KUCHING: Stepping out of one’s comfort zone is always a challenging endeavour, especially when it involves leaving one’s family behind and pursuing studies overseas.
Nonetheless, 33 years ago, Rajan Thangaveloo, who hails from Alor Setar, Kedah, embarked on a journey to study in Sarawak at the age of 19.
Without having any regrets, the current senior lecturer of Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) has instantly fallen in love with the state from the moment he first set foot in it.
“When we talk about 1 Malaysia (concept)… I learned this many years ago in 1991 when I first came here to study at Politeknik Kuching in Matang.
“I see all the races here in Kuching, Sarawak, can just sit down together. The coffee shops especially; even Malay, Chinese, Indian, Iban, Dayak, can sit down and have coffee together.
“And I see a Muslim stall, something shocking for me then; I see a Muslim stall in a Chinese shop. But there is no problem, they know what they can or cannot do in the same place.
“That is what I fell in love with until today,” he told New Sarawak Tribune when met recently during the Pongal Festival at Sri Srinivasagar Kaliamman Temple, here.
Such unity in diversity, he said, is something that Malayans need to look into on how Sarawakians can live together harmoniously as one community.
“The Sarawak government too plays an important role in uniting all races by setting up the Unit for Other Religions (UNIFOR).
“This never happened in other states. So, this is something that really touched me when the state government came up with this initiative. Other states need to emulate it.
“Why? We have religious differences. But, under UNIFOR, we see how the state government plays its role to unify everybody in diversity, bringing people together to celebrate together and we appreciate each other’s religions,” he said.
Rajan also said that until today, from his observation, Sarawak has not faced any issues of intolerance.
“We have the annual Pongal Festival and people of other races even come to witness the celebration. The same goes to the grand procession of deity Xuan Tian Shang Ti at the oldest Chinese temple at Carpenter Street.
“They had a celebration recently and there was no issue, you block the road. No problem. We know, we don’t complain. We say that is their festival, let’s celebrate together,” he said, adding that with the people living in harmony, the state government can focus on developing the state instead of focusing on dealing with petty issues.
“In the news, over the other side (Malaya), there are a lot of problems…temple issues and others, and they always resurface now and then.
“Touchwood, the last 33 years in Sarawak, I have never seen such issues cropping up. This means the people are living in peace,” he said.
Rajan, who is now 51 years old, after completing his studies in the United Kingdom, was given an option on where to work. Sarawak was his choice. Today, he has been serving UNIMAS for 16 years.
On the Pongal Festival, he said he never missed celebrating it at the more than 100-year-old Hindu temple — Sri Srinivasagar Kaliamman Temple — which is his 33rd year celebrating Pongal in Sarawak.
“I can see the difference between West Malaysia and here. Here, despite the small Indian community, I see their dedication and the way they carry the tradition and rituals in a very disciplined manner, following exactly what exactly is done in India.
“They still maintain and make sure especially the little things are done properly. They don’t trade off anything. I love it here. The way they practise is truly to preserve the culture,” he said.
He also noticed that the Indian community in Sarawak is also very united and ensures the younger generation take part actively in the festival.
“The numbers are small, if you don’t do it, then the young children will start to forget about the culture and tradition and it will be just diluted.
“So, that is one thing that I really admire the people of Sarawak, and the Indians here too, who preserve this thing until today and it is always progressing, including the temple,” said Rajan.
