'I couldn’t afford breakfast so he shared his with me for 6 years'

‘I couldn’t afford breakfast so he shared his with me for 6 years’

OUR MUHIBAH STORY | In April, Malaysiakini asked our readers to share stories of their friendships and relationships which surpassed ethnic and religious barriers.

We received a submission from one Mark Kok Wah, who talked about his “brother” Mahadhir Mohamad, with whom he had been friends since Standard 1.

Soon after, we received another submission, this time from another of Mark’s childhood friends, Dr Syed Faisal Syed Taha, who recalled the days they chased tadpoles, and how it cemented an everlasting friendship.

This is their story, in their own words, as submitted to Malaysiakini.

An unbreakable bond forged over nasi kandar

A muhibah story by Mark Koh Wah.

This is Mahadhir Mohamad (below, left), my good friend, whom I considered my brother since 1978 when we attended Standard 1 together at SRK Sri Aman in Kampung Melayu, Penang.

He was an excellent student, who was very bright and later went on to be an engineer of calibre.

When we were in school, Mahadhir often shared his breakfast with me – nasi kandar dua kupang from Kampung Melayu, with half of a boiled egg – because he knew I came from a poor family and couldn’t afford to buy breakfast in school.

He shared his breakfast with me from Standard 1 until Standard 6. I remember this to this day, and to this day, we are still like brothers.

God willing, we will remain so for the rest of our lives.

Mark Koh Wah (right) helping his friend Mahadhir Mohamad at a Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration recently.

‘How blessed we were, post-Independence children’

A muhibah story by Dr Syed Faisal Syed Taha.

This is Mark Koh Wah (above, right), my long-lasting childhood friend.

We grew up together in such a wonderful harmonious setting. We ventured to catch tadpoles and he spent over a night or two at my house, eating rice and gulai my mother cooked.

My grandmother always wondered why there would be tadpoles in her aquarium whenever Mark came.

Mark speaks Malay well and we were blessed because, in those days, there was a big mixture of different races at our sekolah kebangsaan.

Yet we grew up without altering our religious beliefs or having our Malay or Chinese cultures undermined. In fact, it made me richer as I can observe various colours in other people’s cultural differences.

I have benefitted from how Chinese culture emphasises diligence and hard work and perhaps Mark benefited from Malay culture’s emphasis on respect, family and religious piety.

Divide and rule, then and now

When we were younger, we learned in our history lessons about how the British used the tool to rule and divide as a powerful weapon to strengthen their power. We were blessed as we lived in the post-Independence era and were united again.

Unfortunately, over time, it is the same legacy that our own leaders wished to follow. Divide and rule, to their advantage. This time, they use religious and cultural differences as their sickening tool to separate us. Whereas, religion and culture should be the means to unite, not to separate.

It is so heartbreaking to see how we are all falling into the same trap our colonists used.

We can argue that the British were an external power that surely wanted to see us divided but now it is we, the people who have lived together since we were born, who wish to ourselves be divided.

Dr Syed Faisal Syed Taha (extreme left) and Mark Koh Wah (extreme right) with their families

It is time to wake up. Do not fall into the trap of colonialism that our politicians are doing to us, to divide and rule. We are better than that. Find what unites us rather than what divides us.

Go out and visit friends of different races and cultures, and do not allow our crooked politicians to win by pushing their agenda. They want this, not us. Prove to them that we are one happy family that cannot be divided.

Dr Syed Faisal and Mark Koh Wah attend the SRK Sri Aman school reunion

This month, Malaysiakini is publishing reader submissions about their experience of muhibah. Do you have a story about a friendship or relationship which has surpassed ethnic and religious barriers?

Share your own muhibah story to [email protected]. Selected submissions will receive a free one-month Malaysiakini subscription. More details here.

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