50 Years of Independence & Tan Hong Ming

Assalamualaikum all!

The following is an article on Malaysia's 50 Years of Independence which Ive specifically written for Visi Glokal, a few months back. Maybe it's a tad too late for it, but who cares. We're still in 2007. =) Below that, Ive embedded a Merdeka advertisement. Spare a minute and a half or ur time, and WATCH IT. PLEASE. It's cute. It's sweet. It's beautiful. ENJOY!

In conjunction with 50^th Independence Day of Malaysia, what does ‘Independence’ mean to you? Do you believe that we have indeed achieved independence?

Yes, Malaysia is independent; and has been so for a solid fifty years. So what?

I reckon better questions to ask are; “Will there be another fifty blessed years of independence? Do we have a strong enough foundation to guarantee continuous growth, unity and security to our people for many years to come?” I’m afraid we don’t.

Here’s the reality:

Malays are no longer proud to be Malays. They still suffer from an identity crisis. Even after fifty years of opportunities, they are still lagging behind, without any clear sign of wanting to catch up. They want more benefits, but how much is enough?

The Indians protest. They say that they are not treated with fairness and just. They have little chance in their own country.

The Chinese continuously play dominant role in the country's economy. But they are slowly packing up their bags for other places. They feel that all the wealth will be taken away from them soon. Owh, they keep asking, “Why do we always have to work harder than them in order to attain anything?” A justifiable question? You tell me.

Then there are other national issues as well. The educated Malaysians have eroding faith in the government, leaving the majority of "lesser" educated people confused. The country is constantly served with news of 'mat and minah repit' (most of whom are Malays teenagers, mind you...), rape, murder, drug abuse to name but a few. Corruption is like kicap stain on a white shirt; it is just impossible to get rid of. Entertainment shows seem to corrupt the minds of the Malaysian youth. The list appears endless.

Sure, every country has its own set of problems. What is being stressed here is that, the problems the nation is facing are so significant that they are putting our independence at stake. Not disregarding the weight of other national issues, but the fact that the main races are driven further apart is enough to harm our freedom. In some cases, racial dividedness IS the source of the problems.

What’s more disturbing is that Malaysians do not seem to care. We have become accustomed to living separately, minding our own business and hating one another. So ignorant and selfish are we that instead of devising a scheme to remedy the racial conflicts, most of us would just complain (political blogs seems to be popular spots to express frustrations), and/or do nothing more. It is as if we are contented (and happy) with living dividedly but at the same time dissatisfied with the consequences of being as such.

It is not enough to display our so-called togetherness on 31 August every year. For a multi-cultural nation like Malaysia, cultural diversity must first be embraced, theoretically and in practice. We must accept it as a way of life rather than a historical plague which we have to bear with. We need to put our differences aside (ambitious, I know) and start caring. Only then can we tackle other issues and hopefully hinder many other potential problems. Unity was THE key to our independence fifty years ago. Likewise, unity is THE key to our independence in the future.

Malaysia is indeed independent. Fifty years, no less. But until Malaysians learn to add “awareness, acceptance, change and togetherness” to the definition of “Merdeka”, then another fifty years of independence will be much like a daydream. Sweet, yet short-living and out of reach.

Neng
4^th Oct 2007.