We are more inclined to search for differences rather than recognize commonalities. We tend to reject diversity rather than embrace it… societies that are multireligious, multiethnic and multicultural are particularly vulnerable.
Therefore, extremism and fundamentalism would only lead to more political instability and the “genocide” of others apart from the fundamentalist group. Hence, from a political perspective, Malaysians, no matter Malays or non-Malays are forced to ponder on the issue of whether are they willing to forgo the peace and stability that the nation has been trying to achieve by casting their votes for the fundamentalists. Mohammad A. Quayum comments in “Shaping a New National Destiny with Dialogic Vision” on Fernando’s solution of finding unity among plurality and multiplicity:
… shunning extremist as well as ultra-radical, racial, and religious views in favour of a dialogic vision that accommodates widely different outlooks for the sake of promoting fellowship and peace (169).
Besides that, through the character and the predicament of Najib in the novel, Fernando is at the same time showing us the dilemma faced by youths in the rural area, where the fundamentalists were propagating their ideologies there rampantly, and had strong support from the rural people. Youths like Najib were very vulnerable, as they had to face the duress and pressure from their peers to subscribe to the ideologies of the fundamentalists. Their reluctance could probably cause their lives to be at stake, and their family members might be targeted upon too. In this case, Fernando portrays Najib’s dilemma, through his participation in the attack upon Lebai Hanafiah, but at the same time, he was the one responsible for freeing Yun Ming and Sara from the clutches of the fundamentalists, which we got to know from Sara’s explanation to Safiah:
“It was he with his shifty eyes and wavering look who, while guarding me, prepared me for escape – and Yun Ming too! What a thing, ‘kak. Najib did that” (“Green” 145).
At the same time too, through another portrayal of the character Omar, Fernando is telling the readers and also the authorities that they should not take for granted that, people who were educated in Western countries were not susceptible to the teachings of the fundamentalists. In fact, they could even be more vulnerable to it, as they try to seek spiritual renewal in their lives which they felt have been lost when they were abroad in Western countries. Therefore, they were easily influenced by the teachings of the fundamentalists which played on their guilt to God, by propagating the idea that the only way to spiritual rejuvenation was by establishing a society of common religion and belief:
Man has failed to establish religion as the true guide for ruling the world. Instead religion has been put aside and we are plunged into the dark age of Western Secularism… khianat: when man neglects his duty to set up a religious administration, then there is treachery and betrayal. Such abandonment is shameful…” (“Green” 92).
For the Chinese, Fernando brings out the problem of divided loyalty towards the country, which was an issue among them at the period of crisis in post 13 May 1969. The differences between the character, Yun Ming and his brother Chris are portrayed in this novel to depict the two groups of Chinese who had different perceptions on the way they handle a national crisis. For Yun Ming who worked as a civil servant, he was one who went all out to secure peace and unity for the country. His selfless sacrifices for the nation can be seen when he took the risk of taking goods for distribution to Malay areas (“Green” 87), which was a task that was considered dangerous for a Chinese at that time. Mohammad A. Quayum in his comments in “Shaping a New National Destiny with Dialogic Vision”, only has praises for this Chinese character:
Yun Ming is a warm and affectionate young person, who stands out for his sangfroid, sensitivity, selflessness, and sacrificing spirit. He is all for unity and peace. He will go to any length to establish harmonious relationships between the races… he is valiant, but not violent or vain; patriotic, but not prejudiced… he knows that in a multi-cultural society, especially when it is embroiled in interracial strife, it is important to keep oneself flexible and open to understanding, and this is, indeed, the hallmark of his personality (171-172).
Yun Ming even decided to stay on in Malaysia despite the condition in the country, and forsook the opportunity to move to England with his family. Even when his brother, Chris persuaded him to shift over to Australia, he was adamant in his stand to continue living in Malaysia. Hence, there is something that the Chinese community should learn from Yun Ming – his patriotism towards the country, even during times of crisis.
In contrast, Yun Ming’s brother Chris represents the group of Chinese who left the country when it was in crisis, to search for better pastures broad. It is sad to say that at that period of time, instead of staying back in Malaysia to help the nation overcome the crisis, there was this group of Chinese who had this selfish tendency of escaping abroad to avoid from being embroiled in the crisis. Hence, the issue of loyalty to the country emerged and persists until today, as it is still common among the Chinese to seek permanent residency abroad as a means to escape, in case the country faces a crisis again. By highlighting the two different characters of Yun Ming and Chris, Fernando is playing on the conscience of readers who are Malaysian Chinese regarding the issue of being patriotic to the country, and leaves it to them to make their own choice.
For the Indians, their problem regarding the division of caste, which is still existing today is portrayed through the life of an Indian female character, Gita. Her father’s vehement objection towards her relationship with another Indian guy of a lower caste, draws the readers’ attention to the fact that Indians themselves are discriminating against each other, which makes the issue of making the country united a harder task. Hence, Fernando is suggesting to the Indians that they should cast away their differences within their own race before attempting to proceed with the task of forging national unity with other races.
Apart from the challenges faced by the different races, Fernando now turns his attention towards the country’s challenges. Through the influential character of the crook, Panglima, Fernando is also highlighting the problem of corruption that exists in the country’s political arena and in the government administrative system. There is no doubt that there will always be corrupt officials in a country’s administrative system, but then, Fernando hopes that by voicing out his worries through this novel, the authorities will realize the seriousness of this issue and will attempt to take actions to eradicate corrupt administrators from the system. Mohammad A. Quayum comments in “Shaping a New National Destiny with Dialogic Vision”:
The author’s worst fears about the future of Malaysia would be realized if corrupt politicians and bureaucrats like Panglima were allowed to remain at the helm and rule the country. The way is open for them to abuse the country in the way Panglima abuses Sara (170).
It is also Fernando’s worries that by having corrupt politicians like Panglima in the administrative system, national policies would be abused to fit their whims and fancies. As a consequence, the people would suffer, for their issues would not really be addressed, and they would be subjected to become pawns in the hands of those political opportunists who are only interested in furthering their personal ambitions. Hence, Fernando tears off the mask of Panglima to reveal the farce which certain administrators are attempting to hide. This revelation and also Panglima’s downfall in the end also serves as a warning to the politicians out there, that they have a responsibility towards the people, and if they try to abuse their power, the long hands of the law would catch up with them one day.
In addition, Fernando also highlights the ambiguity of the identity of Panglima to bring out certain issues about a person’s identity:
No one would have guessed… his humble origins in a derelict corner of Rangoon… He did not really know his father… The Karen woman who adopted him… was his father’s common law wife; perhaps his father was Karen too” (160-161).
The means that Panglima used to climb his way up to be the Political Secretary to the Ministry of Home Affairs is also a parallel to certain people of power in Malaysia who tend to hide or play down their original ancestral lineage and claim the status and identity of a bumiputera for the sake of gaining political strength. It also makes the readers confront the issue of what really makes a person a bumiputera. It is indeed a puzzle to readers that Panglima, who was actually not a bumiputera was able to hold on to such an influential post which a non-bumiputera could never be able to hold at that period of time.
In addition, the issue of the formation of a national identity is also brought up by Fernando. In his depiction of the forced cultural assimilation that was implemented at that time, readers are able to see the purposelessness of that policy for it did not deal and solve the root problems. That form of policy only serves to beautify the surface, but underneath, it is still full of unsolved problems. Hence, readers see Yun Ming in the novel, beginning to question the government’s discourse of propagating unity. Here, Fernando is suggesting that there is no use or purpose to portray the nation as united, when the many root problems among the different races and religions are not settled. To Fernando, a national identity must be one that overcomes the barriers of differences in every aspect and must be accepted by all people. All the talk by the government about bringing the people together should not be just lip-service. The authorities themselves who are implementing the policies should be genuine in their intentions and not behaving like hypocrites, talking in one way, and yet behaving in another. The national identity that is to be formed should not be a tag that is forced on the people. The people must be proud of it and are always ready to put it first instead of their cultural identity. Hence, going back to the issue of a bumiputera, it is questionable on how a national identity can be formed, if the issues regarding the rights of a bumiputera are constantly harped upon by the leaders and politicians of the country. If the government is really genuine in wanting to form a common national identity, then there should be actions from them in attempting to discard the feelings of being a second-class citizen in a non-bumiputera’s mind and to make them feel a sense of adequacy in this country. Only when all these issues have been resolved, then only talks on forming a national identity should proceed.
Therefore, readers see Fernando suggesting new ways to form a common national identity for Malaysians. All in all, by highlighting the issues which the country faces and also the threats that can damage the country, Fernando attempts to advocate liberal humanist views and values among the people of Malaysia as a remedy to bring back unity to the nation. According to Mohammad A. Quayum in “Shaping a New Destiny with Dialogic Vision”, Fernando promotes understanding, love, mutual respect, natural integration of races and a dialogic vision that accommodates widely different outlooks for the sake of promoting fellowship and peace (169). From the novel, readers are able to find these values in the characters of Lebai Hanafiah, Siti Sara and Yun Ming. It is through the common values of humanity that people of various races and religion are able to overlook their differences and treat everyone as a true human being with love and respect.
Although Fernando does advocate for the national integration of races through understanding, love and mutual respect, he does not agree on using radical ways to achieve this purpose. To Fernando, radical ways would only lead to more hatred, resentment and in the end the eruption of violence. Thus, instead of achieving the original objective of bringing the different races together, it would only make the original situation worse. That is the reason for Fernando to have Dahlan in his novel, to show that though Dahlan’s intentions were good, his radical Western ways were not suitable to be used in Malaysia, moreover in a time when interracial tensions and conflicts were at the peak. Mohammad A. Quayum comments about Dahlan in “Shaping a New National Destiny with Dialogic Vision”:
He is in favour of racial equality and religious tolerance, and yet his speeches at rallies incite more violence. This is because, despite his ideology, he lacks the stability to act upon it in a proper way. He is theatrical, thrill-mongering and without a proper sense of perception. He does not know how to tailor his imported Western ideology to the local context (169).
Hence, Fernando is advocating a more peaceful way of achieving racial equality and religious tolerance without violence and shedding of blood, but out of an awareness that everyone is equal in the eyes of God.
Therefore, the significance of this novel’s title is also a thematic concern which Fernando hopes to bring out to the readers. From the title, Fernando is implicitly suggesting the solution to the problems faced by the nation. The colour green which epitomizes nature also represents hope that one day Malaysians of different races and religion would be able to live harmoniously just like the various flora and fauna which form the beauty and wonder of nature. Mohammad A. Quayum comments in “Shaping a New Destiny with Dialogic Vision”:
Fernando’s view is that as in nature different colours and creatures co-exist, complementing one another and contributing to its beauty, serenity, and wholeness, so should we as children of nature be able to live together in society, forgetting our racial, cultural, and religious barriers, provided we retain our human condition by resisting the ideals that are dehumanizing and despiritualising (169).
Besides that, through the portrayal of the rape of Siti Sara, the protagonist who can also be seen as a symbol of Malaysia, Fernando is also suggesting that after the May 13, 1969 racial riots, the nation had been badly wounded and time was needed for the nation to heal from its wounds. Therefore, the title of the book Green is the Colour is also seen as a remedy to heal the wounds of the nation, for nature has healing properties that can soothe and alleviate the pain which was inflicted on every citizen. Hence, it is hoped by Fernando that every citizen of Malaysia would emulate the elements of nature to form a better and united Malaysia.
Last, but not least, the ambience of racial tensions in post 13 May 1969 serves as a reminder to all Malaysians of the price that the country had to pay for not being united. Mohammad A. Quayum describes in “Shaping a New National Destiny with Dialogic Vision” about the situation at that bleak period of time in history, “Malaysia (was) in the grip of hatred, feverish unrest, lawlessness, and disorder” (168). Therefore, it is intended of Fernando for the readers to discover the reasons for the incident through the reading of this novel, and also to ponder about the solution that was offered by him. It is Fernando’s hope to see his suggestions on liberal humanist values to be practised by every Malaysian, which will thus help much in shaping a new future and destiny for the nation.
Works Cited
Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi. “The Challenges of Multi-Religious, Multi-Ethnic and
Multi-Cultural Societies”. Asia Media Summit. <
2004/summit/speeches/PM's_Speech.doc>. 19 Apr. 2004.
Fernando, Lloyd. Green is the Colour. Kuala Lumpur: Silverfish Books, 2004.
Mohammad A. Quayum. “Shaping a New National Destiny with Dialogic Vision:
Fernando’s Green is the Colour.” Malaysian Literature in English. Ed. Mohammad A. Quayum, and Peter C. Wicks. Petaling Jaya: Pearson Education Malaysia, 2001.
