Culture,like God and politics is everywhere

Culture has always fascinates me.It makes me want to learn more,and respect others who are differ from us especially in terms of beliefs and set of values.Be it Malay,non-Malay ,Muslim and the non Muslim. Culture, is viewed as the whole way of life of a particular people or social group with distinctive signifying systems and involving all forms of social activity,and artistic or intellectual activity (Williams,1958).It is particularly exhilarating to me when intertwines with history,travel and tourism.

New Form of Imperialism

After the fall of the Ottomans empire,the world were in more chaos than before.

I still remember my visit to Turkey in December 2007,and was offered the alcoholic beverage even though my friend and I were covering ourselves with hijab and proper attire.It’s a pain to see some of our brothers and sisters in faith misunderstand Islam as extreme,conservative and burdening;hence leave Islam for the sake of 'modernisation' and 'social revival'.I believe many of us had experience or at least share the same feeling as I do.

Turkey,in memory.

The Malay and Islamic culture in Malaysia are facing the threats of extinction too as the young generations (read:X and Y Generation) are fond to embrace ‘budaya kuning’,which leads to the increment of people transgress the limits and involve in moral decadence.Unfortunately,they ignored the values and moral principle taught at home and school.Just take a glance at our surroundings - the revealing apparels worn by the youngsters nowadays,the fast food restaurant mostly franchised by the multinational companies from the west,the giant supermarkets and retail shops which supports the exploitation of child labour in order to maximize their profits,various games and reality shows that do not stimulates intellectual thinking among viewers etc.This seems to be another form of colonialisation by the western countries,(mostly) especially due to the expanding concept of globalisation nowadays.We are not only becoming into one Malaysia,yet we are enforcing the concept of ONE WORLD obliviously,particularly with the emergence of internet and low cost of transportation to mobilize across the world.

Analogy in Economics.

P:Price of the good
Q:Quantity of goods demanded(by consumers) and supplied(by supplier/s) in the market
D:Demand curve
S:Supply curve

Let us refer to the diagram above to discuss further on the topic.The current demand for product A is at the equilibrium of P1,Q1.Assuming people are demanding for more product A,this will cause the Demand curve to shift to the right,from D1 to D2.The new price and goods demanded now has increased to the new equilibrium at to P2,Q2.

So,as consumers demand more,they’ll receive more,yet they have to pay extra as the suppliers are profit-motives.

The same thing applies to culture and values.Assuming that product A is a lipstick product.If the multinational countries manage to indoctrinate women that wearing lipstick makes girls more sexually attractive and become more confident,then people will demand for the goods and willing to pay extra money just to become like the model in the advertisement.

Another instances are computer and video games.They have hugely become the substitutes for our traditional games. Who still go out and play congkak,gasing and sepak raga with friends,hands up?!Many,would prefer a no-sweat policy;sitting in front of the televisyen and computer playing wii or playstation although the traditional games are way cheaper than the electronics.

But,if product A is a solat or any ibadah,the explanation will be different as you are dealing a business with your own creator.

As we demand and perform more of sunnah prayers(increase Q1 to Q2),Allah will give us more benefits and mercy in both dunya and akhirat.So,P actually refers to our God’s generosity to pay us rewards for our ibadah.Yet,there are flaws in diagram.When it comes to our beloved God,we can’t compare Him to anything and use this simple diagram to explain about Him.We don’t have that rights,as He has on us.His power,love and kindness to all His creatures is beyond our imagination and capabilities.He is certainly not a profit motive.We do.

Good Culture VS Bad Culture

So,some questions to ponder.

How do you differentiate between good and bad culture?

What is so good with our embedding ourselves with Malay and Islamic culture?And how shall we understand them when most people do not even portray the beauty of those culture?

How do you know the truth is actually the truth?

The Little Nyonya

I stumbled upon The Little Nyonya series in NTV7 a couple of weeks ago.It educates me about Malaysia’s history and the Peranakan culture.To be honest,I know nothing about Peranakan until I watch the show!I truly love the show,and I wish I will be able to see any series that portrays the beauty of Malay and Islamic culture and teachings in the near future.

I strongly believe,that it’s important to know who you are and where you come from,so then you will be more clear on where you are heading in the future.Besides,knowing ourselves better makes us feel more confident,and aware with all the resources around us so we can plan and have more control on our destiny.

Adair(1982) had said once;Culture,like God and politics,is everywhere..

There's no harm on trying to understand these 3 elements :)