Your worth

What I remember most about arwah Tok Wan, apart from his weird sense of humour and unusual way of showing his love to his wife and grandchildren, is this particular advice given to me 15 years ago. He used to goof around a lot with his grandchildren and there was no advice given in a serious manner. Hence, this one stuck out like a really sore thumb for it was the one that has given me a great impact till this very moment.

I can still recall the incident clearly. I was in my matriculation years and we were in the car heading towards my residential college. Ayah, mak and Tok were also in the car. As we were about to reach the entrance, I told Ayah to just drive past the guardpost as there was no need to fill in any form or stop for a pass. Tok Wan on the other hand, sternly said that it would not do any harm to just slow down and acknowledge the guard who was on duty. Following that, Ayah stopped the car and Tok Wan bid his salam before we continued our journey. I, who was about to grumble for having wasted a mere 10 seconds on an unnecessary task, was stopped short by a very unhappy grandfather, who was not pleased to see his favourite granddaughter turning into an arrogant human being. He continued saying that everybody is worthy of respect thus it should not be reserved only for those who is of higher rank than you are. Our religion clearly states that all human being are treated equally by the Almighty and who are you to expect more than what is being preached by Islam?

As years passed, I became more virtue-conscious. I even surprised myself by taking up Moral Education as a minor subject during my varsity years.My love for Moral Education bloomed as I continued to be in close contact with the subject for the next 10 years.

Then, I was given a chance to spend 2 marvellous years in Japan. There, while doing my Masters in Education, I was intrigued with Bushido values-known to be Japanese traditional values inherited by the Samurais. I was surprised to see the similarities between those values with the values emphasized by my religion. One value that I hold close to my heart is 'REI', simply translated as politeness and respect.

I am sad that now I am amongst people who deliberately look down on people because they think too highly of themselves. I was shocked when I was instructed by my superior to switch on the "I am the high and mighty and you should do my every bidding" mode when dealing with work. I was told to uphold the status and image of the post I am holding by being this arrogant b@*?^h. In other words, you have to be sombong, bongkak, lupa diri, over ,perasan bagus, and most importantly berlagak pandai to stay in this post. You will turn into a toad, be less intelligent, or lose everything you own if you fail to treat people like dirt. You should always chant the magic word:"I am the almighty" to stay in the league. What crap?!!!???

From the look of it, I am a misfit. I am not sure how long I can survive. Given the chance, I would rather follow the nature of "padi" than be a cocky rooster. I believe that respect should be gained and not imposed. I want to be respected for what I am truly worth and not because I want others to. You are what you give. Enough said.

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REIna chan, I hope you of all people will stay true to being ever polite and respectful for it is my doa you stay that way. InsyaAllah~