Despite Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak trying to promote 1Malaysia, there are certain people trying to practise the famous apartheid policy – segregation of the white and the black.
Let me give one example. On 19 December I was invited to attend a wedding dinner between a sergeant and one of my nieces at a hotel in Kuching. There were two types of tables – some were covered with white table cloth and the rest with red cloth.
I was seated in one of the “white” tables. When alcohol drinks started to flow, only guests at the “red” tables were served with beer and brandy. Several times we made requests for beer to be served at our table, and each time our requests were ignored.
We informed the “aki” (grandfather who is the writer’s uncle) of the bride, yet he could not help. Like other wedding receptions, slices of wedding cakes were distributed to all the guests, and the bride and bridegroom would also go from table to table serving brandy to the guests. We found out only the guests at the “red” tables were served.
One of the guests seated in my table went to the counter to seek inquiries and was told that beer was only to be served to guests seated on the “red” tables. And when he wanted to buy his own beer, only then that the beer was served on our table.
Not that we wanted to drink beer very badly, but the way we were treated, it was most embarrassing and insulting. As one of the guests said: “Rugi aku donate RM100.00”
But the questions I would like to ask is: Are we Ibans becoming class or rank consciousness? Or have we lost our sense of compassion, love and respect for one another? (Baru pangkat Sergeant udah ka rigang-rigang).
And to me what better time than Christmas is for us to show our love, respect and goodwill to one another? - The Broken Shield
Source: www.thebrokenshield.blogspot.com
Let me give one example. On 19 December I was invited to attend a wedding dinner between a sergeant and one of my nieces at a hotel in Kuching. There were two types of tables – some were covered with white table cloth and the rest with red cloth.
I was seated in one of the “white” tables. When alcohol drinks started to flow, only guests at the “red” tables were served with beer and brandy. Several times we made requests for beer to be served at our table, and each time our requests were ignored.
We informed the “aki” (grandfather who is the writer’s uncle) of the bride, yet he could not help. Like other wedding receptions, slices of wedding cakes were distributed to all the guests, and the bride and bridegroom would also go from table to table serving brandy to the guests. We found out only the guests at the “red” tables were served.
One of the guests seated in my table went to the counter to seek inquiries and was told that beer was only to be served to guests seated on the “red” tables. And when he wanted to buy his own beer, only then that the beer was served on our table.
Not that we wanted to drink beer very badly, but the way we were treated, it was most embarrassing and insulting. As one of the guests said: “Rugi aku donate RM100.00”
But the questions I would like to ask is: Are we Ibans becoming class or rank consciousness? Or have we lost our sense of compassion, love and respect for one another? (Baru pangkat Sergeant udah ka rigang-rigang).
And to me what better time than Christmas is for us to show our love, respect and goodwill to one another? - The Broken Shield
Source: www.thebrokenshield.blogspot.com
10 comments:
For a wedding dinner celebration with such segregation, how much lower can it get? Unheard of in non dayak communiites! Goes to show the low mentality of some of us ibans! The "reds" are the "have not" and the "whites" are the "elite"? The next time you go to a wedding make it a point to ask which table you will be seating on. If its a red table clothed don't bother to attend. Its as insult and totally out of character. Respect for family elders that we have valued for so long in our culture have been replaced by favouritism to those who has "pangkat". It sure leaves a bad taste and will be a talk of the kampung for a long time to come.
Just like the political divide, if you are with the ruling party you get the opportunity to get rich and if you are in the opposition you get to eat the crumbs!
This mentality of " looking down" on our own race and relative and treating them with contempt, which we can do without, is the very reason why the dayaks can't unite!
so you see Jetty, that's what I kept on taking about dayak's unity. even in wedding,which is a happy occasion, and yet there is no compromise on unity and fairness.I still think it's a long way to go before all dayaks will think as one.
Nemu gak...
Ukai bakanya ia engka ia ka masa ketua ia ke datai, pia ia. Having the boss coming to his function means alot to him and even to you if that happened to be your occassion, sorry bro. Enti ba rumah panjai, enda la bakanya sama duduk ba ruai meh kitai. please respect his choice rite? I mean there must be a protocol otherwise you may be talking nonsence to the "knowledgeable boss" betul kan?
iam still not happy about what happening lately. People especially the Christians were enjoying their Christmas holiday entertaining their friends, yet KEMENTERIAN DALAM NEGERI was conducting a meeting on the nite of the 25 December 2009 at Bilik Punan, 2m floor of Purnama Hotel in Limbang. All the BIG BOSSES were coming down to Limbang all the way from SEMENANJUNG including MUSA HASAN! Now NAJIB, where is IMALAYSIA spirit you have been talking about? SHIT! no respect for others.
GOD is great that during that occassion, one senior officer died while having a karaoke session in LIMBANG.
It is up to the owner of the house what to be serve to his guests. Even if he serves you plain water instead of beer, why complains!!
Pity the Sergeant (don't know sergeain of what). I am sure that amongst his guests were those who because of religion were prohibited to drinking beer or liquor. And he in respecting them could have had coloured code the table white and red. So if that was so them you are wrong in condeming the person. And one think for sure we will sit with those familiar to us even there was a seat alocated for us. Could you be sitting on the wrong place???? Please find out more before you blog to discredit a person.
so bolehland/mly mentality...look down at own race/families
Apooo, A'ya! Kasih amat aku ninga crita baka nya!
I would preferred kampong-style wedding with free flow of information, tuak, langkau, stella...
And of course, joget sampai pagi with live band performance – not the “kera-OK” one...
ofcourse we need to be a little bit of a diplomatic, because those attending the weeding are not exclusively the iban or the dayaks, but other races who are not familiar with our culture of heaving drinking and then mabok and the ngerichau bejako/ heavy jokes. We drink and got drunk but not all can behave themselves properly when drunk. Some acted like real monkey and some acted like a hardcore gangster though they are not. Sorry to mention this because we need to learn to respect others. True dayaks have respect for others but that does not mean we let others trample on us, remember that.
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