INTRODUCTION

What is the definition of unity? Unity is the combination or arrangement of parts

into a whole; unification. Malaysia is the land of multi-races combining the Malays,

Chinese, Indians and other minorities. The unity of citizens is an important objective for a

multi-racial country as it forms an important security for strengthens of the country and

its administration. Without unity, a country will be exposed to various weaknesses. These

weaknesses are capable to cause its sovereignty to be affected as it cannot afford to resist

trespasser from inside and outside. Therefore, citizen unity is an issue that needs to be

taken seriously in strategizing the country’s development and administration so that it

could retain and defend its freedom as a country which is sovereign. To practice unity,

Malaysians first practice “RUKUN NEGARA”, then form political unity, studies unity,

social and culture unity such as culture program, festival celebration and foods.

First and foremost, Malaysians’ acceptance of multi-racial to Malaysia’s ideology

that is “RUKUN NEGARA”. Country’s Rules are life rules or life norms that are very

important to each and every citizen in this country. In “RUKUN NEGARA” all

Malaysians are united to practicing five principles; Believing in God, Being Loyal to the

King and country, Purity of the constitution, Sovereignty of the laws, and Politeness and

manners. The first principle is regarding believing in God. It brings the meaning that

Islam is the official region of this country. However, other religious other than Islam can

be practiced freely by all races in Malaysian. Second, being loyal to the king and country.

This brings the meaning of Malaysian despite different races is obligated to give their

utmost sincere loyalties to the ruling King. Third, purity of the constitution. This

principle avers that it is the responsibility of Malaysians despite different races to be loyal

and understand the content, spirit and the background history of the Malaysian

constitution and carry as well as defend the constitution. Fourth, sovereignty of the laws.

Malaysians despite different races, religion and believes lawfully possesses similar rights.

Fifth, politeness and mannerism. Regarding to this principle, Malaysians are required to

act and conduct politely and with manners. It shall be based on a high morale, respecting

others and avoiding oneself from raising sensitive questions to a particular race.

It is clear that acceptance of Malaysians despite different religious, races, and

descendants towards 5 principles of country’s Rule (RUKUN NEGARA) would be able

to help to produce solid unity and able to unify multi-races under one administration.

Besides that, Malaysians do practice political unity. In Malaysia likewise in other

developed and advanced countries, have various groups of races bearing different

religion, position, work and etcetera in a peaceful environment. Other that that,

Malaysians achieving unity through preparation of social program such as studies and

culture programs. Malaysia have multi-racial schools which there is the place where

Malaysian from different races study together to form unity. Besides, Malaysian do

perform culture program with different races during festival celebration for instant Hari

Raya Puasa, Chinese New Year and Deepavali in such a way that they done the

preparation together to celebrate the festivals. Also, Malaysian will definitely invite

friends from different races to have joy and celebrate their very own festival with their

own culture.

In addition, which cannot be ignored, Malaysian cuisine also reflects the multi-

racial aspects of Malaysia. We take Nyonya dishes as an example, Nyonya food come

from a mixing culture of Malays and Chinese. This happen when a Malay is married a

Chinese in Malacca in the past history of Malaysia. The Nyonya are sometimes referred

to as the Straits Chinese of Malacca and they've been around for some 400 years. Some

typical Nyonya food includes otak-otak - fish marinated in spice, wrapped in banana leaf

and grilled. Various ethnic groups in Malaysia have their dishes but many dishes in

Malaysia are derived from multiple ethnic influences. Regarding to this, we will discuss

more about Malaysian foods and how Malaysians are practicing unity by Malaysian

cuisines.

INTRODUCTION FOR MALAY FOOD

Malaysian food is the best in Asia. That is because; it has the most variety and the

best quality. Malaysian Food can be separated to three main different types. They are

Malay food, Chinese food, and Indian food. However, Native food can not be neglected

and has its own unique. Each of them has their own styled cuisine.

Rice is the staple food for the Malays. It is boiled to a white fluffy texture. It is

served with dishes of meat (chicken), fish and vegetables which are usually prepared as

sambal (Chili paste) or curry fish. However, most of the Malays are Muslim. This means

that, pork or any food that comes from a pig is a never used in Malay cuisine. Most

meals are eaten by using your fingers, and eating utensils are kept to a minimum.

Furthermore, all dishes are served at the same time, accompanied by a refreshing drink.

Malay food derives its flavor from the use of spices and local ingredients. There are many

ingredients in the Malay cuisine such as Serai(lemon grass), Bawang merah(shallots),

Halia(ginger), Lengkuas(galangal), Ketumbar(coriander), Asam jawa(tamarind),

Kunyit(turmeric), Saffron, Jintan putih(cumin). Last but not least, there is the most

common ingredient in Malay food which is coconut milk. These ingredients are playing

important roles in the Malay cuisine. It will lose its delicious if without some spices.

One of the staple breakfast favorite is nasi lemak. It can be said is a very simple but

very satisfying meal. The rice is cooked in coconut milk with fragrant pandan leaves.

Side dishes can be sambal ikan bilis, peanuts, fried fish and so on. However, Satay is

another popular Malay dish. We can normally see this type of food in night market. It

usually consists of chunks of chicken marinated with a variety of spices. Pieces of

marinated chicken are skewered and cooked over a charcoal fire where they are

periodically brushed over with oil. When the Satay is done, it will be served with special

peanut sauce. Apart from that, there is another famous Malay food which is Ikan baker.

Ikan baker is grilled or barbecue fish which you will be able to find almost everywhere.

This fish is usually marinated in various spices and coconut milk. A popular local fish is

the Ikan Kembong, Chubb Mackerel, also called Indian Mackerel. Anyway, apart of

mackerel, other fish is grilled too namely Wolf Herring(ikan parang), Skate Wings(ikan

pari) or Spanish Mackerel(ikan tenggiri) and so on. In order to fully enjoy this famous

Malay food, it is great with some chilies and lime when you are eating it. In addition to

the above, there is a kind of spicy noodle soup based on fish and spices in Malay food

which is Laksa. The Malays probably make some of the very best Laksa in Malaysia.

Furthermore, there are many different kinds of Laksa like Kuching Laksa and Penang

Laksa. Each of them has their own specialties. Besides that, Roti Jala(‘net’ bread) is one

of the most unique Malay culinary creation. Roti Jala is a sort of crepe or thin pancake. It

is an ideal accompaniment of dishes with lots of rich curry sauces or gravy and usually

served during special occasions. However, there are a lot of types Malay desserts. Most

of them are home-made and easily available from local hawker. Anyway, we able to find

it from restaurants too especially during Ramadan. Malay desserts are quite exceptional,

using ingredients such as coconut milk, fresh grated coconut, palm sugar and a unique

plant leave which called pandan. This plant leave is used often in dessert making. During

the Malay New Year(Hari Raya), the variety of cakes and dessert are endless. For

instance, Coconut Poppers(Onde Onde), Steamed Coconut Pudding(Kuih Talam),Black

Rice Pudding(Pulut Hitam),Glutinous Rice with Coconut Topping(Pulut Inti).

INTRODUCTION FOR CHINESE FOOD

Chinese people have always treated food as part of their culture very much.

There is an old saying still being quoted today-“Food is the first necessity of the people”.

Delicious and nutritious food has been regarded as the basics of ordinary life. We can’t

deny that, Cantonese food is the best known and most popular variety of Chinese food.

Cantonese food is noted for the variety and the freshness of its ingredients. The foods are

usually stir-fried with just a touch of oil. As a result, the foods are crisp and fresh. There

is a tasty Cantonese food which is Shark Fin Soup. Genuine shark fin soup or stew is

made with real shark fins obtainable from several shark species. The best Cantonese

shark fin soup can fetch up to US$100 per bowl. However, there are a lot of cheaper

shark fin, usually taken from smaller shark species. Porridge is different when they are

come from different dialect group of Chinese. The specially in Cantonese porridge is the

porridge is cooked till mushy and you can not even see the grains of rice. In the process

of cooking, salt, sesame oil and pepper are added on in order to increase the delicious.

Apart from that, they usually like to add dried seafood like scallops, oysters and other

foods stuffs to flavor the porridge. However, there is a big different between Teochew

porridge and Cantonese porridge. For Teochew porridge, it is pure plain rice and water.

Sometimes sweet potatoes are added into this porridge as during the Japanese occupation

in Malaya during the WWII, most of the villagers survived on sweet potatoes and also

tapioca. Teochew porridge is usually served with a lot of preserved foodstuffs like salted

duck eggs, salted vegetables, salted fish and fermented beancurds. Apart from that,

Teochew food is also famous especially for its seafood with the highest quality

ingredients. The freshest seafood is odorless, and is best cooked by steaming. Less fresh

ones will be fried or even deep fried. Besides that, there is another famous food in

Teochew food which is Char Kwey Teow. Char Kwey Teow (fried flattened noodles with

clams, bean sprout and prawns) is an economical dish. The price for it is affordable to

everyone which around RM3. In addition to the above, Teochew Kueh is another popular

food. Teochew Kueh usually served as breakfast or teatime. There is a wide variety of

Teochew Kueh such as Soon Kueh, Ang Ku Kueh and so on. They are made from variety

types of flour-skinned cakes and dumplings filled with rice, yam paste, red bean or turnip

strips. This means that, every types of Kueh of their own style and unique. Hainanese

Chicken Rice is an important dish among Hainan food. This Hainan food will swear by

the accompanying chilli sauce, usually made from a special blend of chilli, garlic and

ginger that goes exceedingly well with the succulent chicken slices. We can also dip the

chicken into the dark soy sauce and garlic sauce, and eat it with a hearty helping of rice to

fully appreciate this delightful dish. There are many different types of Chinese food.

Some foods are normally eaten around the time of the Chinese New Year such as Lotus

seed, Black moss seaweed, Dried bean curd, Bamboo shoots, Fresh bean curd or tofu and

so on. Each food has its own meaning. For instance, Lotus seed means to have luck in

having a baby boy, dried bean curd means wealth and happiness.

INTRODUCTION FOR NATIVE FOOD

Malaysia is divided into two parts, West Malaysia and East Malaysia. West

Malaysia or Peninsula Malaysia is attached to the Asian continent, whereas East

Malaysia is appended with the Borneo Island and separated from West Malaysia by the

South China Sea.

In Kelantan, one of the states of West Malaysia, Nasi Kerabu is very famous

amongst the native folk. In Malay, ‘Nasi’ means rice. ‘Kerabu’ is not much different

from the salad resembling a mixture of salt, onion, slices of cucumbers and other

ingredients. Nasi Kerabu is special because the rice is coloured with blue. Apart from

that, Terengganu is one of the East Coast States of Peninsula Malaysia. If Kelantan is

very popular with Nasi Kerabu, Terengganu is very popular with Nasi Dagang. In Malay,

the word ‘dagang’ means business or something that is related to it. It is called Nasi

Dagang because in the ancient times, the native people used to sell it from one place to

another.

The local food in Kuching is still quite traditional in many ways. Each community

has its own special food, either for celebrations or for regular consumption. There are

many types of native food. One of these is “Bee phang” or rice cakes. These are eaten by

the Hakka during Chinese New Year. They have various types: with sesame seeds, with

peanuts and so on. Besides that, Bee Thor is another famour native food too. It is shaped

like a teardrop, the size of a hand. Think of it as a flattened steamed pau - the ingredients

inside can be savory or sweet. Sweet ones have peanuts and sugar while the savory ones

include minced meat. In addition, Tebaloi is a famous native (Melanau) food in Sarawak.

It is made from sago flour and tastes nice and crispy like a thicker version of kuih kapit

(which in Sarawak is called kuih sepit). Anyway, there is a fantastic kek lapis always

available in open house during Chinese New Year in Kuching which is Indonesian layer

cake. The beauty of this cake is not in the cake but the various designs and patterns which

are revealed when the cake is sliced. In this regard, Sarawak Malays are creative in

making kek lapis in different colours, layers and designs. There are halal and non-halal

versions. The halal version can be bought in Satok. The non-halal versions can be bought

at any good bakery in Kuching. Besides from the Indonesian layer cake, you will be

served keropok udang or ikan in any Sarawakian’s house. The way to eat this is with the

local vegetable acar or pickle made with julienned carrot and cucumber in a tangy base of

spices. It sounds odd but the combination works really well. Furthermore, there is a

native food made from raw fish which is Umai. Any type of fresh fish can be used to

make umai. There are two types of umai - one is shredded raw fish mixed with sliced

onions, lime juice, salt, sugar and chilies or the other type which is plain sliced raw fish

(akin to sashimi) eaten with a spicy chili dip. Both taste equally good. Last but not least,

Kolok Mee or Kolo Mee is a simple dish of springy noodles (very “Q” - a Hokkien term

for extreme springiness!) with seasonings, lashings of char siew oil and slices of char

siew. It is a very delicious delicacy. Unlike wantan mee, it has no black soya sauce, it is

not soggy, and it is not full of ingredients. It can be served dry or in a soup. Either way,

the kolo mee is good because it has bite and the flavorful char siew oil gives it the added

oomph. You can get kolo mee anywhere, anytime in Kuching. There are halal versions

too sold by Muslims - it is topped with beef slices instead of porky char siew. It is all

about abundance of many kinds of food that makes Malaysia distinctive from other

countries.

HOW FOOD EXCHANGE HELP UNITY MALAYSIAN

Food is one of the few ways that can bring unity between different races in

Malaysia. Malaysians are well known for their passion towards various kinds of food

ranging from sour to sweet and spicy. Exchanging food and recipes among different races

is one of the effective ways to foster a stronger relationship among Malaysians that

consists of a multi-racial society.

For instance in a particular neighbourhood, we can always see that housewives

from different races will be exchanging food and recipes among each other. Full time

housewives usually have relatively a lot of time to spare after sending their children to

school and their husband to work. Furthermore, they often converse and gossip about

current issues and also other leisure topics. Food is of course in the top list of topics for

them to talk about as they are the cook for their own family. Thus, through their

discussions about food, exchange of various types of food belonging to each race will

occur. For example, Malaysian always have Nasi Lemak for their breakfast and as we all

know, Nasi Lemak originates from the Malays. Similarly, when other races wish to taste

Malay traditional food such as Nasi Bryani, Nasi Lemak or Nasi Kandar, they will

exchange their own race’s traditional food with their Malay neighbour in turn to get to

taste the delicious food of the Malays.

The same idea is extended to the case of those who like to eat Indian food such as

Bombay chicken, curry chicken or Roti Phrata, they will seek the advice from their

Indian neighbour regarding the recipes or even the best hawker stall in town to get the

mentioned food. During a certain festival such as Hari Raya Puasa, Chinese New Year,

Deepavali and even Hari Gawai, Malaysians also often send each other their own race’s

delicacies to their neighbours who are celebrating the mentioned festival. By doing so,

not only their relationship improved, the diversity of food during the particular festive

season also expands, allowing people from various races to taste each other’s traditional

delicacies. They will usually cook more to let their neighbors taste it out so that they can

discuss about the food next time and at the same time improving their cooking skills. So,

they will have more chances to communicate and opportunity to learn the other cultures

and religions. As a result, the barrier and prejudice among various races will diminish

gradually.

In addition, food also can help to improve the relationship among colleague of

different races in any workplace. For example, when they are going for lunch break, they

will sit together regardless of their skin colour to talk about current issues, such as their

dissatisfactions and frustrations towards their company or sharing their own happy

moments in life. Besides, misunderstanding between colleagues can be overcome during

the time that they sit down at the same table to have their meals. This will avoid any

unnecessary disputation and hatred at the workplace from worsening. Thus, the

relationship between the workers can be strengthened. On the other hand, they can also

take turns to make some cake or pastry to share with their colleague during their tea time.

Therefore, the colleagues of different races will have the chance to try on the traditional

food from various races and indirectly they will be able to learn their cultures too. This

will enhance the inter-culture understanding and promote tolerance among them. Racial

integrity can be indirectly achieved and Malaysians can see each other eye to eye

bypassing their difference in beliefs and cultures.

Moreover, during normal days, it would be good if we can exchange our own

traditional food with our neighbours who are different races with us. By doing so, not

only do the other races have a chance to taste our foods, we can broaden our knowledge

on other races and at the same time learn new recipes. As time passes, a good relationship

with our neighbours can be developed regardless of our races and religions. This will

benefit all the parties involved as they will learn to care more for each other and the spirit

of Malaysians can be cultivated. Furthermore, during the process where they learn to

cook other races traditional dishes, they will be able to mingle better with other races as

they learn to tolerate each other and respect each other’s beliefs.

Malaysians will gain a gold opportunity to know each other better and show how

caring we are to the outside world. Through the sharing of a particular race’s traditional

recipes with another race, we can demonstrate our willingness to share our skills with

others. Obtaining the recipes and advices from the other races is vital as it promotes good

will among each other and it provides easy access to the huge culture that is hidden in our

unique multi-racial society. One surely cannot resists the delicous taste of Nase Lemak

nor the sweet and concentrated ‘the tarik’ that we used to have at the ‘mamak stalls’ and

at the same time watching a football match. As we can observe every night at most of the

‘mamak stalls’, Malaysians from different races such as Malays, Chinese and Indians

often sit under one roof to have a taste on their favourite ‘roti canai’ or ‘maggi goreng’

while watching their favourite football team perform over the overhead projector. This

shows the willingness of Malaysians to try the food of other races and put aside their

differences in order to enjoy the fullness of life, satisfaction and happiness.

In short, the spirit of exchanging traditional delicacies and food among various

races in Malaysia can lead to more understanding society that overlook all the differences

among them. They will learn to care for each other and for the nation, feeling proud as

Malaysians and cherish the huge diversity in its food and delicacies which is none like

any other in the world.

HOW FOOD UNITY MALAYSIAN VIA OPENING HOUSE

During the Chinese festival such as Chinese New Year, our Malay or Indian

visitor would be pleased if we can provide some of their local foods such as sambal,

curry which are cooked by us. With these local foods, they will feel that they are

welcomed and greeted warmly. However before we invite our Malay friends to celebrate

our Chinese festival, it would be better if we know the traditional Malay way of eating.

All of us should know that their traditional way of eating is by using the right hand. The

use of the left hand is considered bad manners. The same goes with receiving or giving

things, always use the right hand. In eating stalls or at homes where hands are used to eat,

guests will provided with a pot of water to wash their hands before and after the meal.

Remember, this water is not for drinking. Or you simply use the always available tap to

wash your hands. On the other hand, we can prepare and provide our neighbors and

friends which are different races with us, with some of their traditional foods during their

festival season. In this way, other races will feel our kindness and they can sense that we

share their happiness as well. For example, during the Hari Raya Aidilfitri, we can cook

and prepare some local foods such as ketupat and sambal to our Malay friends or

neighbors. Normally, meat and fish are usually prepared as sambal (chili paste); Sambal

is a spicy Southeast Asian condiment made, in its simplest form, from chile peppers and

salt. A more elaborate sambal may contain onion, lime juice, lemongrass, sugar, garlic,

oil and/or vinegar. By showing our kindness, we can gradually improve the relationship

between different races in Malaysia. Moreover, at the normal days, it would be good if

we can often give our own traditional foods to our neighborhood which is different races

with us. For instance at usual day, we should prepare more of our home-made chicken

rice ball, bread with chicken curry or Yong Tao Fu in order to give our close friends or

neighbors. By doing so, the other races will have a chance to taste on our foods and as a

return; they will offer their traditional foods to us. Without realizing, a good relationship

with our neighborhood can be developed regardless of our races and religions.

Moreover, we can show our tolerance and respect towards each others during the

celebration of festivals. As most Malays (not all Malaysians are Malay!) are Muslim,

pork or any food that comes from a pig is never used in Malay cuisine. Even cutlery and

kery used to serve Muslims must not have been used to serve pork. Thus, some Muslims

even do not take their meal at chinese or indian food stall. They are also prohibited from

consuming the flesh of predatory animals and predatory birds (ducks are allowed),

rodents, reptiles, worms, amphibians (frogs) and the flesh of dead animals. Muslims can

only eat meat that is halal. Halal is a way of slaughtering according to the Islamic rites.

We show our thoughtful towards others Malays especially when during Chinese and

Indians festivals, we can prepare a special site which all the food served is halal. By

doing this, they can fell our sincerity in invitation.

Hari Raya Puasa is Muslim’s main festivals. During Hari Raya Puasa, open house

or invitation for relatives and friends and neighbours of others races to come to their

house is practised. Plenty of traditional Malay delicacies are served during this festive

season such as ketupat rice cake and a meat cuisine called rendang among the most

famous cuisines that are served during this day. The celebration lasts for a month which

the celebration is concentrated in the first days. Through the open house celebration, the

relationship among us will become closer. For sure, we must follow some of their custom

such as greet to the elder , wash hand before and after the meals, eat from the place in

front of you only and you also must remember that the soles of your feet should not point

directly toward someone else. This is bad manners, and may bring "bad luck" to that

person. Another important thing that must remember especially for Chinese and Indians

is you cannot bring alcoholic drinks as gift when you visit them. It is because Muslims

are anti-alcohol. By remembering and follow their customs and traditional, they will feel

your respect towards them. Relatively, they will also try to learn others races’ cultures

and without doubt, misunderstanding and conflict among the races will be reduce. Thus,

all races will cooperate together and will be more united.

CONCLUSION

Malaysia is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multilingual society. The main

ethnics of Malaysia are Malay, Chinese, Indian and other minorities and indigenous

people. The Malays, who form the largest community, are defined as Muslim and their

native language is Malay. The Chinese population in Malaysia is mostly Buddhist or

Taoist. Chinese in Malaysia speak a variety of Chinese dialects including Mandarin

Chinese. The Indians in Malaysia are mainly Hindu Tamils from southern India who

native language is Tamil. After the independence of country, the society was peaceful

and tolerance although the difference of culture and religion. This phenomenon

contributes to the unity of nation.

Malaysian cuisine reflects the multi-racial aspects of Malaysia. Various ethnic

groups in Malaysia have their dishes but many dishes in Malaysia are derived from

multiple ethnic influences. The mainstay of every Malaysian meal is rice. At each meal, a

generous helping accompanies a selection of dishes, including fish, seafood, vegetables,

and poultry. Individual recipes vary widely from state to state. Basic ingredients may be

the same, but the method of cooking and accompanying dishes changes with each state's

own tastes and special produce. The perennial Malaysian favorite nasi lemak is

completely different in Kedah, for example, than that tasted in Johor or Selangor. One

has to savor both to truly appreciate the diversity of preparation. Being a multicultural

country, Malaysians have over the years adapted each other's dishes to suit the taste buds

of their own culture. For instance, Malaysians of Chinese descent have adapted the Indian

curry, and made it more dilute and less spicy to suit their taste. Chinese noodles have

been crossed with Indian and Malay tastes and thus Malay fried noodles and Indian fried

noodles were born.

Food can be considered as a kind of culture. Although there is a varied in culture

of foods between races, but the cross-culture influence of foods had shown the unity of

Malaysian. As long as each ethnic is respecting and caring to other ethnic, the unity of

nation will be lasting forever.