So I was invited by my Communication team in my company to contribute a short article on how is it like to be born and raised in a multicultural family background. To be honest, it was something that I have been waiting throughout my working experience to write something like this.

Well, growing up in a family of mix cultural background is no different with other families. The only thing different is that tolerant, understanding, respect, and patience are the key essentials. There are 2 different religion under one roof so logically you think that there'll be clash of interest or dispute on how should we celebrate Chinese New Year especially when it comes to reunion dinner. It wasn't an easy journey at first for my parents but patience was the only thing that came across my parent's mind at that time until I was born, everything changed. See, cucu can make a whole lot of different :-)

Simple. Previously we used to book halal restaurants or 8 course dining at hotels. As the price keeps increasing, we resulted in organizing our own bbq or hot pot at my uncles's place. Each bbq pit or hot pot will be divided into 2 parts. One is halal and another is non-halal. The halal part is definitely for me and my family, obviously kan. Duhhh. The ingredients were also halal. So it wasn't a problem for us.

I'm quite lucky compared to some families because my dad and his siblings were brought up in a Malay kampung. So understanding some of the basic dos and don'ts in Islam is not something we need to explain to them cause they already know. Even when there's death in the family, we visited too cause it was with pure intention because they're family regardless of which religion or race you come from.

A change of religion doesn't mean you disown your family. No, it's not. In my case, me and cousins were very close from young until most of us were married and have our own commitment but we still say Hi to each other once in a while or a family gathering during festive season. It's very interesting to have different culture in your family, you get to learn each other's culture especially when it comes to FOOD!

As I mentioned previously, RESPECT is important. Don't let your ego get in your way. I mean thinking that 'Why should I follow your way?'. It's about taking in the bad and the good. No one's perfect so best is to embrace and enjoy. It's a unique experience and I will definitely pass it down to my kids.