I am identified by government agencies, banks, employers, service providers and other organisations by my identity card, which has my full name and a unique number.
In my country, the locals see me as Malaysian Chinese but when asked by foreign visitors, my answer would be Malaysian. Recently, the South China Morning Post published “I’m Singaporean, not Chinese: TikTok videos sparks debate over shunning of roots”.
I concur with the assertion. Nationality should be placed above roots. For example, the United States may not be as great as it makes out to be but it has granted citizenship to millions of foreigners, and the government has always gone all out to protect any of its citizens overseas.
In China, there are 56 official ethnic groups with the Han making up 92 per cent, and many have also emigrated to four corners of the world, including Malaysia and Singapore. I have long lost touch with my relatives who settled in Jamaica and Tahiti.
Ethnic Chinese may share the same roots that started aeons ago. With adaptation to the local environments and adoption of local cultures, they can be quite different from one another in many ways.
If they were to speak English, Mandarin or a dialect that I am conversant with, then we can communicate well with one another. As such, language is more important than ethnicity. For thousands of years, the Chinese have used hereditary family names for surnames.
As the Chinese make extra effort to ensure no inbreeding, marriage between people having the same surname is avoided. But this should no longer be an issue if they speak different dialects, meaning their bloodlines are much diluted, as their ancestors have long moved to other regions.
Surnames must be written in Chinese to know whether they are the same, as Romanised versions can vary. For example, Chan in Cantonese is Chin in Hakka. My surname Chan is different and Caucasians pronounce it as Chen, which sounds the same as my Hakka dialect.
Although those with the same surname as mine are linked by bloodlines, I feel closer to those sharing the same dialect. However, I do not identify myself through ethnicity, surname or dialect. The variety of Hakkas is so varied and different that many could not understand each other.
Within the same ethnicity, there are many sub-groups. If asked to picture in my mind a Malay, Indian, Buddhist or Singaporean, I will not be able to do so as I avoid stereotyping people.
For example, article 160 of the Constitution of Malaysia defines a Malay as a Malaysian citizen born to a Malaysian citizen who professes to be a Muslim, habitually speaks the Malay language, adheres to Malay customs, and is domiciled in Malaysia. Ethnicity is not mentioned here.
But politicians everywhere play the race card, as many citizens are under the false belief that they will be protected by people looking similar to them, and others are portrayed as a grave and imminent danger to their well-being or livelihood.
Ordinary people are easily fooled and their imaginations run wild with promises made to them and impending threats, and cannot see through the guises of politicians, who will do anything, including betrayal, to gain popularity, votes, power, position and wealth by distorting the truth.
In Malaysia, ethnic Tamils, Malayalees, Telegus and Punjabis identify themselves as Indians because they were told they are and stated in their identity cards. But none could speak or write Indian as each has their own language. They could be Hindus, Muslims, Christians or Sikhs.
While conducting training, I would request the Buddhists to put up their hands. When asked about the temples they have gone to, most have been to Taoist temples only but not Buddhist ones. They consider themselves Buddhist because it is stated in their identity cards.
Although the vast majority of Malaysians practise a religion, most of them may not fear the Almighty. No religion discriminates against others of a different ethnicity, but leaders of a religious-based political party here are openly against others of different ethnicities.
For thousands of years, battles and wars have been fought between tribes and nations, and between people of different ethnicities, religions or ideologies, with winners seizing land and property, and controlling the government and inhabitants.
To me, there will always be good and bad people everywhere in this world and most are somewhere in between. There will always be arguments, starting from home and in the workplace, among neighbours, and within the community.
While it feels good to be right, it is better to be kind by being magnanimous. I am touched by people who are kind and are inspired by their kind deeds. These are the qualities that I embrace and wish to emulate.
Kindness can be expressed on a one-to-one basis from among family members to strangers. It can also be done in a group such as while conducting training or sharing ideas with the public through published articles, as readers might find them beneficial.
Although my writing is not of a professional standard, I enjoy writing and editors can tell they are not copied from online sources, and many readers find my original ideas interesting or useful.
While not everyone can be highly intelligent, smart, clever or lucky enough to succeed in a career or business or become wealthy, everyone can choose to be kind. This quality triumphs over all others and a kind person is appreciated by everyone.
So, I wish to identify with the kind people of this world, and they can be of any nationality, ethnicity, religion, language, culture or region.
I may not practise a religion but subscribe to universal values and may have more godliness in me than ardent or fanatical followers of religions.
Feelings of superiority over others of different ethnicities or religions or foreign workers do nothing but inflate the ego and refrain one from giving a helping hand to others. Not only that, it would also retard mental and economic development.
A nation progresses when its communities are open-minded and exposed to diversity and adapt to a rapidly changing world instead of clinging to imaginary glories of the past. In any event, I want to be part of those who are kind to others and to all living things and the environment.
The views expressed here are strictly those of YS Chan from Kuala Lumpur.