being free

it's gonna be 52 years after we gained our independence as a country, a multiracial country as a whole.

but thinking of how we, Malaysians act and think of others..our own countrymen. i'd say we've a long way to go to make up for the 52 years of independence. as a country, we haven't reach a level that's substantial to make us really unite. even tho we say we're proud of ourselves to have come such a long way, we're still making HUGE mistakes..of blaming others and closing one eye on our own fault.

i'm gonna be 23 in a few months, and that's only half the years of our independence. i'm totally thankful coz i don't have to go thru the hardship of getting the independence, or even living under the British officers, the Dutch..or those terrible time under the Japanese occupation. that's the reason we learn history in school..to learn from the past, their mistakes, their sufferings and their courage. but now, i don't think the new generation get what was meant by those stories we learnt about. that's why i don't agree with the edu system, it produces ppl who are studying hard just to pass the exams..and not to learn the real thing. thus, the proud feeling of being a true Malaysian subsides and dims with time. it adds with the lack of interest of the younger generation in learning the history subject in school. i hope the ministry would never consider making history into one of the elective subjects in the future, like what happened to Geography. there are a lot of ppl who don't know where the states are situated in our own country, let alone knowing about the other countries.

we're free in the sense that we're free to study, to voice our own thoughts, to build our career..to live anywhere we want, to go anywhere. then one asked, are we really free that we can taunt other races? are we really free that we throw accusations to others, blaming them for everything..even if it's not totally their fault? are we really free?

these recent years, i've been assessing the situation for myself..since i turned to be in another bracket of age, i think. i couldn't really recall if i've started this 'assessment' before that. some ppl tend to generalise everyone into a group and speak of them as one. that's barely tolerable. they would say "that race is downright disgusting, they do this and do that to us", when actually it's just some ppl they know. and i don't think they've met everyone born in that race, to enable them to say all would have the same quality. i know there would be a whole lot more ppl better than this one particular person who's badmouthing the other race.

when that happens around me, which i'm sad to reveal..had happened one too many times when i was even right there. my parents have interracial marriage..and i'm deeply affected when i encounter racial issues. i would say i'm blessed to be born half-half..coz i wouldn't know if i could be this sensitive to this issue if i was born 'full-blooded'.

let me quote this one particular ads, about the ABC being Malaysians' favourite. ABC as all of us know, needs a lot of ingredients to make it whole..to make it truly ABC. the red beans, the nuts, the corn, the syrup, the condensed milk, the attap chee..among all. the same goes for Malaysia, we would never be Malaysia if there's no Malay, Chinese, Indian, Bidayuh, Kadazan and others.

owh, and please add up the feel of Merdeka day. i don't think this year's celebration gonna be something memorable..coz i still don't get the Independence Day vibe, even tho it's less than a day now..

hopefully we can think about this, and change our attitude as a nation..so that the situation can also change for the better and benefit us all

SELAMAT MENYAMBUT HARI KEMERDEKAAN MALAYSIA YG KE-52