At One with the Universe, but not with Malaysia

There is something out there. I call it TAO (The Way) because there is no known name for it. You may call that ONE 'god', it matters little. This ONE is the first-cause of the universe. It is a force that flows through all life. This ONE sustains the cosmos in its order. The task of humanity is to recognize their oneness with the ONE we call TAO.

Taoists in Malaysia have complained that the National Registration Department has merely registered them as Buddhists or having ‘no religion’ on the NRD database. The Federation of Taoists Associations in Malaysia has called upon the Home Affairs Ministry to recognise Taoism as a religion practised in Malaysia, and to make provisions for its adherents in MyKad application forms.

I find it totally negligent of the NRD officers in failing to provide due recognition of Taoist Malaysians, when they have been practising this religion since the Chinese first stepped foot here. It is one of the great religions of the world, which has been practised for eons, even before Christianity.

The popular modern term 'at ONE with the Universe' is actually a Taoist belief and aspiration. One could say that Taoism would have been the natural religion of the Greens, in its understanding of, and blending in with the forces of the Universe or Nature. Thus the early Taoists would have been the original greenies. I have included an inkling of Taoist belief above to dispel any fallacious impression that it's associated with idol worship.

But on the political-social issue, it’s just incomprehensible and unacceptable for the Malaysian Home Affairs Ministry or NRD officers to show their ignorance of a religion practised by Malaysian citizens for over 200 years in this land now called Malaysia.