Since I was a child, I have always viewed every different festive occasion and cultural custom with great interest. I love Christmas, the lantern festival, Deepavali… I admire the perseverance of those who show great strength during Thaipusam, and the infinite wisdom of Buddhist teachings. Overall I feel extremely lucky to be living within a country where I am able to witness and learn about other cultures and religions apart from my own. I feel this gives me a deeper understanding and respect of others.

Being a Muslim, I recently experienced Ramadan - the once a year, month long fasting season for Muslims. The general idea is that from dawn to sunset, we make a vow that refrains us from eating or drinking. Going deeper, Ramadan is a time of patience, reflection and humility; and a time for us to try to become better people. It is a month of remembering the poor, of those you are less fortunate then us, and to remember the struggles and sacrifices made by those in the past.

Every day, ‘Iftar’ (the break-fast meal) is a time that is much anticipated by all. Over the years we have come to love Ramadan for the great Ramadan Markets- the Ayam Perchik, the Murtabak and the array of Malay Kuehs that are so hard to find any other time of the year. Not only the Muslims but non-Muslims alike enjoy this season because of all the great food and buffet spreads. Whether Muslim or not, the Ramadan month has become understood as a part of our culture. Restaurants are often booked to the max all through this month, with people eagerly awaiting the ‘Iftar’ meal. Somehow fasting all day gives everyone all kinds of cravings, so all in all I would say it is a pretty good time for restaurateurs too.

So it has been disappointing to observe, especially this year, the absolute lack of respect for the fasting month from many of our local restaurants. This year, only a handful of restaurants I dined in served the usual Kurma (Muslims are encouraged to start the ‘Iftar’ meal with Kurma), or made sure that there was at least a glass of water on the table beforehand. But the worst thing had to be that most of these places did not even bother to inform their patrons that it was time for ‘Iftar’. Instead, most patrons had to call home to people who were watching TV to find out if it was time to eat yet.