anak bangsa malaysia - judgement + passion = one nation?

I nearly choked on my keropok that day as I refrained myself from shooting back a reply. Thing is I've learned through the years, that sometimes, its just better to hit the self-mute button and to listen to what others have to say. I do have to admit though, that my face nearly turned blue with effort as verbal diarrhoea is definitely one of the curses I am born with. With just enough will power that I could muster, I took a swig of my orange juice and listened nonchalantly to what she had to say.

Let me just say my friend was judging a person that she had never met before. She was judging that particular individuals character based on her friends assessment, who I must add had just met the person in question - ONCE.

I changed the topic after that, as sometimes you just know that its really not worth your time pitting against a person who has set her mind on something. She was not a close friend either so, I did not want to don the **tsk**tsk** you are better than that mask and tell her off. Plus, who was I to say anything? More often than not, I myself am guilty of doing the same thing - judging others without even knowing them.

We chatted for a bit more and I put the phone down. I sighed when I realised I had cleared a whole bowl of keropok by myself.

Whilst contemplating whether I should fry myself some more keropok or grab a weightwatchers toffee yoghurt, I caught myself slipping back to the day I was sitting at my table at the multinational company I was working with years ago. I still remember being completely gobsmacked when I was informed by my friend, that there was a petition against me.

Yes, you read the last sentence right, a petition against moi! I mean I can certainly be b****y at times, especially when I'm hungry but a petition? I remember a blush setting in when my friend told me exactly what had instigated the petition. Apparently my attire to work was a tad too, erm, provocative. It may seem funny when I look back now, but when it happened, I was exasperated.

I was so demoralised at that point as I thought my accomplishments at the company for the past five months had been in complete vain. I may not have been the best of employees but I took pride in my work and I do think that my work was acknowledged by the select few in the company. It was definitely a sad thing to know that several other people would actually nullify my efforts with something as trivial as my office attire. I mean quality of work = dress attire, make any sense? I was disappointed because I was judged based not on my work merits but rather, on the way I looked! I really did not know and understand these people, I went to work to earn my money, not to degrade my colleagues with petty assumptions.

To cut a long story short, my CEO called me into his office. I was prepared for the long lecture but I was also armed with my own points to debate should the need arise.

I was pleasantly surprised when he told me that he was not going to pay heed to the petition. He even laughed it off as he said that he had never heard such ridicule, to which I vehemently nodded my head in agreement. He dismissed the subject by immediately starting on another topic, and that was the end of it and I have never ever heard about it ever again.

This is not an exclusive incident, being judged is unfortunately a huge chunk of life. I have been judged many a time after that, and I too am guilty of doing the same thing unto others. Whether it be on a personal scale or on a bigger scale such as people assuming that I am lazy just because I am Malay. People have judged me for the friends I have depended on, for the career paths I have chosen to take, for the partners I have chosen to hold hands with, for the most mundane of things and for the biggest choices in my life.

All this, without knowing me or rather the lack of wanting to know me for the person that I am. Always, prejudging me for the person that they think I am.

Alas, it is so easy to judge people, to nit pick the worst in them and overlook the good points. I have learnt that what others think about you is not what matters, maybe you sometimes think about those closest to you, but in the end the choice is always in your own hands. What you want and believe in is ultimately what matters in YOUR life, so you should make your own decision/s.

So to my friend to whom I spoke to the other day, please make your choice independent of blind assumptions. Choose your battles and your weapons. Do not allow people to make your choices for you. My emphasis in our conversation tempoh hari, was not only about the people behind the much awaited change in Malaysia, it is also about what these people believe in. They believe in a better Malaysia and are passionate about making those changes.

Right now, time is running short. Malaysia needs change and it won't happen in the next couple of years if all anak bangsa Malaysia do is belittle the other. Let us leave the judging to other people, those bereft of a single sin in their lives (non-existent), or befittingly, judging should be left to God.

For all my other friends, let us learn and gain from the passion of the people who strive to make the dream of one Malaysia a reality. I yearn for the solid trickles of change, don't you? Malaysia needs a serious shake down, and we need people who believe in making those changes. I want to be one of those people, after all it is my nation and the future of anak bangsa Malaysia.

So, in the meantime, I have learned that no matter what anyone says about me, I will indignantly continue to extend my support to those who are working towards making those changes. Those who are not merely talking and complaining, but those who have the initiative and tenacity to actually walk the walk!

Come on anak bangsa Malaysia, is it not time to cast judgements aside and work together towards a better Malaysia?