Merdeka Spirit

There it is – I’m officially “mid-thirties” and whilst today had been a rather uneventful day – got up early to train, went to work (what, you mean it’s not a national holiday here??!), you know, a typical day like any other day – I must say, the day had still been full of really pleasant surprises. Of course, I said I wanted a ‘flash-mob’ when MOH asked me what I would like for my birthday. The day hasn’t ended and therefore, I’m holding my breath :)

I’m thankful to be where I’m at, to have achieved what I have thus far and I am most thankful for the freedom to do what I want to do and be happy. To have the opportunity to do so is the biggest blessings by far. A year ago, when I stopped working for money, I had not expected the returns to be so great. The ROI here being HAPPY and for that, I am thankful. Thankful for the support of my family, my loved ones and my friends. Today, one of the pleasant surprises was an email from my boss at work who said she is revising my payment scale and topping it up because after a month at work, she is appreciative of my contributions to the company. When I read that email, I was dumb-founded. I hadn’t expected it at all and to think, all I wanted was a part-time cashier’s job. LOL! It wasn’t so much that I am now paid higher – but I am happy that my contributions are recognized (talk about ego, man!) and I’m happy to be able to transfer knowledge to the local team too. Most of all, I’m happy that I have more to share with the children :) To be paid to do what you love doing, is a great feeling, I think. And like I said, to have that freedom to do what you want to do is a real blessing.

On a bigger scale of things, since today being Merdeka and all that, I’d like to talk more about that “freedom” we all have and enjoy. Despite being born on Merdeka Day, I have never really been a patriotic one. As a kid, I used to think when people hoisted our Jalur Gemilang at home or office buildings or wherever, it was to celebrate MY birthday! I thought the National Day Parade was held especially for me :P Now, if I dig deep in my heart, I’d say the only reason I call Malaysia my home, is the fact that my whole family is there.

55 years of freedom for my motherland – “tanah tumpahnya darahku” and I wonder where Malaysia is at today? (it is my Motherland, right? I mean, my motherland can’t possibly be China, right??? I’m confused sometimes :P)

** As always, I’d like to clarify that I’m not one of those political bloggers or activists or such like that. This is my blog and this is my personal POV.

Sadly, I feel Malaysia had digressed. The “Old Horse’s” vision of 2020 is… sorry, what Vision 2020?? I think since the 2004 elections, aside from the very expensive taxi ride into space, what have we achieved? I may have overlooked some things or missed out some others but generally from where I’m seated (far and away), we had achieved nothing. We’ve made it into the news a few times sure, but mostly for the wrong reasons. Think Bersih. Or Anwar for that matter.

I’ve been reading  this book; The Lady and The Peacock, trying to understand the history that shapes the Burmese people today. And I quote the famous “Freedom from Fear” essay lines by The Lady herself here. “It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.” Reading up on Myanmar’s past and watching it transform right before my very eyes, I cannot help but notice the similarities between Malaysia and Myanmar. Malaysia present day similar to Myanmar in the past. Our government had as recently as last week practised using fear to win votes. Think how it is supposedly “haram” for a Muslim to vote for the opposition. Say what now?? Or whatever that mineral water bottle drama was all about. It sounds so …. ridiculous that I wonder if Malaysia will ever, ever progress with these… these goons running the show.

You see – even Myanmar is ready and poised for change. In fact, not just poised for change. They are changing! Exciting times ahead and watching things unfold right before our very eyes…. is… well, exciting.  Part of the change included lifting of media censorships, transparency, etc. A couple of weeks ago, we watched on national TV here, the head of police (can’t remember his designation) do a PowerPoint presentation to foreign ambassadors and media about what truly happened in the Rakhine state. It was a very professionally prepared PowerPoint in English and a minute-by-minute account of what took place – accompanied by photos and evidences. I was impressed actually. If you read Myanmar’s past, you wouldn’t think this would ever take place. But it did. Again, I’m not here to analyse about the government’s actions and reactions. I’m just merely an observer and I’m stating what I observed.  Hmmm….  I wondered when was the last time our PDRM did a presentation like that? How about start with Bersih both 2 and 3?  

Our PDRM isn’t even fighting crime right now for crying out loud. The crime atrocities are escalating, as are the criminals themselves. What is going on? And yet, I was told today by a friend that BN’s new theme for the elections is “Janji Ditepati”. Hou la?? Hou la??? (Really???) Which ones? I mean, at least try…. try to ensure the safety of your rakyat, no? I’m very passionate about this crime issue. No, no, not because I’m a fan of Criminal Minds and CSI but because as I mentioned – my whole family, my loved ones, my friends are all back home where the crime is!! So after 55 years of freedom, we can’t even walk in a shopping mall car park without fear?? What freedom is that? We can’t partake in a non-violent demonstration without fear of being tear-gassed? What freedom is that? We can’t choose to send our children to a decent national school but instead, forced to tighten our belts and send them to private schools? What freedom is that? I don’t know, man. Doesn’t sound very “free” to me. Does it?

When I moved to Myanmar, some of my friends laughed at me and made remarks about me having a thing for third-world countries. You know what? If the government of Malaysia is not careful in how they manage the country and all its beauty and resources, the situation could reverse just a couple of years down the road. Then I’d be sitting all the way here, with super-fast internet (one can hope) by then and laughing :P Albeit sadly.  

To my fellow countrymen, in the spirit of Merdeka, there’s nothing more to ask for, than a peaceful nation, a SAFE country, managed by incredibly smart people who instils intelligence in their own rakyat, where one is FREE to run outdoors on nicely tarred roads, where one is FREE to request in a civilized manner from a democratic government what the citizens would like for their livelihoods,  where one is FREE to exercise one’s freedom in a way that is legal by every standards of the law, where one is FREE to think for themselves without having a government (or its loudspeakers) instilling fear into them for doing something “wrong”. It may be idealistic, but they’re reasonable, no?

Let’s ask then. Happy Merdeka.