Kuala Lampur, Sept. 3 -- Every September, as Malaysia Day approaches, we hear familiar conversations about unity, diversity and national identity. These are important reflections, particularly in a country as culturally rich as ours. Yet this year, I have found myself thinking less about these ideas as national aspirations and more as workplace realities.

The reason is simple. Every day, somewhere in Malaysia, thousands of people who speak different first languages, practise different faiths and come from different cultural traditions work together without giving it much thought.

It happens in hospitals, where doctors, nurses, pharmacists and biomedical engineers coordinate patient care. It happens in factories where production teams so...