Comedian joins unity walk to stand up for the right to be accepted

Banding together: Harith and his wife will take part in the Anak-Anak Malaysia Walk on Aug 14.

KUALA LUMPUR: As someone who has the gift of the gab and humour, renowned comedian and television host Harith Iskander feels that a word in itself has little meaning, it’s how you interpret it.

“I remember this quote ‘Insult is not given, it is taken’. Same goes for sensi­tivity, the onus is on the receiver.

“For example, if someone says to me, ‘Hey, you are fat’, there is no meaning to it and I can just answer ‘Yes, I am,’ nothing sensitive about it,” he said.

Harith feels that many people are jumping on the “sensitive” bandwagon.

“Let’s stop pretending that everyone can be offended by anything. I went to St John’s, a Catholic school, the headmaster was Brother Albert.

“Hundreds and thousands of Malays had studied there too, and none of them converted. But today in 2016, many things have become sensitive. When did we become so ‘sensitive’?

“The beautiful thing about travelling is that when you travel overseas, you see houses of worship open to all, no restrictions, no sensitivity,” he said.

However, all hope is not lost.

Harith, who turns 50 tomorrow, will be taking part in the upcoming Anak-Anak Malaysia Walk with his wife Dr Jezamine Lim. He also supported last year’s #AnakAnakMalaysia campaign.

“I do stand-up comedy before hundreds or thousands of people. We still know how to laugh, laugh at ourselves, laugh together. If the audience is a gauge of what Malaysians are, we are doing okay.

“What may be hampering is the perception or reality of some people in power who are positioning themselves to maintain that power but there are also people who are using their power to redress this situation. For example, a media house like Star Media Group is trying to do something about this by having this walk.

“If you follow social media, there is a lot of negativity but I believe there are many positive aspects as well,’’ he added.

“I’ve never felt the need to ask what it means to be anak Malaysia. Growing up, it’s not something we asked ourselves but somehow our nation has reached a stage where we are compelled to have campaigns like this (Anak-Anak Malaysia Walk 2016).

“The fact that we need to have a campaign is not a great thing; but the fact that we are having a campaign to try and redress what I would call a social ill, is good.”

Harith added, “Many under the age of 23 or 24 would often ask me: Was the 70s and 80s really like how you describe it in your stand-up comedy?

“And yes, it was. It was just Malaysia, less focus on the difference, more about acceptance of similarities,” he said.

As a father of three, is he worried about raising his children in an environment different from his?

“They are still very young, they see no colour. I want to bring them up in the way I was brought up and do what I can to have an environment that is accepting so they don’t view others differently and others don’t view them differently.

The Anak-Anak Malaysia Walk 2016, to be held ahead of the National Day celebrations, will kick off at the Bukit Bintang City Centre on Aug 14.

The 3.4km walk, starting from the junction of Jalan Imbi and Jalan Pudu at the site of the former Pudu Jail, will be flagged off by Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Seri Mhd Amin Nordin Abd Aziz.

#AnakAnakMalaysia Walk is organised by Star Media Group in collaboration with Ecoworld. Other sponsors for the event include Car Sponsor: Proton, Gold Sponsor: Panasonic and Silver Sponsors: Tenaga Nasional and YES. For more information, contact 03-7967 1388 ext 1432/1529/1243 (Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm)

Sources: The Star

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