Crumbling Morality

A friend once told me that Moral Studies is the only subject that is practised only in Malaysia.

Today's The Star main paper section tells the story of how donations continues to pour in for a mother even though her daughter dies of brain cancer.

Today's The Star Startwo section, columnist Chong Seau Ching says the as Malaysians we continue to discriminate the Africans.

All these three sentences tell me one thing, which is we have different faces of us and we show those different faces to different people every now and then. We would smile to a fellow Malaysian, for they are part of us and we should be proud of them, and frown upon the foreigners, because they were not welcome and they should go back to their very own country instead of invading our beloved land.

How sad it is to show that this is what has become of morality. Nothing is easy anymore. No one can leave their houses without feeling aware of heir surroundings. Anything can happen and a life is lost. Where has that security that I know so much, that if I get lost in a shopping mall, I can always rely on a security guard? There is a possibility of a crime anywhere. House, streets, shopping malls, restaurants, even schools.

Yet we still can find the opportunity to look down on others. This is a sad world. A world filled with injustice. When a small portion of the community tries to equalize the world, everyone else is going against it. They agree that there is no way that everyone can of the same status. Most Caucasions are unhappy with Blacks and Asians. Us Asians are too unhappy with Blacks and sometimes, Caucasions. Awed with each other's intelligence and prospect, beneath us lies a competition that we want to win another ethnic group. This is what we are, and when that was brought up to the surface, morality can be gone forever.

I am not even sure myself if I am that willing to help others. If we help too much, will people take advantage of us? If we stop by near the road to help someone who is stranded by the roadside, there's a 50% chance that we might lose our vehicle, depending on whether the casualty is a phony or not. We cannot have anymore handbags because the snatch thieves are leering over it. It is not safe for girls to go out anymore since there are rapists around. Countless advices were given for any type of possible crime that might occur. Never in my life have I had to watch out everytime a crime was spread nationwide.

Yet I, and I'm sure many of the readers out there, do not want to look at foreigners in a different angle. Not all Africans have AIDs, not all Africans are scheming for money. Some came to just continue their studies, or were just trying to earn an honest income, so that their families back in their home country will be better. I agree that we should be cautious because things might happen, but shouldn't we be cautious to everyone else too? We can be friendly to an extent, because they are still human. Look beyond race, ethnicity, colour, religion, and what you basically see is a human. There are good and evil humans everywhere. Yet those traits are being covered up by all the aspects that I have mentioned above.

So while I try to treat everyone the same, will I get the same treatment back? I'm not sure about that, but, all I know is that I want to treat them well, and not because I want something from them. Since when, doing good pays a price anyway?


Thanks and good day.