Nation needs more conversationalists

AT the Labis hot springs predictably named Pekan Air Hangat, a Chinese Malaysian of about 60 and looking fit, had been meaning to have a chat with a group of reporters from Kuala Lumpur. He summoned sufficient courage as they were returning to the car. "We don't normally have many visitors." That, by the way, happens to be a standard-line tossed about loosely by people voting in by-elections, but this man, was looking for a proper conversation. Just that he could not think of other conversation starters. The entire family would be at the hot springs daily, arriving at 5pm. The source which is scaldingly hot is off limits. Two ponds are filled regularly but two others and private quarters, going at RM30 per hour, are on standby, "It is a great healer ... after two years I am feeling much better," he said. Three Malay families, one of whom said they were from Johor Baru, a two-hour drive, were also savouring the soothing moment then. Pekan Air Hangat shall erupt with politics from this week ahead of the Jan 30 Tenang by-election but keep an eye on the hot springs to scan for heartwarming scenes, of Malaysians having a nice chat with a stranger. This reporter received tips from an elderly Chinese gentleman at a similar setting last month, at the Felda-run hot springs enclave in Sungkai. "It is bearable here," he announced, as he soaked his feet in the wooded area pond. Crowds of Malaysians bought tickets to get in -- unlike the one in Pekan Air Hangat -- for a fulfilling experience, a perfect hideout from the strains of the daily political attrition that often centres on, unfortunately, politics of race. "You look good," a Malay man of about 55 pointing towards the somewhat depressed abdomen of his shirtless fellow conversationalist, a Chinese in Sungkai. People who get into any form of chats with strangers in crowded places or elsewhere are indeed skilled. Hence, the secondary argument this space is labouring to make; this nation desperately needs more conversationalists, characters eager to talk to someone at a time when personal space and privacy are annoyingly overrated. These gregarious characters are harmless of course, not those con artists who have the gift of the glib or violent criminals walking around with malicious intent. In any case, there are more profound issues. Coinciding with a phase of "direct speaking" about one's political beliefs that often exposes racialist streaks, this article has been faithfully dislosing the ethnicity of personalities it mentioned. With 38 or 39 per cent of the Tenang electorate being Chinese, the healing attributes of its the place, shall be subjected to a stringent examination. Malay families were enjoying their coffee with toast at "Steven's" the most prominent Kopitiam in Labis. You don't see "Kopitiam in those old signages. Elsewhere in the country these are "Kedai Cina" to be avoided by the Malays. The rebranded "Kopitiam" is something else. It is lifestyle. Nearby Yong Peng has such outlets, but not the laid-back Labis. A government officer said when he first went to the Labis wet-market locals knew instantly he was an outsider. Unfamiliar faces are conspicuous. The big arguments this space is trying to make are: a) "Will national conversation loaded with issues of race be transmitted to Labis-Tenang in the course of the next two weeks?" b) Are people who live in some of the most stress-free zones of the nation where everyone knows the other, dictated by politics of race? c) Are the younger crowd less bothered by race? We are not getting any nearer to answers. By the way Labis is ultimately the bastion of MCA president Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek who had fussed over DAP's game-plan of attacking Umno to gain votes. That analysis is not without basis. A reporter covering the Perak DAP convention in December was stunned party secretary-general Lim Guan Eng was running down Umno rather than criticising MCA in his opening speech. Dr Chua will probably tell the Chinese voters in Tenang MCA too has been critical of some of the actions and pronouncements made by Umno officials; that MCA also pursues tangible programmes makes it more sensible and effective than DAP. Beyond tactics perhaps treating life as a maddening rat race has been of no help to mitigating the politics of race. "Lu tau itu rumah besar siapa punya?" a KL cabbie, a Chinese, was telling this reporter as we were passing a rather upper-middle class area, "Itu Dato Melayu punya la, orang kaya". Perhaps health more than wealth shall unify us more. So go to a nearby hot springs, get yourself rejuvenated, treat the stiff necks, get the strains and stresses out of the way. Get acquainted with our fellow countrymen. Maybe, just maybe, at some point our grandchildren could toss misguided talk on race out of the window. Read more: Nation needs more conversationalists http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/10rya/Article/#ixzz1AgUTFzQM