Malaysia – Celebrating 53 years.

53 years ago on this very day, Tunku Abdul Rahman’s “MERDEKA!” echoed through Stadium Merdeka as the people celebrated the birth of Malaysia(although only known as Malaya then).

I grew up watching the clip of that very moment being replayed over and over again on tv whenever independence day drew close. Until today, watching it sends shivers down my spine as one finds it hard not to feel proud of that glorious day.

yet, after 53 years, we are still such a young, ignorant country, filled with problems like corruption, power abuse, racism, and the list goes on!
In the history books, we condemned the way the British employed a “divide and conquer” method in ruling Malaya, but aren’t we going through the exact same situation right now? Until today, the rakyat are being segregated by race and the “so called” politicians/leaders of this country are not helping but instead fanning the flames of racial hatred for their own benefit.

and what about insensitive people who classify the Malaysian chinese as pendatang(foreigners) or penumpang(passenger of the country) and asks them to, literally, “go back to china”?

and i ask. why?

yes. i am of a chinese race. but i was borned in Malaysia, not china. i grew up singing the national anthem every single week in school. heck i dont even know the words nor the tune to the national anthem of china! i follow malaysian news, not china’s news. i learn to speak and write in Malay, the national language of Malaysia, ever since i started school. and for those who are residing/studying overseas, i’m sure you can relate, when i say that when i’m asked about my nationality, i identify myself as a Malaysian. not a chinese. i don’t come from china. and i believe it is the same as well for the Malaysian Indians.

There is a lot of misunderstanding between the races in Malaysia and there is only the politicians/ so called leaders to blame. statements like “the chinese are controlling the economy and are ripping us malays off” are baseless and seditious. They not only do not reflect the real truth, but also creates the huge wedge between the chinese and malays that has really put a huge strain on the inter racial harmony in this country. Yes, one can understand why politicians would do such a thing. After all, human beings are selfish creatures and act in accordance with self interest. If making comments like that would bring them to power, why wouldn’t they?

However, the only reason why this issue is rampant in malaysia is the media. The lack of freedom of speech meant that the media is only able to publish what is pro government, and what is anti-gov would be deemed seditious and punishable. who could forget the incident where the journalist was jailed under the ISA? But there is a way out of this. and that is the online media. unlike the pro government tv stations/ newspapers, online media is unfiltered, uncensored, and to a certain extent unbiased. Though some may not notice it, I felt that the 2008 ‘political tsunami’ was largely due to the emergence of the online media as an alternative to the conventional media, giving voters more useful information than the government controlled media that hides and twists facts to their own advantage.

Therefore, we must push for greater political maturity in Malaysians. and by that, i mean having well informed, mature voters who make decisions based on logical reasoning to benefit the country. Well informed voters are voters who understand policies and where the country would go under each party. Hence, they make their decisions based on promises like “vote for me and i will reform the legal system/ increase GDP by xx% / ensure every malaysian deserve a fair go.” and not “vote for me and tmr i will pay u a thousand bucks each/ give u three bags of rice”. that’s nonsense democracy.

“the one thing permanent in life is change”

on that note, i sincerely hope that change is near. for the better of our country.

until then, never give up hope.

happy 53rd birthday, tanah airku.