Martin Luther King, Jr.
It's Merdeka tomorrow and all around me there is almost nothing that shows me that tomorrow is the 31st of August 2010 the 53rd year of Malaysia's Independence and that we as a nation is excited to celebrate it. Shops, offices, houses, cars, are hardly flying any flags.
Yesterday while I was driving with my family and my 6 yr old daughter asked me why the taxi beside my car had a flag on it's car, that was when i realised that Tuesday will be Merdeka.
After explaining to my 6 yr old what merdeka meant and recounting stories of my younger days when everywhere i looked had flags flying proudly, it hit me again that Malaysians doesn't seem excited this year! (may be not for a few years already).
I myself did not bother to go get a flag for my car this year, in fact i didn't get one last year either!
personally, my reason was I'm disappointed with what is happening in this dear country of mine.
Top of with the way my pockets has been lately, I decided to show my displeasure, I would not fly the flag on my car. (cut cost mah!)
However, looking all around me even this morning (the eve of Merdeka) I saw very very few cars that had flags. In about 20 vehicles i encountered only 1 had a flag. It made my eyes sting with tears, I feel so very sad for this beautiful country of mine. The sadness in my heart almost feels like the pain of losing a dear friend.
Is it really true that there are so many of us Malaysians who are so unhappy that we are not flying our Country's flag today? And if this is really true what are we so unhappy about? and the biggest question is what are we going to do about it?
For me, I want my daughter to feel proud of her country, Malaysia, the land, the people, we are what counts.
The politics can go to hell for all i care now.
This is my country, my home, this land is where i was born, where my mother (my mom was Chinese) was born and died at the age of 63 in 2004. This is where my daughter was born. This land is where my dad (by the way my dad is Indian) was born he's 72yrs old. This land is where my dear 90 yr old Auntie May De Costa (she's Portuguese) was born! This is our home. YES! this land, Malaysia, is our country. We are the people of Malaysia, Please show us a little respect and not call us pendatang, penumpang,etc. Do not discriminate against me by my race for I'm a Malaysian.
So I will celebrate Merdeka this year for this land, Malaysia. I will now go out and buy a flag to put on my car to show that I am Malaysian. I'm flying this flag for my Malaysia and not for any politicians out there. The politicians (many of them) has forgotten what their job is supposed to be about! By the way, please take note here that I wrote politicians and not just government or opposition, this is because politicians covers them all!
And lastly to all fellow Malaysians, I wish you a Happy 53rd Merdeka tomorrow.
