Malaysia is well known for her diverse racial groups and cultures, which attract many tourists each year to experience it for themselves. Contrary to popular belief, despite the differences in cultural practices and values between these racial groups, most of the people live harmoniously.
As I came from a national stream secondary school, I had Malays, Indians, Chinese and some other lesser known ethnic groups in my class. This was a relatively large transition because I had only Chinese friends and teachers in my Chinese medium primary school. Each year during the month of Ramadhan, the Muslims will fast during the day. It was in my first year in secondary school that I saw my Muslim friends not drinking water and they didn't join us for lunch or recess. Having living in Malaysia my whole life, I understood what was going on. It was just that I never had any first hand encounter before that. What was astonishing that time was that all my friends of another racial group refrained from drinking water in front of them and we had our packed food outside the classroom. It was a gesture of respect and understanding that we didn't deliberately tempt them with the food. We weren't taught by anyone to do so. It was simply a common understanding that we all had. It wasn't only practised a few of us. I believe many people did the same.
In the setting of a multiracial community like Malaysia, intercultural communication and understanding are extremely important for the people to live harmoniously. There have been events where blood was shed simply because people were being inconsiderate towards another race's cultural practices. Very often, all it takes is just the initiative to be considerate and have respect to another man's cultural beliefs.
