Muhibbah

Muhibbah.
The word that attempts to define Malaysian national unity, goodwill and understanding among the races. Often elusive.

I'm not even going to attempt a political rant here.

I'm just here to say that I'm living in the most Muhibbah place in Malaysia and the most Muhibbah coffee shop is near my office.

Sabah is a land where you can have 10 people sitting at a dinner table. There could be 10 different races represented. Not only that, you would not be able to tell the person's race based on how they look or even their name.

Back to the coffee shop.

Its a Chinese coffee shop. But 15 ft away from the Mee stall with its very 'chinese' ingredients is a Malay stall selling Soto Ayam. The kakak manning the stall is fully aware of what's around her. And so are the 'obviously not chinese' customers. Yes, she wears a tudung and she's secure enough in her faith to make a living there. The girls working in the coffee shop are probably Sulug. They don't seem bothered either, neither is the aunty at the counter.

Everyone's getting along fine. Having their breakfast together in the best Muhibbah spirit they can muster, without even trying.

The Muhibbah Seafood restaurant in Taman Tun Dr Ismail in KL does a lot of business. What does the Malay owner sell? Chinese food! Smart guy figured out that plenty of people will eat Chinese food if they could. And yes, not all Chinese food needs to have pork in it.

Mamaks
Mamak stalls. (Although some of them are more like major food outlets these days with plasma TVs and all) are very Muhibbah places. Why do you think they do such great business? Why, because all Malaysians go and eat and drink there.

So, what do you know? Being Muhibbah is not only good for the country, it can even be good for your business!

And at the end of the day, I it actually takes effort to not be Muhibbah.

Muhibbah!