What’s the difference between Malaysia and Singapore? That’s the age old question ever since the island state decided to opt out from being a part of Malaysia.

Actually, it isn’t hard to see that there are many obvious differences between the two countries and among the main ones is food.

I have to admit that the food in Malaysia, especially the street hawker kind, is just far superior from what you can find in Cheen Chia Poh.

We make better lontong, better mee goreng, better nasi beriyani, better murtabak, better sup tulang, better prawn mee, better bak kut teh and even better Singapore fried meehoon.

Then there is the law that we have to abide to in Singapore, which are almost borderline mental asylum-style rules and regulations.

No eating chewing gum! No crossing the street! No watching TV! No talking! No breathing! No winking! No no no no no no!!

But one thing that they are encouraging is sex! Everyone should have sex and procreate whether you are a man, woman, married or single. Play your role in saving the population!

Then, of course, there is the issue about media control. If we Malaysians think that we have it bad with our media censorship and licensing, then we haven’t seen anything yet.

However, these are all differences that we can see on the surface. Look a little bit deeper and we might discover that we all aren’t that different anyway.

Recently, the issue regarding Singapore’s banning of the tudung (hijab) by women working in certain governmental organisations and in school came in to the limelight.

Many Singaporeans are against this saying this it is racist and discriminatory. There is even a Facebook movement started called ‘Singapore Hijab Movement’.

However, the island’s government says that since Singapore is a multiracial society, the ban is required to maintain the country’s overall social harmony.

Sure. Then why don’t you just have an atheistic communist society where everyone believes in nothing, have no individualism and are conformist drones.

Or better yet, just build efficiently programmed robots and fill up the country with them. Oh wait a minute, that really is the objective, isn’t it?

What I find shocking is that the Minister in charge of Muslim affairs, Dr. Yaacob Ibrahim, says that Muslims need to be understanding and patient, quoting from his Facebook post:

“But some professions require uniforms which do not include the hijab. Most Muslims recognise that if we allow employees or officers to modify their uniforms for religious reasons, particularly for the police and the military, it would be very problematic. We do not allow police officers or SAF servicemen to wear or display conspicuous religious symbols on their uniforms or their faces. Nor do we allow Muslim police women officers to wear the hijab on duty. But when they are out of uniforms, they are free to wear the hijab, as indeed many do going to and from work.”

Isn’t it better and more conducive for a harmonious and multiracial country to actually promote diversity so that the society will be more understanding and open-minded?

Oh well. Who am I to say? I am after all a Malaysian, and deep down inside, Malaysia is as similar to Singapore as a durian and a durian.

Didn’t we Malaysians just decide that an Arabic word which has no origin in the Malay Archipelago is now owned by the Malay Muslims and no one else can use it?

You say po-tay-to, I say po-tah-to. You say to-may-to, I say to-mah-to. You say harmonious and multiracial, I say racists and bigots.