Talking about sensitivities...

Chinese in general are very superstitious if you go by the rituals they do during Chinese New Year, which stretches from the First day (common to go vegetarian), Second day (back to carnivorous behaviour), Ninth day (used to be celebrated by Hokiens but now regardless, including the Hakkas ie. those who were responsible for the Hokiens to hide in the sugar plantations and missed 8 days of the CNY), until the Fifteenth day (Chap Goh Meh) when unmarried maidens throw oranges into the river in the hope of finding good husbands. They even have a specific day to receive the God of Prosperity, and so on and so forth.

During the Chinese New Year period of festivities, certain things are considered taboos, like sweeping the floor on the First day, and even showers are avoided if possible! Just imagine during our dry spell! Having described all that, imagine how I felt when I discovered the water supply to my son's house in Petaling Jaya was disconnected on the February 23? Syabas to SYABAS for being so 'considerate'! Water to the Chinese is supposed to signify money, and even garden taps have to be fixed facing inwards to signify money coming in. My blood pressure goes up when I think about the whole episode, so it is best I refer to a letter in Sin Chew Press in response to the recent insensitive remark by our PM's aide:

Granny was not here to sell her body

SIN CHEW PRESS
2010-02-05 18:39

In any culture, it is a big taboo to insult a person's mother. You can call people any name you like, and perhaps, a large-minded person will just see you off as a jerk or a fool, and will not make a big fuss over it. But in no way can you ever insult his mother, or his grandmother. And this is particularly serious in the Chinese culture. Both mum and granny are sacred beings not to be encroached upon or desecrated.

Nasir Safar said Chinese women came to Malaysia to sell their bodies (jual tubuh). You have blasphemed the mothers and grandmothers of some six million Chinese Malaysians, Nasir.
Our grannies did NOT come here to sell their bodies! With their pure souls, youthfulness and vitality, they established their homes here and had made significant contributions towards nation-building.

What would become of this country if not for these grannies? Including my own grandma, Madam Liu Qian, a person I respect the most in my entire life.

She was a foot-bound woman from Mainland China. When my grandpa came to Malaya, she stayed back at the ancestral village in Fujian province to take care of my father. When the life of my grandpa became more stable later, he went back to China in order to bring her here along with my father.

I'm here to tell you that my granny, along with the grannies of other six million Chinese Malaysians, sailed across the oceans here not to sell their bodies! With her bound feet, granny came here to support a family. And when the Japanese troops rolled over Malaya, she led the family to safety.

When the situation became more stable later, she negotiated with the Japs to get a licence to do business, and had been able to expand her business when the Brits returned. She treated her Malay and Indian neighbours as her own compatriots, and would prepare a whole stack of angpaos on the first day of every Chinese New Year to distribute to the Malay and Indian kids queuing up in front of our house. She leased out a small plot of land for a Chinese primary school, but had not in decades asked for the return of the land.

Every year on 31 August, she would try to find a national flag and hang it up high on a very long pole in front of our house. She landed on Malaya, and treated this place her own country.
She had not had another home or country since. When she passed away, many Malay makcik came to our house and sobbed over her passing.

With her unparalleled wisdom, hard work, morality and determination, she spent her entire life in a very respectful manner. No one can ever insult her and accuse that she had come here to sell her body! My granny, like the grannies of many other people, was a truly great woman. From Malaya to Malaysia, they were scattered in every family and every corner of this country.

From the rubber-tapping workers in the estates, to the excavators in the tin mines, they were the most hardworking and exceptional women anywhere in the world.

During those darkest years, they displayed the most glorious side of humanity. They sacrificed their youths and lives, so that you and I, along with our homes and nation, can come into being.

Even though they might no longer be around today, they still live deep inside our hearts, and support us morally.

Not only the country's laws will come after you, Nasir, you still owe our grannies a sincere apology.

(By TAY TIAN YAN/Translated by DOMINIC LOH/Sin Chew Daily)

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