It’s Christmas, but it won’t just be Christians who will be celebrating. All ethnic groups will have reason to enjoy the yearend holidays – and that is what makes Malaysia special.
A CHINESE media friend from Hangzhou texted me the other day to say that she will be leading a delegation to visit Kuala Lumpur on Dec 23.
I replied saying we would be delighted to welcome her team but unfortunately, I would not be around to greet them as I would be on Christmas leave.
Expressing her regrets, she then asked if a Muslim colleague, a high-ranking person whom she knows, would be around.
My reply surprised her.
I told her the Muslim colleague would also not be present as she would be clearing her off-days. Another Indian colleague would also be away, spending time with his family.
The Chinese national said she had a lot to learn about Malaysia. She had assumed that with a 70% Muslim population, it would be business as usual in this country when her team arrived at this time.
I explained to her that while we have the public holidays for the various races, Malaysians of all religions also join in the celebrations.
It is common for friends of different faiths to visit each other’s homes to extend greetings. If we don’t do that, we will look to travel during the stretch of extended holidays.
By now, I could sense that she was thoroughly confused – or felt that Malaysians are always not working!
I was sure by now that she would be checking soon on how many public holidays Malaysians have. I can sense an embarrassed question coming from her soon.
Really, we are a blessed country. While we whine and grumble about ethnicity, none of us will quarrel about celebrating the festivals of every ethnic group.
We are the South-East Asian nation with the most public holidays, if we account for the state holidays as well, with at least 18 holidays each year.
In China, known as the factory of the world for producing just about everything, there are only seven declared holidays.
The United States is one of the few countries with 10 days of public holidays, while Germany only has nine.
My Chinese friend was also further bewildered to find out that I am a practising Christian as I do not carry a Christian name.
“Having a Western name doesn’t mean anything. Just like in China, so many of you have Western names,” I reminded her.
She answered that it was because many foreigners could not pronounce their pinyin names correctly with all the Zs and Xs in their names.
United in celebration: Members of the public enjoying the festive mood and colourful Christmas decorations in the Kuala Lumpur city centre. — YAP CHEE HONG/The Star
Naturally, Christmas is not a public holiday in China although New Year’s Day is. It’s the same in Japan, where Christmas isn’t a holiday.
So I guess we should not be surprised if the Chinese and Japanese think Malaysians will work on Christmas Day.
By now, she explained that the trip had to proceed, despite our unfortunate absence, as they had a budget which had to be utilised by year’s end. Well, at least, there are similarities in government agencies everywhere.
“Don’t worry. We may not be around but there will be other senior people who must be around,” I told her, and could almost hear the sigh of relief.
Again, she asked, perhaps to be safe, if the person would be a Muslim.
I had to disappoint her again. This senior person, I told her, was a Christian. Again, she was shocked as she had just heard that Christians would be away celebrating this festive occasion.
“Well, he will just take a day off as he is single, and he is in no mood to answer questions from nosey family members about his marital status. He will gladly meet you at the office, along with other single Muslim colleagues.”
This one, she understood perfectly. Nosey family members are, after all, a universal problem.
Again, I could almost hear her big smile, and relief.
While we have specific public holidays for the various races, Malaysians of all religions usually join in the celebrations and extended holidays – and the flip side of that are traffic jams, of course! — Filepic/The Star
But a week later, I received another message via WeChat, the messaging and social media app that’s popular in China.
“Mr Wong, not sure if this is good news for you. We will have to postpone the visit to January 2025, before Chinese New Year, due to procedural reasons,” she said.
Of course, it was good news for me as I had been looking forward to exchanging some cooperation, and can now do so.
But my single Christian colleague wasn’t too excited. He had been looking for a real reason to escape from the annual family interrogation.
“Boss, this is no good. Please tell them they don’t understand what Indian families are like, even though we are Christians.
“I could be already married to a total stranger by the time your Chinese friends arrive in Malaysia. I can hear my family already plotting away like politicians,” he pleaded.
As I put down the phone, I received a fresh text. The dates of holidays and extended long weekends for 2025 have already gone viral and 2024 is not even over!
I won’t be telling my Chinese friend this. Imagine what she will think of us!
How I love Malaysia. There is no place like it.
To all my readers, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
