1Malaysia: It’s in the hands of our young

As adults squabble over race and religion, the younger generation is all too happy to embrace our diversity.

PETALING JAYA: Merdeka Day is fast approaching and few will greet it with any real sense of patriotism or optimism that a 1Malaysia is awaiting us on the horizon.

Be that as it may, perhaps the promise of a 1Malaysia lies with our young.

Maybe it is they who will teach us that race isn’t a dirty word as they bridge stereotypes and cross racial lines to embrace our diversity for the fascinating reality that it is.

Take the adorable Mohd Nor Mohd Rafe, a Malay kid making the rounds on social media with his fluent recital of Tamil literature. No fear there that his Islamic roots will be compromised.

MALAY BOY READING TAMIL LITERATURE

Thankfully this little boy is not the only “enlightened” Malaysian.

A quick browse on the Internet has revealed other such fascinating displays of racial integration by young Malaysians, giving us hope that Malaysia is not so divided along racial lines as our politicians would like us to believe.

One such video is of a quartet of Malay boys—Muadz, Azwan, Fazli and Zaidi—dressed in traditional garb and singing a Tamil song in beautiful harmony.

MALAY BOYS SINGING TAMIL SONG:

Their 2010 YouTube video has generated over 50,000 hits already with many fascinated listeners leaving glowing comments about the “fab four”.

One viewer writes, “OMG!!!! AWESOME GUYS!!!!” while another exclaims “Wow, your pronunciation is so clear n accurate.” Yet another sums up our sentiments for this Merdeka Day all too nicely with, “Awesome guyzzz… Keep goin… Tatz cll 1Mlysia.”

Way back in 2009, a shy, young Chinese boy by the name of Darren Tan auditioned for Vasantham Star 2009, singing a Tamil song, much to the amusement of the panel of judges.

When asked what made him come to the audition, he replied simply, “Friends.”

CHINESE BOY SINGING TAMIL SONG

Darren’s video attracted over 280,000 views, with many saying he was “cute” and praising him for his singing abilities. One viewer wrote, “He sings Tamil songs better than me…and I am Tamil!”

And then we have the lovely Elizabeth Tan with her honest, haunting rendition of Saloma’s evergreen “Selamat Hari Raya” that delighted us no end this past Hari Raya.

CHINESE GIRL SINGING “SELAMAT HARI RAYA”

Elizabeth too has attracted over 230,000 views with many calling her voice “velvet” and one saying, “U Chinese eh? Wah im impressed.”

Yes, we are impressed too and oh, so grateful that there is hope in a brighter future for Malaysia.

And talking about brighter futures, a must-see is this little cutie below who has both stage presence and a sweet, lilting voice that keeps you glued to the very end of her rendition of a Chinese song.

She is a pure delight to watch not only because of her heartwarming performance but because it gives us hope that in the hands of little ones like her, Malaysia can regain her pride of being a peace-loving, harmonious nation of people from all ethnicities.

MALAY SCHOOL GIRL SINGING CHINESE SONG