Sitting here in my new environment on the night of 30th August 2007 at 9.45pm in a home away from home in Singapore, I begin to think on to some things that I have taken for granted in the past. The more I think of it the more I begin to feel a longing for my motherland, Malaysia. Tomorrow will be her 50th birthday, 50th year released from the clutches of the colonialist and 50 years of freedom - a fact that I used to take for granted but now beginning to sink in.
It is now that I begin to ask myself the same question that the late President JF Kennedy asked the American public - "Ask not what the country has done for you but ask what have you done for the country" - a question that I feel a burning desire to answer. It is true that when you are away from someone or some place it is then you begin to realize how important the person or place really means to you. For me it is now that I begin to realize that Malaysia has been and will always be the place I call home no matter where I may go in this world.
Many people have the clichéd thought leaving Malaysia is the best thing they could have chosen in life and let me make myself clear on this - as I don't want to be looked upon as a hypocrite - it was never in my dreams that I wanted to leave Malaysia as it has been a place that gave me the identity that I carry around today no matter where I go. I had to leave as it was an opportunity for me to gain some much needed knowledge in my field of career which I hope to develop and expand before returning to serve my motherland some day soon. The grass may always be greener on the other side but it will never give you the same feeling of belonging as on this side; what you feel is something artificial and can never be real, just like genetically engineered products make you feel it is better but never the same feel you get from the old fashioned produced product.
Malaysia may have changed and taken many steps forward by leaps and bounds but there are certain matters that we seem to have taken a few steps backward. The most visible is racial relations. I still don't get it how a nation that used to be so united and see each other as brothers and sisters suddenly become so estranged from one another. How this came to be can never be explained as the reasons can be so diverse that some may border on the very sensitive of issues. Normally our leaders demand tolerance towards one another but in my opinion tolerance is not what we need, we need the spirit of brotherhood to be reforged. Where you and I see each other for not what color we are nor what status we are but see the person deep inside, the heart of the person. If there is one wish I have, it is for our nation to go back to the days of brotherhood, the times we call ourselves Malaysians not by race - Malay, Chinese, Indian etc but when you and I accept each other and call ourselves Malaysian.
Tonight at the stroke of mid-night, the fireworks will lit up the sky as everyone revels in the celebration of nationhood but sadly I won't be around to be part of it. I will be a spectator who watches from afar knowing that one day I will be there celebrating and when the Jalur Gemilang is hoisted to the rhythm of Negaraku, I will be singing with full of pride and honour.
The time is 10.30pm right now, another 1hour 30minutes to show time. To my beloved mother land, Malaysia, I wish you happy birthday and in this moment of solitude, pray that as a nation, we move forward with greater belief and co-operation, love and care for fellow Malaysians regardless of race, colour and creed. Merdeka!!! Merdeka!!! Merdeka!!!
Gemilang, Terbilang, Malaysiaku Cemerlang - 50 years of nationhood
Thursday, August 30, 2007
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