Bangladeshis There are thousands of Bangladeshis working in Malaysia. I don’t know the exact numbers but there are many. They work in all sorts of sectors. I think all of us Malaysians, unless you have been hibernating in a cave in Pasir Mas Kelantan, would have encountered or dealt with our friendly Bangladeshis [you should refer to them as Bangladeshis, not Banglas]. Yet most Malaysians are completely ignorant about them. I have been to Bangladesh 3 times – as a consultant to the Bangladeshi government to build up their capacity in environmental management. I managed to learn a bit about the country and the people. I found them to be very nice and hospitable. Bangladesh is a poor country. It is also a rich country. Poor because it hasn’t got much money. Rich because it has great history, culture and people. Bangladesh (144,000 sq. km) is only about half the size of Malaysia. It has a population of about 150 million, give or take another 10 million – making it one of most densely populated countries in the world. Its population density is more than 10 times that of Malaysia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Myanmar and the Bay of Bengal in the south. Poverty is very high although the rate has fallen rapidly in recent years. It has a long history- with its earliest civilizations dating back to 4000 years ago. The kingdom of Gangaridai was formed in the area from at least the 7th century BC, which later united with Bihar under the Magadha, Nanda, Mauryan and Sunga Empires. If you still remember your history, Bengal was also part of the Gupta and Harsha empires from the 3rd to the 6th centuries AD. Most of you will know the messy history during the British occupation and later the bloody history of being under Pakistan and later the Paki – Bangla war in 1971 – which Bangladesh, of course, won with a lot of help from the Indian army. In fact, you visit Dhaka today, there is a Pakistani tank (kereta kebal) on display in the city centre – I guess to remind visitors and locals alike, that Bangladesh won the war. The people of Bangladesh are Bengalis (bukan Benggali roti). I think the Bengalis are smart people. Three Bengalis have won the Nobel Prize. Rabindranath Tagore for Literature in 1913, Amartya Sen for Economics in 1998 and Mohamad Yunos (of Grameen Bank) for Peace in 2006. No Malaysian has gone anywhere close to the Nobel Prize and don’t expect the situation to change in the near future.[There are rumours that given the manner in which contracts are awarded in Malaysia, we as a nation, may win the Nobel Prize for Economics soon. Or our obsession with Tongkat Ali may win us the Nobel Prize for Medicine.]. The Bengali language also boasts a rich literary – the works of the genius poet Kazi Nazrul Islam is a testimony to this rich heritage. Rizwana Hasan (a Bangladeshi) won the Goldman Environmental Prize for 2009. You may also like to know that Bangladesh has 3 World Heritage Sites.(1) The historic mosque city of Bagerhat, founded by Ulugh Khan Jahan in the early 15th century, is renowned for its large concentration of mosques and Islamic monuments. (2) The Somapura Mahavihara in Paharpur, is among the best known Buddist viharas in the Indian subcontinent and is one of the most important archeological sites in the country. (3) The Sundarbans is the largest single block of tidal mangrove forest in the world. The forest covers 10,000 km2 of which about 6,000 are in Bangladesh.The area is known for the Royal Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris). The Bangladeshis play an important role in our country. Without them, many of our businesses and industries will cease to function. I think we all should try to learn and understand them a bit better.
Posted on: Tue, 12 Nov 2013 12:44:14 +0000
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