Of respect and tolerance, and ….

What a misguided signboard in Kuching, Sarawak, taught me.

COMMENT

For a short while, it seems, a particular posting on social media took a segment of Sarawakians by storm.

A prominent hotel in Kuching was said to have recently put up a sign on its premises ‘advising’ its non-Muslim guests to respect their Muslim counterparts during Ramadan by dining at the same time that the Muslim patrons break their fast, the Malay Mail reported yesterday.

The posting, now removed, appeared to have caused a small stir in Sarawak, who understandably say that they do not need public lessons in respect in such a manner.

Sarawakians are able to live in peace and harmony despite ethnic and religious differences because of their very high respect for one another, its Chief Minister proudly proclaimed at the beginning of this year, according to a Borneo Post report dated January 4.

That statement may have been aimed loosely at us over here in the Peninsula. Perhaps, we deserved it. After all, look what we have been up to recently. We seem to be unable to even tolerate each other lately.

Respect instead of mere tolerance. Quite noble, I thought. So, I looked it up briefly. Here is what I found.

We “respect” the actions that contribute to life and to the world, according to The Big Picture.

“These actions express the natural values,” it says. “We may respect and admire some people, based on how much or what they contribute to the world. This is true even if their lifestyle and culture may be radically different from our own.”

But it explains that there is a fundamental difference between “respect” and “tolerance.”

We respect positive contributions towards life and to the world, but, we cannot respect actions that are destructive. Instead, we merely “tolerate” some (not all) behaviours which are harmful.

Suddenly, I understood the distinction between “respect” and “tolerance”.

In the context of a multi-religious society, I deduced that we should not merely exercise religious tolerance. We must learn to respect religious freedom.

Respect for another’s religious beliefs must be taught and learnt – at home, in our schools, at our workplaces, in our places of worship and in society at large.

I was happy with what I discovered, but only briefly, because it was then that I came across what Leo Tolstoy wrote in Anna Karenina.

“Respect,” he said, “was invented to cover the empty place where love should be.”

Aiyo, Malaysia! We have a long and arduous journey ahead. Nevertheless, I am up for it. Are you?