Happy Belated Merdeka, folks.

happy belated merdeka.

found this entry written by Akshay Menon on Zero Degrees really inspiring. and, thought provoking. (at least to me)

"On August 31, while the Peninsula goes gaga, for more than half the country, it is just another day. Well, historically speaking that is. Across the South China Sea, East Malaysians must be feeling a bit bamboozled, especially on the 50th anniversary of our parting-of-ways with the British Empire. After all, on August 31, 1957, the people of Sabah and Sarawak were, well, I am not entirely sure what they were doing but they certainly were not celebrating the end of British rule..."

well, in case you don't know...Sabah & Sarawak did not join the Federation of Malaya until 16 Sept, 1963...so if you know what i mean...about the dates and the term "malaysia's independence day" here if abit distorted all thanks to our own ignorance really...

on msn, a friend of mine - kenny argued that East Germany did not change their date/day of independence after the reunion...and he asked, "when you work for a company, do you celebrate the day it was formed or the date that it expanded with merging with 2 other companies?"

he's got a point of course...but thing is, malaysia wasn't formed on 31st august 1957 to begin with! malaysia was formed only when sabah, sarawak and singapore merged with malaya...so how is it fair to say that 31st august is our (sabahans and sarawakians included) independence day??... besides, one date cannot apply to all that happened...we cannot generalize for the sake of convenience...that's just so not history!...

as Akshay Menon puts it, "...we are not a huge nation like the US nor do we have a painfully convoluted history like India. We really ought to be able to know small facts, such as the ever so miniscule fact that it is NOT 50 years of Malaysia."

conclusion is, know your history. and know what you're celebrating.

and before i forget, cheerios to another friend of mine - maggie for writing this, "When Tunku Abdul Rahman bellowed "Merdeka" 50 years back, that meant independence.That meant freedom. But what freedom do I see here now? What freedom can i speak of, if not freedom of religion, freedom of speech and freedom of press?"

ironic, isn't it? to have such a big contradiction to what we're celebrating - independence. freedom.

colonial rule. and lack of freedom of speech. which is worse? are they any different?

by the way, why do people find it hard to accept that we're a plural society?...heck...either they are naive or just being idealistic lah...i don't know...but one thing for sure is...we ARE a plural society...and it's time to admit that! afterall, it is what makes us - malaysians unique!

also, it is time to admit to yourself that what's written in the constitution is not about to change unless we do something about it...remember the chinese saying of how "gentlemen always use logic...not fists..." the least you can do to get things started or innitiate change is by registering and casting your vote...you can't celebrate freedom without practising it now, can you?

all in the name of love for this country babeh. happy merdeka, folks!

p/s: didn't know what to post but hope this old entry from my own blog helps in a way or two.