Two days from now when the clock ticks to 12.00 midnight, cheers of merdeka (independence) will echo across the country followed by fireworks shows and concerts that will last until early morning. Like the previous year, thousand of people will line up the road waving the Malaysian flags in selected locations all over the country watching independence day parade, air show and cultural dance which becomes a feature for would be tourists in this time of the year.
Such are the ways the government and the people celebrate their country's independence from the British on 31 st August 1957 every year. It has been 51 years since the proclamation of independence by the late Tungku Abdul Rahman in the Merdeka Stadium, how we fared so far?
Well, for a young country we have fared quite well considering the steep learning curve we have to go through in shaping this beloved country. Of course, with the multiracial composition and probably one of the highest density of political parties per country in the world, it is not an easy journey. Along the way, there were hiccups, flu and fever, there were the insurgency war with the Malaya Communist Party (PKM) guerillas, Confrontation with Indonesia in 1963, racial clash on 13 May 1969, big flood in 1973, various political controversies up to today, and so on shaped up the history of this country. At the end of the day, with enough tolerance from all parties, our country is still intact and matured. We should keep it that way.
In economy, our industries have grown and become one of the major players internationally in electronics, petroleum, agricultural products and other fields. Malaysia has become respected in international political arena with regular contribution of peacekeeping force wherever is needed, and has led various organisations like NAM and OIC. Our voices continued to be heard in the UN on various issues.
However, there are still a lot of work to be done to appreciate the independence that we have. We need to change our mindset to think and do things our way and cleanse our minds from the effects of colonisation. The new generation nowadays lack focus on obtaining knowledge and skills to compete with others at local and international stage. Opportunities given by the government were not used fully and they seem contented with their current levels. The youths spend a lot of their time on entertainments and time wasting activities. Some of those given the scholarships to study at local universities are not doing well as their focus are misplaced on entertainment and political activities. We need to change all this so our human resource is fully developed to support our country's vision of becoming a developed nation by 2020. We cannot forever rely on foreign workers to build this nation as this will bring other problems also like social ills and crime problems.
In political arena, we spend too much time bickering about who are the better political parties, or leaders and less time looking into issues which matter to the people. Those who cannot achieve their political agendas went overseas to complaint to their previous colonial master as though our independence means nothing! They have no qualms in sacrificing this country's interests as long as they achieve their political goals. The fate of this nation should be decided by the people who decided to have a system of parliamentary democracy with a Monarchy Institution. It has worked so far for the last 51 years of independance and it should work also for the future. What is required is for every citizen to give a bit of sacrifice of self-interest to protect and nurture our independence for years to come. Leaders who are no longer able to serve and lost touch with the people inspirations should voluntary make way for the new and younger ones to inject new blood and ideas to formulate new policies that help the people. Do not cling to your posts forever just to protect your interests because it is not healthy for the country.
For those fallen heroes of early independence, i salute all of you for your contributions, and for the young generation please do not waste it.
Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!
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