Oh, the wonders of technology. I ordered perfume online and when it arrived shortly before Raya, I received a text message from the Post Office to come and collect my package, how very 21st Century I thought. The notification stated that the counter closes at 1.30pm.
I arrived at the Post Office, at the Old Airport at 12.30pm. Got to the counter, giddy with anticipation, and gave the man my parcel details. I was told that I had to pay import duty but that the customs counter, a mere 20 centimeters away, fully manned with three affable looking officers, was closed. All this means that my parcel will stay in storage for another day because the customs counter closes at 12.30pm. I looked up to the big white-faced clock on the post office wall. It read 12.34. I begged and pleaded but to no avail. The three affable officers, looking comfortable in their chairs, gave no explanation except shrugs and mutters of "tutup sudah" (it's already closed).
So much mechanical efficiency can be dashed on the jagged failings of human nature. The Post Office can manage to send me a text on the arrival of my package, but cannot manage another department to actually get me my package? How would a person with a business to run deal with this? If we want to be a 21st century economy, basic things have got to work. I believe that it is a simple matter of learning to work together to do it.
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As a society, we are fabulous hosts at our homes. It is no more apparent than during Hari Raya, when we open our houses to family, friends and complete strangers and treat them all to a well-stocked buffet, chocolates and all manner of dessert. Topping off the hospitality with parting gifts of green packets filled with money.
It used to be that Hari Raya open houses were simple affairs; we served only cakes, cookies and Fanta Orange. Over the years open houses have become much more elaborate, with full buffet meals, coffee and petit fours at the end.
The way that we celebrate has also changed. It used to be that people would circulate between various open houses during the first three days only. Now we can expect text messages, emails and Facebook invites over the course of a month. The tradition of a standing open invitation to a house over the first three days seems to me to be losing favor.
What matters though, is the spirit of the host and the guest. It should start with a sense of brotherhood, community and sharing. It’s a good thing to open home or invite people for a bit of food and drink, as it is to visit your family, friends and neighbors. It is definitely not in the programme to dump a bowl of chocolates into your bag, or take another guest shoes as you walk out.
The tale of the nefarious shoe thief hit Brunei on Friday, with a video circulating of a woman in a tudung allegedly caught in the act of stealing a pair of shoes as she leaves a house she has just visited for Hari Raya. As cool as a cucumber she picks up a pair of shoes, dusts it off, checks for label and size and puts it in her bag (Lois Vuitton no less, but hard to tell though). And then she puts on her own shoes and walks away, all this caught on the homeowners close circuit television.
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Perhaps it's true what I've read online from a blogger friend of mine, how Hari Raya is not as "meriah" (merry) these days.
Well aside from nefarious shoe-nappers, the sensible calls to avoid waste and excess, and the fact that we are now more conscious of our health, I would disagree.
The way that we celebrate at home has changed. What was once a three day festival has become a month long marathon, but the basic idea remains through out. Brother and sisterhood, community and family. A counter balance to a month of refrain and restraint is a month of generosity and giving.
Thirty years from now, the way we celebrate Eid will be different. While now, our elders would have had large families of 10 or 15, our children’s elders would have had much smaller families, but I believe and fervently hope that the spirit will remain.
Selamat Hari Raya Maaf Zahir Batin.
@emmagoodegg
Illustration by Cuboi Art.
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