Being grateful

It's midnight. The national anthem is playing. Fireworks are going off. As usual, I opt for the TV instead of braving the jams to be in the thick of things. In the crowd, more like it, and this recluse hates crowds. But deep inside I am deeply grateful. Not switching off the PM's address shows respect too, I think. We can't just watch fireworks to celebrate Merdeka.. It has to go a little deeper than that, right? Where would we be had we not won our independence from the colonialists? Even now, there are numerous obstacles in the way of true freedom.

What is it that makes our country so special? It's kind of hard to put our finger on, isn't it? Personally, I put it down to our openness and adventurousness in accepting new things while keeping in touch with our roots.

We can go out and do all kinds of things and eat all kinds of food, but back home, we still eat sambal belacan with our hands. We employ all kinds of "international" behaviours and manners of dressing, but at home, the men still reach for their kain pelikats and children still kiss the hand of their elders.

We are a mosaic of races, like a tom yam, not a melting pot where everything is liquidized out of shape. The mix is not homogenized, but it works. We know each other's 'taboos' and respect each other's religions. It's confusing to visitors, but Malaysians have 'antennae' that helps keep us on an even keel. We even learn bits of each other's languages. It's fantastic!

People have called me "westernized", even though I've never set foot in Jolly 'Ol England. I obviously love travelling. But am I proud to be a Malaysian? You bet!! I remember having dinner with a Brit and Singaporean. The Brit lamented how he felt safer and more at home in Malaysia than in his own birthplace; and the Singaporean said she didn't feel anything about going home, while I, am always happy and proud to be home after a sojourn to foreign lands. The semak-samun along the Johor highways are a pleasure to behold after the sanitary neatness of our neighbouring island. And a poster of Mt Kinabalu could move me to tears. And I absolutely love showing off Malaysian flora & fauna to outsiders. I should be a tour guide. The finer points of culture and tradition are mersmerising, even if I am, admittedly, a little (a little??) unconventional (don't you mean weird?).

Anyway, right now, I'm still striving to give back something meaningful to the nation. I do some volunteer work, but I'm hardly a super effective organised leader. Most of the time I'm just crawling along trying to get a few basic things done. I'll try harder. I promise.

So, will I always celebrate Merdeka in front of the telly? Maybe. The only kind of Merdeka 'do' I really enjoyed was our TKC tradition. Ingat tak Ija? I wonder if the girls still do the same...

Our traditional way of celebrating Merdeka was a performance by the 5th formers. They will all line up at the netball court while the others watch from the balconies. At the stroke of midnight, the bass drummer would sound the drums. The anthem would be played, a poem will be read, other things are done according to the creativity of the batch. After the central show, they will go for a procession around the college, carrying candles and singing patriotic songs... It was lovely. To this day, I still love that celebration best.

Truly, I am grateful for this freedom that has allowed me a good education and various employment opportunities. I love this freedom to be what I want to be, and the opportunity to sit as equals to people who were previously our exalted "Masters". Good or bad, whatever our weaknesses are, Malaysia is still home, and I am a Malaysian. Thank you, Malaysia.

Merdeka!!