Muslim Man Paying Respects At Taoist/Buddhist Funeral Shows S’pore Is Racial Harmonious

One month ago, I was gambolling about in Taiwan, desperately enjoying the peace and freedom that come with being a tourist. And on one of these travels, I asked my driver/tour guide, who had been to Singapore before, this:

“What did you like most about Singapore?”

He took a moment to ponder.

“Laksa?” I prompted. “Chicken rice? USS? The heat? Goody Feed?” I chuckled.

He smiled, though it was more of courtesy than anything else. “If I had to say… I’ll have to say the people.”

I stared at him. “The people?”

“Yeah.” He beamed at me. “There’re all kinds of ethnicities in Singapore. Chinese, Malays, Indians… it’s so diverse. Over here in Taiwan…” He gestured at me and him. “Everyone’s Chinese.”

He smiled, before returning his attention to the road. Meanwhile, I could only look at him blankly, trying to process what I just heard.

“Is our multi-cultural society that appealing to everyone?” I subtly wondered.

Or maybe… my brain echoed.

We’ve become so used to racial harmony that we no longer appreciate the beauty of it all.

But reality’s kinda different from my thoughts

For as this 6 April Facebook post served to point out, racial harmony isn’t just an everyday thing in life, but something Singaporeans genuinely show an appreciation for.

In his post, Zahid Zin stated that his wife’s aunt married a man, Adi, who subsequently converted to Islam.

Adi’s mother had passed away recently, and Zahid’s family went forth to pay their respects…

Despite the funeral stemming from a different origin altogether.

Apparently, the funeral’s that of a Taoist or Buddha wake, but that didn’t stop Zahid and co. from paying their respects.

To end off, Zahid wrote:

We live in a multicultural society, where other people cultures and beliefs must be respected
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Ah Ma must be a very good mum in her life. One of her daughters said, “in the next life, all of us still want to become her children.”
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May our parent be blessed. #WeAreSingaporeans

You can read the full post here:

Netizens pay their respects as well

After Zahid published his culture-merging post, netizens turned up in droves to show their appreciation for this heartwarming gesture.

And it seems that Zahid’s nowhere near being the first to do so either.

Though like everything else, the world’s not a cherry garden.

And with that said… kudos, Zahid and co.! And also…

Thank you for showing us how beautiful racial harmony can really be.