COMMENT | The Chinese calligraphy couplets that are displayed in the finance minister Lim Guan Eng's office should not be a topical issue for the media to report. The fact that it is indicates the inclination to succumb to the hate campaign to stir up racist and extremist sentiments.

How are the calligraphies offensive when they represent two lines of poetry which read as: "May the fate of the nation prosper and welcome a golden era" and "May everyone in the family gets along well and a hundred businesses boom."

These calligraphies are customary and ornamental in nature during Chinese New Year. Additionally, the minister’s office also contains a large framed wall hanging of a Quranic verse, and maneki-neko (common Japanese cat figurine) figurines. Are these ornaments deemed inappropriate too?

The media should know better than to jump at the racist and extremist baiting to sensationalise a non-issue. In this era of New Malaysia where the difference in race and religion should be celebrated rather than vilified, stories like this should not even surface on print or online as they serve only to divide rather than unite.

Criticisms claiming that the couplets are disrespectful of the position of Bahasa Melayu as the national language are preposterous as the couplets are ornamental in nature. This is in no way different from Malay employees decorating their workspace with Raya ornaments. Additionally, the minister through his initiative recently awarded a lifetime monthly allowance amounting to RM5,000 to our national laureates as a tribute to their efforts and dedication in building Bahasa Melayu as the national language that unites the nation.

Efforts to rebuild the country’s economy, implement reforms, and develop the ‘rakyat’ are often sidelined by vexatious potshots aimed at distracting and diverting the public’s attention as in the case of the photographed couplets. The actual context of the photographs is a courtesy call by the president of Microsoft Corporation Asia Pacific to the Ministry of Finance.

While the media is free to report what it chooses to, it is hoped that the day will come when it evolves to go beyond the need to resort to racial and religious themes in its efforts to attract readership.

It is also hoped that the Malaysian media will mature and ignore senseless triggers that are disruptive and divisive. Let us respect each other’s cultural differences and celebrate the diversity that makes our nation unique.

Zakiah Hanum Kassim is head of Corporate Communications in the Ministry of Finance.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.