Evaluating Intercultural Behaviour

Coincidentally, I met with an intercultural situation recently, while accompanying my father to his forwarders’ warehouse.

It was lunchtime for the staff when we arrived and the staff - five Malays and two Chinese- were gathered together tucking in their food. Both my father and I were astonished by the scene that greeted us - a box of Bak Kwa (barbequed pork, a delicacy during Chinese New Year) was laid on the table and a Chinese lady, seated between two Malays, was enjoying a piece of Bak Kwa. All five Malays ate their food in silence. Seeing this, my father and I kept our distance.

After the Malays had left, with the last casting a displeased look at the Chinese lady, my father casually asked the Chinese lady if she had offended the Malays by her action. It is against their Muslim religion to come into contact with pork.

To our surprise and disgust, the lady replied that each individual has the freedom to eat whatever, whenever and wherever they desire, regardless if they were Malays or Chinese or Indians. Besides, the office is a neutral place and hence, she felt that there was no offence being made to her Malay colleagues.

Not only was I shocked, I was also angry at the lady’s reply. She had simply showed no sensitivity to the feelings of her Malay colleagues. From my interpretation of the expressions on the faces of the Malay employees, they probably felt somewhat uncomfortable by her acts, but not wishing to create any conflict, chose to tolerant the lady’s acts and eat their lunch in silence.

On the way home, I asked my father for this opinion of the scene. My father explained that his Muslim Malay friends have expressed their thoughts on such issues and as Singapore is a multiracial society, it is not uncommon for them to encounter such situations. Most of them, especially those with a staunch belief in their religion, feel uncomfortable seated at the same table with people of other races eating pork. However, if given no choice, they would still accept their differences quietly. On the other hand, many of the Chinese people who have Muslim friends try not to order any pork when they are dining with the Muslims so as to show sensitivity to their culture.

Personally, I feel that it is important to be sensitive to each other’s culture, especially in a multiracial society like Singapore. Although people may be more tolerant here and choose to remain silent so as to avoid conflicts, it does not mean that their needs and feelings should be taken for granted like the incident at the warehouse. Racial harmony cannot be obtained within one day, but it only takes one second, one spark, one insensitive remark or person to destroy all the peace that Singapore is enjoying.