Friday 31 August 2007

being malaysian

Today, Malaysia celebrates her 50th year of independence.

I’m certain that many blogs would have mentioned something on the independence to the build up of the event. And I’m sure many Malaysians would have blog something about Malaysia on this day as well.

Not wanting to be left out, I will write about being a Malaysian.

I’m proud to say I’m Malaysian or Malaysian Chinese whenever anyone asks. I get very annoyed when people stereotype that I’m from China.

I love to tell people how beautiful Malaysia is, where one should go and what one should see when visiting the country.

Malaysia is a beautiful country. A mixture of peaceful highlands, sandy beaches, lush rainforests, bustling cities, busy towns and sleepy villages.

I love how diversified the country is. Because of this, we have the privilege of savouring so many types of mouth watering dishes, understand and experience various cultural differences, and my favourite part is the abundance of public holidays we get because of our multi-racial and multi-beliefs background.

There are so much development and advancement in things. I was surprised when I first arrived in the UK and even now, some of us seemed to have better computer skills than many here.

We have the tallest twin towers, loads of shopping centres, beautiful skylines and an International Airport to be proud of.

There are so many improvements in the past fifty years. So many events created history that Malaysian would never thought we could have done or achieved.

But the question often boils down to ‘are you proud to be a Malaysian?’

This question lies well inside each one of us. It is an answer that either we shout out loud or just keep it quietly inside of us.

I will not say much about this. I’m Malaysian. Period.

I believe that there are a lot of things that the nation struggle with. One thing for certain is the people’s struggle with the government on certain issues.

On the other hand it is also important for people to view things from the government’s point of view. It is not easy being on either side. One has to put order and legislation, whereas the other wants to believe they have the freedom of expression on anything and everything.

It’s not easy but I am happy that we live in harmony, most of the time, anyways.

My vision is to hope that one day Malaysians will learn to appreciate the things around them - good and bad.

For instance, the Negarakuku composition by Wee Meng Chee.

Personally I think it was a very bold artistic expression of his love and impression of the country.

As with any artists, there will be controversy surrounding their works (in whatever form it comes in).

We’ll reach there some day. Some day, I hope.

Happy 50th Birthday Malaysia!

No comments: