Chinese members. Unfortunately, they did not want to accept me. To be honest, I felt sad and bad when I got rejected, maybe because I am Malay. However, my science teacher told them that they needed to take me to join their group, and they accepted me without any objection.

This story got worse when they didn’t involve me in completing the group assignment because they thought that my ideas were useless and not good enough. At this time, I really feel upset and mentally drained. We were given 2 weeks to complete this task, and honestly, from my heart, I felt really stressed when they ignored me. I cry almost every day when I get home from school.

From this point on, my mom noticed that I had changed a lot. Above all, she gave me some advice and told me not to cry over spilled milk. She gave me a new spirit and some advice to cheer me up. As a result, I was extremely motivated to attend school and effectively solve this problem.

After 2 weeks, it’s time for us to submit and present our work in front of the teacher. As I expected, they submitted their work without putting my name, and they told the teacher that I didn’t take part in this group discussion. Nevertheless, the teacher said that I was the first person to submit work and that my work was completely good. They were shocked and regretful because they didn’t give me a chance to take part in this task. They were ashamed after this tragedy, and despite continuing to contact me now. 

CULTURE OF MALAYS

Culture is a property or characteristic of a group that can be defined by language, religion, and lifestyle. Other than that, culture is also determined by the identity of a group that lives in a specific place. As everyone is aware, culture is more specifically associated with the language, beliefs, values, and norms, customs, dress, diet, and knowledge that people learn that comprise the way of life.

However, there were several issues that were caused by culture, which is better known as "cultural inequalities". We will go to the more specific details, which are about Malay culture in Malaysia. I could say that this is from my own experience. When we were celebrating Hari Raya, older people would tell women that we needed to give men preference by having them eat first, while women ate after they had finished their food. For me, it’s not fair for women to wait for them.

In my opinion, this situation is oppressive. This is because everyone should have their own rights. If men eat first, there are high chances that the food will be finished first and women won’t have anything left to eat. We must do justice and resolve this issue so that there will be no injustice.

Instead, there were several others, such as the fact that only girls were permitted to do housework. Some people said that men are only supposed to work and earn some money for the family. For me, everyone has their rights, and not only women need to do housework such as sweeping, cooking, and others. In this situation, society should make it a habit for boys to help girls with housework to make it easier.

Other than that, society should change their thinking about girls could not going out and only being allowed to sit at home. It’s actually not fair because everything that boys can do is not allowed for girls. They have their own lives, and they should enjoy them. We need to open our eyes and settle this problem before it gets worse.

All in all, everyone especially Malays, needs to work together to settle the issue. Neither girls nor boys have their own rights to determine their future. Society needs to be open-minded and not too obsessed with its own traditions. In conclusion, we need to avoid cultural inequalities in our life to get a better environment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Culture, Culture And Culture Essay - 1321 Words. (n.d.). Bartleby.com. Retrieved November 16, 2022, from https://www.bartleby.com/essay/Culture-Culture-And-Culture-F32C8HXZLJXQ 

 

Importance of Culture Essay. (2018, June 19). UK Essays. Retrieved November 16, 2022, from https://www.ukessays.com/essays/cultural-studies/culture-and-its-importance-essay.php 

Musliana, I. (2022, November 11). 27 adat resam dan pantang larang Melayu, orang masih buat lagi ke? SOSCILI. Retrieved November 16, 2022, from https://soscili.my/adat-resam-pantang-larang-melayu-beranak-kahwin-mati/