Ugly two sides of a coin
Merdeka Day used to bring Malaysians together for one big do, but politics has changed all that
National colours, in droplets:
The
Malaysian flag, or Jalur Gemilang, is reflected in thousands of
raindrops on a windscreen of a car during a rainy day in Kuching. It’s
Aug 31 — Malaysians from all across the nation are flying the Jalur
Gemilang with pride as they celebrate the 55th Merdeka Day. This photo
is taken close up with a 90mm macro lense. —ZULAZHAR SHEBLEE/The Star
TODAY,
Aug 31, is Merdeka Day. It’s usually an occasion celebrated with
parades and speeches remembering heroes in the struggle for
indedependence, marked by the singing of patriotic songs and much
flag-waving.
The celebrations also generally include groups of
participants in colourful traditional costumes to remind us of our rich
cultural heritage and diversity.
It should be a time of
reflection on what nationhood means for Malaysia and how we want our
country to move forward, a time of celebrating together as Malaysians
with no regard to race, religion or political affiliation.
Unfortunately,
we live in such a politically-charged atmosphere, with the impending
13th general election looming over us, that even
National Day has turned
into an occasion for petty squabbling and the inevitable politicking.
The official theme of
Janji Ditepati
(Promises Fulfilled) has been met with derision by the Opposition, who
claim it is an empty slogan as many Government promises have not been
fulfilled.
For their part, Pakatan Rakyat leaders have said they
will skip the official celebrations for their own state-level one,
complete with their own theme of
Senegara, Sebangsa, Sejiwa(One Country, One Nation, One Soul).
So, instead of uniting the people as befits Merdeka Day, the celebration has been split along partisan lines.
Public
reaction seems to range from indifference to disdain. We’re grown weary
from waiting for the polls to be called and it’s hardly surprising if
people are skeptical of the endless campaigning.
Meanwhile,
there’s the important matter of what Merdeka Day means for
Sarawak and
Sabah. On this day in 1957, it was the
Federation of Malaya which gained
independence from the British. Sarawak became independent on July 22
1963 and Sabah on Aug 31 1963, shortly before Malaysia came into being
on Sept 16 1963.
Some quarters have raised the point that today’s
celebration has no relevance to Sarawak and Sabah, and that
Malaysia
Day on Sept 16 should be the rightful National Day.
Coupled with
this is the tricky question of whether Malaysia is 55 or 49 years old,
depen-ding on whether the birth of the nation is deemed to be in 1957 or
1963.
We’re in the peculiar position whereby Malaya became
independent on Aug 31 1957, but the country of Malaysia was formed on
Sept 16 1963 through the merger of Malaya, Singapore (which left in
1965), Sarawak and Sabah.
For Sarawakians and Sabahans, Sept 16
is the more meaningful date because it commemorates the birth of
Malaysia, a nation of which we are a part. Peninsular Malaysians need to
understand this and realise why Sept 16 is important to us here.
On
our part, we should accept that Aug 31 is likewise an important date
for the peninsula. However, since Sept 16 is Malaysia Day, it should be
given equal, if not greater prominence, than Aug 31 as a truly national
celebration of our coming together as a country.
Nevertheless, as we celebrate National Day today, let us be reminded of the
Proclamation of Independence
read out by
Tunku Abdul Rahman in 1957. It ends with the hope that the
newly-independent nation “with God’s blessing shall be forever a
sovereign democratic and independent state founded upon the principles
of liberty and justice and ever seeking the welfare and happiness of its
people and the maintenance of a just peace among all nations.”
In
line with this, the Christian
Federation of Malaysia’s Merdeka Day
message is a timely call for Malaysians to forge ahead and invest in
building a progressive and better country for all.
“In this
celebratory occasion let us dream a new dream for all Malaysians. We
pray to
Almighty God that He will grant us a new vision of Malaysia for
ourselves and all our children. We are a nation truly blessed with so
much potential in our multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious
communities.
“Let us mutually share all our resources, our wealth
and opportunities and be a model nation to the nations around us. We
can begin to do this by loving God and our neighbours as ourselves. Let
us be responsible citizens of our beloved Malaysia. Let us care for
those in need like the orphans and widows. May we meet the needs of the
marginalised and others left by the wayside. In concert, let us jointly
prosper our neighbours first.
“As Malaysians we step forward
together in unity and harmony for all Malaysians and not pay heed to the
strident voices of some with their narrow interests,” it said.
It
also called for justice and righteousness to be upheld and for
friendship, unity and harmony to be strengthened in the country.
May this be our prayer and hope for Malaysia as we celebrate this Merdeka Day.
ET CETERA By SHARON LING
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