So glad I’m just an alien on earth

With all the recent race riots in Cronulla and the formation of Australia National First party, I am ever more thankful that this life of earth is only temporary.

One of the main reasons why my parents made the decision to move to Oz is due to the discrimination against the non-bumiputera. That is, the Bumiputeras have priority over other races in most matter. Take education, for example. It makes me sick to the pit to see some of my non-Bumi friends who did fairly well in their pre-uni exams failing to get their choice of course, or being sent to a Uni far away from home in another state; and worse case scenario, failing to get a place in uni after “wasting” two years doing a pre-uni course (even if they did better than the Bumis).

Recently, a comment made by one of the ‘big guy’ in the Australia First Party on television claims that “Australia is a white country…do not support multiculturalism…”

OuCh, that hurts!!! I know that this only represents minority of the Anglo community, but comments like this is quite a stab to my identity. Am I Malaysian? Australian? After much thought, both my birth country and adopted country are not much different… Racism is a problem in both; it’s just that Australia has greater transparency in this matter.

Sometimes my family makes jokes about us not belonging anywhere on earth. It’s funny but at the same time, I know it is true. After all, my earthly home is just a tent. God has prepared a house for me in heaven. It’s so exciting and I am really looking forward to that day when “God Himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away” (Rev 21:3-4). How wonderful!! Meanwhile, I just have to try my best to live a righteous life in this tent of mine.

“For we know that if the tent, which is our earthly home, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened – not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared for us this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee” 2 Cor 5:1-5