With such a smorgasbord of different races and ethnicities living under the same banner that we all call home, Malaysia’s multiculturalism is truly something we can all be proud of. After all, it is by merit of our mutual acceptance and respect for the differences that we share which defines us as Malaysians. And just recently, one heartwarming example of that sense of unity has gone viral across local social media.
M’sian Chinese friends invite kompang troupe to celebrate birthday
In a clip that was shared by local netizen 張雋藤, otherwise known as Teo, he recounted how he and a group of his mates decided to organise a rather unconventional birthday surprise for one of their friends. While we may come to expect the usual suspects such as a bottle of cologne, new shoes or perhaps even a watch, they went ahead and hired a traditional Malay kompang troupe to commemorate the occasion.
With his reaction caught on camera, the birthday boy appeared stunned as the troupe marched into the restaurant where his birthday party was being held, neatly dressed in matching cream-coloured baju Melayu and kain samping. Standing around his table, they then proceeded to perform their rendition of the good old ‘Happy Birthday’ medley in English, before impressively belting it out again in Mandarin!
Wanted a meaningful way to mark the moment
Speaking to WauPost, Teo explained that they had been wracking their brains trying to figure out a memorable and meaningful way that they could celebrate his friend’s birthday before this.
“We had wanted to throw him a memorable and meaningful birthday celebration. Typically for us Chinese, this would mean celebrating it with lion dances or dragon dances.
As we wanted to do things differently and were considering something along the lines of traditional culture, we decided to incorporate the culture of others into the festivities. Which is why we hired a Malay kompang troupe to perform.” he said.
But asides from that, Teo hopes that the moment would help bring Malaysians closer together as well.
“Me and my friends believe that exposing ourselves to different cultures would help us understand them better, while also foster a sense of togetherness among Malaysians.
I hope that we can all take this as a positive experience and be reminded that this is a part of our Malaysian culture.” he adds.
With over 13,000 shares since it was uploaded on Tuesday (November 8th, 2022), it is clear that the gesture has been warmly received by local netizens, many who commended the show of racial harmony while wishing Teo’s friend happy birthday.
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