Merdeka

 
First of all, let me wish everyone Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri. Also, as the days happen to almost coincide this year, Selamat Hari Merdeka. In many ways, this is very significant.

Since Raya coincides with Merdeka this year, I thought I would write a list of freedoms we should give ourselves in these coming months, besides the freedom to now eat.

Let us also demand Freedom from the Forgetful Politician, that is, those who forgot who voted them in. First off are those who insist that we should be grateful that they are there to lead us.

Nevertheless, through democracy and diplomacy, our forefathers paved the way to independence.

Finally, on Aug 31, 1957, we won our independence.

That was then. Here and now, serious questions remain. How much independence did we win, really? How much good did independence bring to our lives? And when we say “we”, who are “we”?

Thus, what freedoms we have are actually hollow and illusory. Malaysia may have gained independence as a country, but as Malaysians we have gained little independence as individuals.

There cannot be unity without equality. There’s no “we” or “us” in Malaysia, but only “I” and “my”.

So how did it all go so wrong? It’s perhaps down to the post-independence syndrome faced by victorious revolutionaries everywhere bestowed with new-found power and wealth overnight.

What history teaches us is that Independence Day is simply the day on which a white knight disposes of a tyrant. Whether after that he becomes a benevolent king sworn to protect his people’s freedoms is a totally different story altogether.

A change of regime may be nothing more than a change of jailors. There may be an extra meal or longer visitation hours, but otherwise the people remain in shackles. They can check-out anytime they like, but they can never leave.

After independence, it’s another day, another dawn. The journey ahead is long and hard. We Malaysians may have escaped from colonialism, but even till today, we are still lost in the desert, taking more steps backwards than forward and no closer to the Promised Land.

Here and now, what we need is not just one country, but to share one love, one blood and one life. What we need is faith and courage to leave this dream world where there is no spoon, and reach a place high in the desert plain where the streets have no name.

Once upon a time, we won our independence.

Our forefathers understood that we had a fundamental right to freedom and self-determination 54 years ago. 

Merdeka!