I just came back from visiting a friend overseas recently. We were in Brisbane, Australia for about a week. The trip was mainly part of an annual holiday trip we do among four of us, whom we consider our closest friends. But it was also chance to visit another country, to observe another culture, another way of life.
So many people we know have chosen to migrate overseas. Some to Europe, others to the US, but most of them look towards Australia. It’s not too far away from Malaysia, it has a sizable Asian community, the country is fully developed, and seemingly immigrants aren’t so discriminated against. Perhaps I was missing out on something? Perhaps there was something that I didn’t know about? Perhaps I was ignorant towards the better things on offer in other countries. I wanted to see it for myself.
Most people I’ve spoken to who’ve chosen to migrate say that it’s the quality of life they’re after. They say the pace of life in a developing Asian society is unhealthy and taxing. Unhealthy foods, long work hours, consumer driven, money driven. They say it’s not the way life is supposed to be lived. They tell me Western society is more about living a balanced life. You sip coffee, you go to the beach, you read a book, you go on summer holidays, you eat salads, you take public transport you attend live musicals and you bring your own bag shopping for groceries. There’s this whole romantic idea that living in a developed country will always better than living in a just-growing-up land such as Malaysia. And in many ways, it’s true. There indeed are many things about living in a first world country that can never be matched by us for many more decades.
But what about here? What about home? Isn’t there anything at all at home that would also prompt you to want to stay? Someone made a remark to me that all those people migrating over there, probably had something they were running away from over here. As oppose to the common thinking that migrating was more about running towards something that was over there. And in many ways I think this is true too. I’ve heard complaints from people living overseas that the cost of living is also rising, their economy is in recession, jobs aren’t that easy to find, and their dollar doesn’t quite go the mile it used to. Isn’t that what we complain about here too? Life ‘over there’ isn’t necessarily as rosy as it sounds.
Sitting over lunch with a colleague that spent 5 years in Sydney, I asked him why he came back while so many others were trying to get out. And he asked back “Don’t you think life in Malaysia is so much better?” I wouldn’t know. I haven’t spend enough time overseas to agree or disagree. A lot of people say they want their kids to have a better life overseas. But I look at them and say “Look at you. Didn’t YOU grow up here. You turned out fine. What makes you think you children will not?”
But to me, it isn’t so much a debate about which place is better than the other. Everyone, even myself, would go to a better place if it were that simple.
To me, the real question was – where is home to you?
I can never understand how someone can spend their whole lives living in one country and still feel like home is supposed to be somewhere else. No doubt things might be nicer or better elsewhere, but to me it isn’t home. If someone else’s mother or wife is so much pleasant than yours, do you then want theirs instead of the one you have? This country is yours. This home is yours. You are part of that home. It is your birthright. Is it something to give up just like that?
I ask myself if I could ever foresee myself leaving. And the honest answer, even for me is yes. Yes, I could leave this country. I wouldn’t want to. And I wouldn’t want to want to. But I could. If ever I’m no longer welcomed in my own home that is; if ever life here becomes unbearable to me or my family. Yet, even then, home will still be here. Everywhere else would always be something….. adopted.
Strolling by the long sandy beaches of the Gold Coast with my friend at night, we talked about these things. Why she decided to come. Why she didn’t want to stay. Why she wouldn’t go home. How much she enjoyed the beach, the relaxed life, the culture.
“You could come here easily you know. They’d take the two of you in a heartbeat.” she said.
“I know. I could…. But I won’t. For as long as I can help it, I want to stay in Malaysia. If there is still a chance to make a good living back in Malaysia, I will want to take that chance. I love life back home.” I replied.
“You see, that’s something I can’t say. I can’t say I love life back home. THAT’s why I’m here.”
I guess that’s the difference.
Where we love is home, Home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., Homesick in Heaven
Love is in the air Everywhere I look around Love is in the air Every sight and every sound
Love is in the air In the whisper of the trees Love is in the air In the thunder of the sea
I stood still listening to the band crooning out this song, half bobbing my head, half tapping my feet. A smile crept up my face last night as I heard it. Something about the lyrics was really agreeable with me. To have a long crappy, stressful day, then to suddenly walk into a live band singining 'Love is In The Air' with a big grin on their faces, its.... its.... well, lets just say its a great way to lift your spirits.
Cool night breezes, open air cafes, friendly people, great food, live music everywhere.. sometimes I don't understand why people don't think this is a great country to live in. For all the charm, beauty and wonder of foreign lands, for all the excitement, thrill and adventure it offers, I still find that in the end - there is no place like home...
Not because it's 'prettier' or 'nicer' or anything... but simply because it is what it is - Home.
“Home is a place you grow up wanting to leave, and grow old wanting to get back to” John Ed Pearce
Did you read the news? We've got yet ANOTHER holiday to add to our ever growing list of public holidays. This time it's Malaysia Day falling on every 16th Sept of the year. I have actually done any counting, but it sure seems like we actually have more than our fair share of holidays. Lets see, there is (in no particular order):
Hari Raya Hajix 1 days
New Year's Day x 1 day
Hari Raya Puasa x 2 days
Awal Muharram x 1 day
Prophet Muhammad's Birthday x 1 day
Chinese New Year x 2 days
Labour Day x 1 day
Wesak Day x 1 day
King's Birthday x 1 day
Independence Day x 1 day
Deepavali x 1 day
Thaipusam x 1 day
Sultans Birthday x 1 day
Federal Territory Day x 1 day
Christmas Day x 1 day
And now.. Malaysia Day x 1 day
That's about 18 days. And since its supposed to be a 5 day work week, that's almost an entire month off! Malaysians are working only 11 months a year! Rest of the time, we are on holiday...or at home watching TV. That's not even counting annual leaves we take to extend the long weekend, or or the occasional now-you-see-me-now-you-dont-disappearing-act we pull on our bosses sometimes. That that I'm complaining la... who doesn't want another off day right?
For those of you who are either (a) Not Malaysian thus unfamiliar with Malaysian history or (b) A typical Malaysian that hopelessly failed your history paper, listen up. Malaysia Day is supposed to be the day MALAYSIA as we know it today was formed. That thing you celebrate on August 31st is independence day, is called Merdeka. Back in 1957, the British decided to bail out of Malaya and leave us to our own devices after creating a mess in the first place by bringing in people from China and India and segregating them. Our ancestors, Ah Chong from the city, Ali from the Kampung and Muthusamy A/L Ramanathankrishnan from the rubber plantations lived in what was known as Malaya before independence. After independence, we were still strictly known as Federation of Malaya. On 16th Sept 1963, on Lee Kuan Yew's birthday actually, Malaysia was formed, after Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore agreed to joined in the fun. Brunei was also invited to this little gang, but things didn't really work out. See, the Sultan of Brunei wanted to have autonomous rule over their finances and military etc, plus he wanted the rest of the Sultans to call him the King of Kings.. or something like that... The rest of the Sultans weren't amused. I think neither was Jesus. That plus, the peoples of Brunei were a bit jittery about 'them people' from the west side of the south china sea tryin'a tell them what to do. So, Brunei missed the boat, and Malaysia was formed. Indonesia weren't too pleased, and had an undeclared war with us, but we survived. Some years later, Singapore left due to 'irreconcilable differences' but has since living a very successful, albeit paranoid existence.
But yeah.... that, in a nut shell, is what Malaysia day is all about.
Back to the holiday thing, our PM says that this off day is supposed to be spent fostering the 1Malaysia spirit among Malaysians. Don't even get me started on this whole 1Malaysia hype thingy... But there has been problems and confusion for decades now concerning how Malaysians should celebrate independence or our countries existence for the matter.
On August 31st, West Malaysians tend to celebrate Merdeka while East Malaysians are 'obliged' to celebrate it, even though they know historically this wasn't the day THEY gained independence. They are just playing along and being nice. One country already mah, so be nice la. Give face. 2 weeks later, on 16th Sept, Malaysia day comes, but all the West Malaysians 'no mood' already.... and have to catch up on work after a month of preparing for Merdeka, plus it AINT EVEN A HOLIDAY. Where got mood to celebrate rite? The East Malaysians look at this, and potong steam la.. not to mention get pissed off. "Oooh, I celebrate with you, now you just ditch me la... Bugger you, I should have just join Brunei, at least there, petrol is cheaper and everyone gets a free house...." If I was a East Malaysian, I'd be seriously pissed too.
The celebration of a countries existence or independence has always been one of the most unifying factors for a country. Sadly, there has always been some sentiment that Malaysia Day has not been taken seriously, often overshadowed by West Malaysian celebrations of 'Independence' of Malaysia on Merdeka Day that is neither politically nor historically correct. Maybe it's just another politically motivated move to gain popularity, or maybe he's really serious about it, but out of the blue, almost 50 years down the line, Malaysia Day finally gets it's recognition and is granted as a national public holiday. According to Mr. PM:
Malaysia Day would be celebrated with events that would foster closer unity, understanding between the different races and community success and achievement through sports, social culture and arts.
But frankly la Datuk, this is only half baked effort la.. Not to mention a shameless publicity stunt. Race? What race? This isn't a race issue. Plus, I wasn't aware we were racing anyone. :p Events? What kind of events? Closer ties are fostered in the day to day things you do in life, not some event. It's fostered when people start accepting each other and have a oneness of mind. Not through some publicity driven event i.e. marathon for unity, or climb for peace, teh tarik competition, dance carnival in front of the Agung or or whatever. Those are just called 'syok sendiri' events. It still doesn't change the fact that West Malaysians are still ' celebrating independence on 31st August completely ignoring Malaysia Day. Of course, now that it's a holiday, they'll ignore it even more by just sleeping at home. :-S
So, if you really want to foster closer ties, here's what you should do Datuk:
1. Get rid of August 31st Merdeka Day celebration.
2. Make Malaysia Day 2 days Holiday (Or 3 oso can la, I don't mind)
3. Make Malaysia Day the focal celebration of Malaysian independence and Malaysian existence.
Apamacam? Got balls to do or not? Malaysia boleh mah.....
Let everyone have a oneness of mind. And a single focal date to channel their energies. Educate people. Make them realize that our country today was not born when the late Tunku chanted "Merdeka, merdeka, merdeka" at Stadium Merdeka.... That was just when the water broke and labour pain started leh... It's a milestone yes, but that wasn't it yet la. Malaysia was born when 6 years later, across the sea, the peoples of Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore (as short lived as it stayed) agreed to join us to form this country. What happened in between was strictly labour pains. I know it's less romantic la, and less cool that we were born when pieces of papers were signed instead of when the Tunku chanted independence in front of thousands. But really, that was when it happened. THAT was when Malaysia was formed. It was ONLY THEN that the term Malaysia was even coined and our country came into being. The sooner we acknowledge that, the better.
And looking at how much contribution the land and the people of East Malaysia has contributed to our nations wealth and prosperity, lets try not to pissed them off too much la, after they REALLY end up joining Brunei..or worse.. Indonesia. Then die la. I got a lot of east Malaysian friends, and I'd still like to enjoy my kolok mee and kampua mee and super fresh seafood once in a while, if you don't mind.
I'm not a flag bearer or flag waver or flag anything.. In fact, I don't like flags that much at all. I have never, nor will I plan to be caught holding a flag, waving it enthusiastically like some person high on caffeine, not even on National Day......
I'm indifferent about Malaysian politics most of the time.... I didn't go marching during the ISA protest in KL last month, nor did I oppose those who did go marching. I was just sitting in Starbucks sipping coffee... I couldn't be bothered if PAS and DAP can't get along, or if the former Menteri Besar of Selangor's bungalow was 5 million or 24 million... Anything more than 1 million is more than my brain can count. I don't really bother if people think our PM is mysteriously involved in some Mongolia murder or that his wife seems to look a bit like a witch character in old Malay movies (am I going to be arrested for saying that?). And I certainly couldn't be bothered if elected State Assembly Men driving a Toyota Camry instead of a Proton Perdana is considered less patriotic. If I could have a say, we'd all be riding bicycles anyway. And to quote from Henry Ford, you can have any colour you want, as long as it's black. Less polution, we'd all be slim and fit, and guys, they girls all think its a hell lot more romantic...
Everyone likes to criticize, everyone likes to complain.. It's understandable.
We say our government is corrupt, we say the anti corruption agency shoves people off roof tops after they testify, we say the police rather take bribes that issue you summons, the customs take a cut in custom duties savings, and the immigration along with every other government arm is corrupt, and we use big giant fancy words like nepotism and cronyism to make the government look like the big bad wolf, always there to prey on the people. We say the government servants are leeches feeding off the system and hindering our countries progress. And perhaps many of the times, it's true...... there are corrupt and useless people in our government.
Then we complain that our laws are oppressive. We say things like the Official Secrets Act and the Internal Security Act stifle our freedom of speech, that we can't say the things we want to say, that we can only say the things the government allows us to say. We argue that no man should be detained without a fair trial and people aren't allow to simply say things to challenge the government.
After that, we complain that our country and has lousy facilities.... Internet is still 10 years behind everyone else, broadband connection is limited to cities, roads are filled with pot holes, toilets are dirty, public transport system is hopeless, and every year or so, Dataran Merdeka turns into a swimming pool even after the 5 billion ringgit SMART tunnel was built.. supposedly to solve this very problem...
What else?... What else do Malaysian complain about?
But wait a minute...
Isn't there something about the health care in America being in a complete mess recently? Weren't prisoners unlawfully detained in Guantanamo bay for months and months? Wasn't half the British Parliment MP's caught with their pants down cheating on claims? Wasn't the Italian Prime Minister reported to be 'consorting' with 17 year old girls? Wasn't China accused of completely blocking google from the country and introducing the Great Firewall of China, completely filtering the internet the chinese access? Wasn't there a riot there between the Hans and the Muslim in the inner parts of China?
Isn't there still a crisis going on in Sudan, when their leader was declared a war criminal? Isn't Myanmar on the verge of being kicked out of ASEAN over Aung San Su Ki? Didn't the Japan just report it's economy is shrinking.. again? Isn't there 6 million people (or more) in the US who just lost their job? Wasn't there just a complain today that basic hospital care standards in the UK were appalling?
Yup, it's no bed of roses anywhere in the world. There are problems high and low in every corner of the earth. Malaysia is no exception.
I'm not asking you to accept it. I'm not asking you to be indifferent. I'm just asking that before you open your mouth to complain how lousy a country we live in... think about all the above. Read what other people in other countries are doing. You will see the good, the bad and the ugly. By doing this hopefully before you get to the bad and ugly part about this country (which we all know exist anyway), you would not have forgotten the good parts. Be fair.
We live in a great country. Maybe not as charming, or as romantic as other beautiful places in the world, but still special in its own way. Everytime I drive to KLCC, and look up at the tall Twin Towers, I am awed, and filled with a sense of identity.. It might not be the tallest in the world anymore.. but you know what, it still is the coolest around the region. I went up the Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai... and the most exciting moment didn't come when I saw the view of the city. No, it came, when I saw this...
There is just something about standing in the middle of a foreign land, thousands of miles away, only to find yourself staring at something from your own backyard... You feel proud, you feel excited... patriotic even... It's not so much about my country having one of the tallest building or the biggest stadium, that wasn't why I felt excited to see this picture... It's about identity. I felt excited because I could point at that picture and say "I'm from that place!" and people would know it.
Case in point:
The Eiffel Tower isn't the tallest building in the world.. but it is by far one of the most recognizable, most visited and most photographed structure in the world. The french are immensely proud of it, because it is the symbol and identity of Paris, and by extension, France. People come because they consider it special. But really, there's nothing special about it at all. It's only special because just like everything else the French make, they treat it special, therefore it becomes special, as an extension of their French identity. . A self fulfilling prophesy. Think about it; Evian is just water from a lake in Geneva, Champagne and Cognac are really just name of places in France these drinks are named after. Anyone else could make something equivalent or better.. but only the french can make it French.
My point is, the French are proud to be French not because the country is great.. or that their laws are perfect, their government good or their facilities are excellent. It's simply because that is who they are. They take pride in who they are, the things they do and the things they make.... and when you treat something special enough, such as your identity, eventually, it becomes special.
Every great nation in the world exhibit this trait, this sense of pride for being just who they are; Americans, French, British, Germans, French, Chinese, Japanese, Korean..... just ask and you'll see it in their eyes.
Can't we do the same? We are Malaysians. Our country is young, we have imperfect laws, our government is far from clean and less than efficient, our public transport is hopeless, our internet is slow and our road signs are only good for getting you lost..... but can't we just be proud of who we are anyway? We have a skyline instantly recognizable around the world, food in Malaysia is THE BEST (I don't care what other people say), our weather is sunny and warm all year round, we have no typhoons or natural disasters, we have oil and natural resources, our standard of living relatively good considering the cost of living here, petrol is the cheapest in the region, education all the way to secondary school is practically free, and the Malaysian people.... I tell you...
The Malaysian people are probably one of the quirkiest people you'll ever know. Most of us know at least 3 languages, we speak English in the most peculiar way (which probably only Malaysians and Singaporeans will be able to catch), we regularly take Indian chapatis in the morning, chinese noodles for lunch, western black peppers steaks for dinner and Malay nasi lemak for supper. We shamelessly take a holiday and celebrate anyway when other religious festivals arrive. We have so many holidays throughout the year; Hari Raya, Chinese New Year, Wesak Day, Thaipusam, Deepavali, Christmas, Federal Territory Day, the Kings Birthday, respective state Sultan's birthday, Labour Day, Prophet Muhammad's birthday... the list goes on and on.... And if you are a shopping freak, we have 3 nationwide Mega Sales promotions per year, each lasting a month, and in between we have Christmas Sale, Year End Sale, Chinese New Year Sale, Hari Raya Sale, Deepavali Sale, Stock clearance sale..... We pretty much find every excuse to have some sort of sale to go shopping.
You know what I think? I think at this teenager age of 52 years old as a country, we are doing pretty ok.. In fact, we have it good. When the people of a country start fussing about civil liberties and media reforms and human rights, you know their moving in the right direction, even if their not quite there yet. About the anti-ISA marches that went on last month, don't these people have better things to do on a Saturday morning than march for miles just to hand a memorandum to the king? No, they don't. Because they have good jobs, with enough money not to have to work on weekends, because their children are in the malls shopping since there's a sale, and their house is not flooded with water so there's no need to evacuate. And so they busy themselves with finer issues like transparency and rights and justice and what have you....These are signs that our country is growing, and that its people are growing. We have graduated from the cradle.. but we aren't quite full grown adults yet. Is that so hard to accept?
So, what I'm just trying to say here is; love your country, even if you don't like waving flags. Love it for all it's beauty, all it's peculiarities and even it's ugly side, warts and all. Love it simply because it belongs to us. If everyone does this, I assure you, come rain or shine, riots or protest, you will be able to hold your head up high anywhere you go in the world when you say: "I AM A MALAYSIAN."
I leave you with this MTV done by this Malaysian student that caused quite a controversy here in Malaysia back in 2007. It hit a lot of nerves, maybe because a lot of it were true, but you can't deny this man loves his country... despite his sharp criticism. I've never heard a more hip or passionately song version of Negaraku than this anyway. Happy Birthday Malaysia.....
