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©New Straits Times
(Used by permission)
by John Teo
DECADES of hardline ethnocentric chauvinism and posturing came tumbling down
like tenpins through one symbolic act after another, as the aftermath of the
March 8 general election continues to reverberate throughout the country.
One such moment of symbolism came with the ceremonial opening
of the new Sarawak state assembly session this week. Parti Keadilan Rakyat's
lone assemblyman, Dominique Ng Kim Ho, who in previous years stuck out like a
recalcitrant sore thumb as he turned out in ceremonial uniform minus the
headgear, was this time finally decked out in full regalia.
His fellow oppositionists in the DAP were at least consistent in showing up
again in business suits, the irony apparently lost of Western-style dress being
considered less objectionable than the military-style white tunics with Malay
songkok.
In fairness to the DAP assemblymen and two assemblywomen, their objection was
ostensibly over the costs to the public purse of the uniforms, that they are
likely to use only once a year.
The contortions that an otherwise very practical-minded community goes through
in choosing to either wear the ceremonial headgear or not are endlessly amusing.
There are those who convince themselves that the headgear that comes with the
uniform is part and parcel of an ensemble, and is therefore suitable to wear no
matter what one's personal convictions. They would still object nonetheless if
formal occasions required the donning of Western suits with songkok.
Precisely why there is an objection to the songkok
being worn by non-Malays mystifies me. We celebrate our multiracial diversity by
partaking of each other's cuisines, cultural peculiarities, festivals and, yes,
dress styles. This should be heartily encouraged as long as there are no
religious strictures attached.
Is the objection to the songkok because of any religious connotations? If
I understand it correctly, the songkok or peci as it is called in
Indonesia is distinctively regional and not part of any Islamic dress code. I
never notice any Muslim Arabs wearing it, for example.
Indeed, with our common Asian features, nothing would make us more recognisably
Malaysian or Southeast Asian than if we were all to wear the songkok as
part of our national dress. I am sure that is what our athletes to the Beijing
Olympics will be decked out in as they parade into the stadium during the
opening ceremony - and how remarkably resplendent and distinctive a picture they
will surely make.
The songkok, after all, has the admirable quality of being sartorially
elegant with almost any dress style, and such versatility is handy and
practical.
The cultural purists, especially among Chinese Malaysians, will undoubtedly try
to find new arguments against such a proposition of the songkok as part
of our national identity. They will be fighting a losing battle and the sooner
they concede, the better it will be for national unity and integration.
There will be those who object simply because the songkok is pushed by
the powers-that-be, and more delicately perhaps, by some Malays. This push,
however, has the redeeming merit of not attempting to foist silly-looking and
thoroughly impractical "national costumes" on hapless national leaders at each
Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) summit.
In fact, as is our wont, we are making an unnecessary mountain out of the
molehill of an innocuous fashion statement. That is perhaps the necessary
trade-off for living in a nation of such great diversity, where the majority
community has the mindset of a besieged minority while the largest minority
community often feels and acts not as one might normally expect of minorities.
It's a uniquely Malaysian "double whammy" we constantly have to wrestle.
But, if assemblyman Ng's symbolic act at the Sarawak assembly this week is any
indication, we may not have to wrestle with it forever. The day when wearing the
songkok by all Malaysians is no longer an issue may be nearer than one
thinks. This, no matter what one thinks of the pros and cons of the political
outcome of the general election, would be an unalloyed positive development.
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