Growing up being a Malay Muslim living in Malaysia was a very unique experience for me. I grew up in a multi-cultural and multi-religion type of neighbourhood. I was raised in Subang Jaya. My family moved in to Subang Jaya SS15 in 1978, two years after Subang Jaya was established. My then neighbours were from different ethnicity, religion and faith, but we were able to live in harmony without prejudice.

I remember my Chinese family next door neighbour where I always spent my time at. During Chinese new year, my family would head over to their house to celebrate and I loved the lion dance and fireworks. During Ramadhan fasting month, they won’t hold any BBQ outside their house in respect to my family who fast during the holy month. And they would come over to “beraya” at my house on Raya day. In other months, BBQ is their favourite past time. And best thing is, they don’t even want to grill pork meat in respect of us. That is the beauty of being in this beautiful country.
No matter who you are, what your beliefs and religion, we always look out for one another. We have that mutual respect that we somehow able to adopt and understand. And in that trend, we always have a little saying. Two words that were always transpired between fellow Malaysians to express comfort or when things are good.
Takpe lah. Those two simple words can mean a lot. When you did something wrong to a friend, he or she would comfort your apologies by uttering those two words to show forgiveness. Takpe lah. It’s all good. Or the time when your Chinese friend forgot that you’re fasting, but he accidentally have a drink in front of you. When he realized his mishap, he kept apologizing to a point of annoyance. But you simply brush it away with, takpe lah.
It’s okay. That is what it literally means. It’s okay to make mistakes. We grew up making mistakes and no one is perfect. But as Malaysians, we know that those two words can be comforting and sometimes, intimidating. But in the spirit of Ramadhan, we celebrate only the good stuffs.
Which is why I would like to share with you, a short film made by Samsung specifically on the same subject – Takpe Lah! It is a heartwarming short film that depicts the daily life of Malaysians during the month of Ramadhan. It also shows respect and togetherness between friends and co-workers. Big thanks to Samsung for making this short film.
I know some of you are unable to balik kampung to your family for Raya this year due to the MCO and pandemic. I feel you. But I want you to remember another thing. We are all one big family. Push away all the boundaries. No hatred, no separation, no racism and no to being alone. We are all family living on this big beautiful blue planet.
Awan berarak di langit biru,
Burung merpati berlegar-legar,
Kerana kasih kita bertemu,
Semoga persahabatan kita kekal bersinar.
If you are moved by the short film, do share this article with your friends. Meanwhile, stay safe, stay vigilant and Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri from me and my family. Whatever it is, takpe lah. We kosong-kosong ya.
For more information about Samsung’s ‘Raya Bermakna, Meriah Bersama’ campaign, please visit: https://www.samsung.com/my/offer/rayabermakna2021/mobile/.