I once (in my ignorance) asked my late grandfather if he was ever
bothered by the "commotion" coming from the Chinese temple in the
kampung whenever there were those festivities or occassions going
on. What he said in return was something that's hard for me to
forget, "If they (the Chinese folks) can put up with the azan
(call of prayers) from the mosque every dawn, why can't we do the
same for them just once in a while?"
That conversation was over a decade ago. The mentality and
tolerance of simple kampung people even as far back as the 50s
and 60s are so much better than some of those who are reputedly
'better educated and learned' living in towns and cities these
days it seems. Sad isn't it?
Update (April 2): This entry got picked up by
SuaraMalaysia.