Hope or Reality This Merdeka
Today is 54 years we got our independence from a colonial master the British. The ultra nationalists or those who believe themselves rightful owner of this earth called Tanah Melayu will say that our independence actually started about 509 years ago or thereabouts, depending on when they agree the Malay Hindu Prince, Parameswara converted to Islam and founded the Malacca Sultanate that laid the foundation of this Tanah Melayu being the rightful owner of these conquerors.
To historians depending on which 'centric' approach and school they are, remembering my history professor who is from the Malaysia centric vs Malay centric these days historian, the new rulers didn't see themselves as conquerors of this archipelago.
The conquerors we are told, relying on historians, were the Portuguese, Dutch, English, Japanese and English. These were the imperialists who conquered this Tanah Melayu. Even if names like Srivijaya and Majapahit preceded the Malacca Sultanate, they were not seen as conquerers or imperialists expanding their Kingdom from Indonesia to Singapore and then to this Tanah Melayu. The important thing is the ancestry was Malay. Religion came later,
Only those not of the same ancestry were conquerors,Portuguese, Dutch, English, Japanese, even our northern Thai were conquerors. And these conquerors worshipped a different God and that was an all important factor in the history of Tanah Melayu.
So if we want to trace the Tanah Melayu liberation it must be about 600 years ago when a new religion took root. Actually, why is it that we always bow to the mighty Brits even the great US of A, who still look upon their independence from their colonial master! And those under French, Dutch and Portuguese rule also trace their independence from the imperialists!!!
Such is history or rather how it is interpreted in some nation's history by the party ruling the nation, right? So independence day does change according to which power comes to the throne right? Like the Romans of o! le. When a new emperor descended, the year was celebrated according to the reign of the new emperor and when he was disposed, the new calendar began with the new emperor. Makes us wonder if this BC and AD is really the correct way of calculating our calendar.
Of course today we use the Gregorian calendar, also of religious origin from the Catholic religion as our civil calendar. And we also have the Islamic calender being used too. If you ask the Hindu and Buddhists they will have their own calendar so do the Tibetans. So our man made calendar all has religious origins right?
So today we celebrate Hari Merdeka but then the real celebrations has shifted to Sep 16 when the East part joined the West. So we have two Merdekas, one that is 54 years ole and the other 48 years old. It's not really deliberate as it truly reflect the state BolehLand is these days. We flip flop when we need certainty and decisiveness. Or is it just our way of finding every reason to have a national holiday? To enjoy and have fun to keep realities aside during our festivity?
So our 54 years old celebration is Hari Merdeka and our 48 years old is called Hari Malaysia.
Since we started early in the West, this 54 years means a lot to many and great hopes to the optimists and to the pessimists it's like we never got liberated at all. The mentality has remained, while the environment has changed.
It's like smoking. The habit remains even when the world has changed, even if medical sign proves smoking brings about cancer, even if the packaging shows grotesque pictures of suffering and what not. People will smoke!
The realists will say we have made great progress. Material gains, first world infrastructure and style and fashion. Even our eating habits are first world. Strange we were supposed to wean away from our colonial masters after gaining independence. But we continue to look on them for our liberation and independence.
Ole sage Tun always rile against the subtle colonisation of independent! free na tions in almost every aspects of life! From economic to financial, culture to lifestyle, even political thinking and practices. Democracy is seen as evil. Human right, justice, freedom of religion, separation of state and religion and even meritocracy are considered evil and bad for BolehLand society and its people - well at least some groups and people that is.
The optimists have much hope and belief under the fad of the day, 1Malaysia banner. It used to be Bersih, Cekap Amanah, RukunNegara, Muhibbah and that often forgotten Hadhari that will be the guiding principle to keep the multi nature of this society.
There are ultra nationalists who prefer a mono society thinking that if we are all one and the same, colour, religious belief, lifestyle and even thinking and behaviour, we would truly be an utopian model nation, an islamic state that others will envy and want to emulate. And they are trying so hard to even get those belong to their own kind for this mono kind of behaviour.
To achieve their aim, these nationalists who call themselves true sons of the soil and Malaysians even if they feel being a nation second to their race or God, will not hesitate to label non conformists as traitors, evil and even migrants, the latest being communists, pagans, infidels and what have you. There seem to be now and then a jihad more of a religious nature than one that deals with Caesar's affairs, like corruption, abuse of power and the ills of government.
And these true loyal patriotic citizens seem to want a return to the golden kingdom of ole, 500 years back where feudal society and life was the order of the day and life was simpler then.
to the pessimists, today they wish to see yellow in the horizon, thinking all don't seem well in BolehLand with the current state of affairs. Sex, sodomy and sleaze sits comfortably with corruption, incompetence, abuse of power and hypocrisy. The economic woes and ills of the nation is not our own or rather the leaders doing. It has to do with ! foreign speculators, even the WTO, IMF, World Bank, Wall Street, acts of God attributed to hurricanes, drought, excessive rain, global warming, investors who still don't want to invest here after all the roadshows and convincing and of course the biggest culprit to the current state of affairs has to do with those who see yellow in everything and voters who did not vote the ruling party.
So it's difficult to convince the adults whose minds have already been made up. Even if one wants to see things objectively, it's a taboo no no because you are not allowed to think or question anything apart from the official viewpoint and version, video postings and blogs included! Those who refuse to homologate official views are treated with disdain and labelled 'enemies of the king, state, religion and country!
Notice the advertisements feature kids which are considered the hope for a new united harmonious BolehLand? Yes kids are our future. But then if we look at what adults are doing as models for our kids in education alone, we wonder if our kids are better off than the present adult generation? Look at the news that have no compunction to splash sleaze, sex, jingoistic jihad cries against other religions and even those with different political views.
So given the cauldron of contradictions in BolehLand, we look for days like Merdeka to tell ourselves and our children that the reality we are is the same as our hopes for the future.
Of course, we need to work for a nation that all can find a place in this Tanah Melayu. And if those who ask to go back to the basics and era 500 years ago, should look for those aspects that made life simpler and the society united than the ole practice that authority, the rule of force and sword and a homogeneous society are answers to today's way of life.
Is our hope for a better tomorrow made easier because today we have the ingredients to achieve it. Or have the past 54 years our leaders sowed different seeds on the same piece of Tanah Melayu that we are! experie ncing the realities of today.
Happy Merdeka and when man screws up what God has given, we need to turn back to God to really help us. WE SHOULD APPRECIATE AND CELEBRATE OUR DIVERSITY and not use it as an excuse to divide us even further!
Should not every citizen not feel afraid he has a legitimate place and right in BolehLand instead of the 'tak boleh' attitude that seem to be felt these days.
After 54 years we are still distinguished by colour, race, religion and privileges. This is our reality an1d is this the hope we are seeking for our children too huh? Our leaders' versions are not the same even among themselves.
A Happy Merdeka still in whatever way we want to celebrate it and what it means to each of us.
To historians depending on which 'centric' approach and school they are, remembering my history professor who is from the Malaysia centric vs Malay centric these days historian, the new rulers didn't see themselves as conquerors of this archipelago.
The conquerors we are told, relying on historians, were the Portuguese, Dutch, English, Japanese and English. These were the imperialists who conquered this Tanah Melayu. Even if names like Srivijaya and Majapahit preceded the Malacca Sultanate, they were not seen as conquerers or imperialists expanding their Kingdom from Indonesia to Singapore and then to this Tanah Melayu. The important thing is the ancestry was Malay. Religion came later,
Only those not of the same ancestry were conquerors,Portuguese, Dutch, English, Japanese, even our northern Thai were conquerors. And these conquerors worshipped a different God and that was an all important factor in the history of Tanah Melayu.
So if we want to trace the Tanah Melayu liberation it must be about 600 years ago when a new religion took root. Actually, why is it that we always bow to the mighty Brits even the great US of A, who still look upon their independence from their colonial master! And those under French, Dutch and Portuguese rule also trace their independence from the imperialists!!!
Such is history or rather how it is interpreted in some nation's history by the party ruling the nation, right? So independence day does change according to which power comes to the throne right? Like the Romans of o! le. When a new emperor descended, the year was celebrated according to the reign of the new emperor and when he was disposed, the new calendar began with the new emperor. Makes us wonder if this BC and AD is really the correct way of calculating our calendar.
Of course today we use the Gregorian calendar, also of religious origin from the Catholic religion as our civil calendar. And we also have the Islamic calender being used too. If you ask the Hindu and Buddhists they will have their own calendar so do the Tibetans. So our man made calendar all has religious origins right?
So today we celebrate Hari Merdeka but then the real celebrations has shifted to Sep 16 when the East part joined the West. So we have two Merdekas, one that is 54 years ole and the other 48 years old. It's not really deliberate as it truly reflect the state BolehLand is these days. We flip flop when we need certainty and decisiveness. Or is it just our way of finding every reason to have a national holiday? To enjoy and have fun to keep realities aside during our festivity?
So our 54 years old celebration is Hari Merdeka and our 48 years old is called Hari Malaysia.
Since we started early in the West, this 54 years means a lot to many and great hopes to the optimists and to the pessimists it's like we never got liberated at all. The mentality has remained, while the environment has changed.
It's like smoking. The habit remains even when the world has changed, even if medical sign proves smoking brings about cancer, even if the packaging shows grotesque pictures of suffering and what not. People will smoke!
The realists will say we have made great progress. Material gains, first world infrastructure and style and fashion. Even our eating habits are first world. Strange we were supposed to wean away from our colonial masters after gaining independence. But we continue to look on them for our liberation and independence.
Ole sage Tun always rile against the subtle colonisation of independent! free na tions in almost every aspects of life! From economic to financial, culture to lifestyle, even political thinking and practices. Democracy is seen as evil. Human right, justice, freedom of religion, separation of state and religion and even meritocracy are considered evil and bad for BolehLand society and its people - well at least some groups and people that is.
The optimists have much hope and belief under the fad of the day, 1Malaysia banner. It used to be Bersih, Cekap Amanah, RukunNegara, Muhibbah and that often forgotten Hadhari that will be the guiding principle to keep the multi nature of this society.
There are ultra nationalists who prefer a mono society thinking that if we are all one and the same, colour, religious belief, lifestyle and even thinking and behaviour, we would truly be an utopian model nation, an islamic state that others will envy and want to emulate. And they are trying so hard to even get those belong to their own kind for this mono kind of behaviour.
To achieve their aim, these nationalists who call themselves true sons of the soil and Malaysians even if they feel being a nation second to their race or God, will not hesitate to label non conformists as traitors, evil and even migrants, the latest being communists, pagans, infidels and what have you. There seem to be now and then a jihad more of a religious nature than one that deals with Caesar's affairs, like corruption, abuse of power and the ills of government.
And these true loyal patriotic citizens seem to want a return to the golden kingdom of ole, 500 years back where feudal society and life was the order of the day and life was simpler then.
to the pessimists, today they wish to see yellow in the horizon, thinking all don't seem well in BolehLand with the current state of affairs. Sex, sodomy and sleaze sits comfortably with corruption, incompetence, abuse of power and hypocrisy. The economic woes and ills of the nation is not our own or rather the leaders doing. It has to do with ! foreign speculators, even the WTO, IMF, World Bank, Wall Street, acts of God attributed to hurricanes, drought, excessive rain, global warming, investors who still don't want to invest here after all the roadshows and convincing and of course the biggest culprit to the current state of affairs has to do with those who see yellow in everything and voters who did not vote the ruling party.
So it's difficult to convince the adults whose minds have already been made up. Even if one wants to see things objectively, it's a taboo no no because you are not allowed to think or question anything apart from the official viewpoint and version, video postings and blogs included! Those who refuse to homologate official views are treated with disdain and labelled 'enemies of the king, state, religion and country!
Notice the advertisements feature kids which are considered the hope for a new united harmonious BolehLand? Yes kids are our future. But then if we look at what adults are doing as models for our kids in education alone, we wonder if our kids are better off than the present adult generation? Look at the news that have no compunction to splash sleaze, sex, jingoistic jihad cries against other religions and even those with different political views.
So given the cauldron of contradictions in BolehLand, we look for days like Merdeka to tell ourselves and our children that the reality we are is the same as our hopes for the future.
Of course, we need to work for a nation that all can find a place in this Tanah Melayu. And if those who ask to go back to the basics and era 500 years ago, should look for those aspects that made life simpler and the society united than the ole practice that authority, the rule of force and sword and a homogeneous society are answers to today's way of life.
Is our hope for a better tomorrow made easier because today we have the ingredients to achieve it. Or have the past 54 years our leaders sowed different seeds on the same piece of Tanah Melayu that we are! experie ncing the realities of today.
Happy Merdeka and when man screws up what God has given, we need to turn back to God to really help us. WE SHOULD APPRECIATE AND CELEBRATE OUR DIVERSITY and not use it as an excuse to divide us even further!
Should not every citizen not feel afraid he has a legitimate place and right in BolehLand instead of the 'tak boleh' attitude that seem to be felt these days.
After 54 years we are still distinguished by colour, race, religion and privileges. This is our reality an1d is this the hope we are seeking for our children too huh? Our leaders' versions are not the same even among themselves.
A Happy Merdeka still in whatever way we want to celebrate it and what it means to each of us.
Picture of My Jalur Gemilang that have been flying each day
Be proud to fly the flag everyday
PS. Apology to all those who think the history above isn't the history they were taught or believed to be or what BTN taught them or the school these days. After all, each of us is a product of the generation that the leaders want us to believe history according to their history right?
YAHMEH!!!
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