Malaysia Day and Merdeka: celebrating beyond politics and pandemic

ON?the morning of Awal Muharram, my neighbour’s 10-year-old son, Yu Wei, came rushing to my gate with a greeting of “Happy Merdeka, Uncle Ravi!” That reminded me of one thing that I had overlooked – placing my Jalur Gemilang in front of my home. I thanked him, with an added treat of a pack of Snickers.

Not everyone needs reminders, I guess. Merdeka, which falls on August 31 every year and Malaysia Day on September 16, must be celebrated with lots of joy and enthusiasm. Merdeka and Malaysia Day are an inspiration for all. They gave us the freedom to be a nation. A nation without any chains nor pains. A nation full of blessings and jubilations. It must never be forgotten that these historic days changed the mindset, livelihood, economy, political landscape, and social status of our beautiful nation. We must all take pride and recalibrate ourselves by celebrating these momentous days.

One may argue: why celebrate with the pandemic around your neck and politics on your back?

My response is: no pandemic nor politics should bar anyone from celebration. We can still show our patriotism and love for our country by flying the flag, be it at our homes, offices, workshops, banks, factories, worksites, parks, gardens, or even at strategic junctions of our towns. The pandemic may prevent us from dining out or partying, but we can still show our love and respect for the momentous day of Merdeka and Malaysia Day by flying the nation’s flag; start today and instill the greatness of our independence, unification, and the intrinsic values it beholds.

To anyone who feels that politics suck and refuses to pay any attention to this, I think you must review your thoughts. Politicians are here only for a short period. They are here today and replaced tomorrow. However, the sense of patriotism shall never be changed, ceased, or erased overnight. It must start from young. We as parents, elders, teachers, employers, bosses, friends, and neighbours must make an extra effort to start these celebrations, where the young will learn and form stereotypes from our actions.

Nationalism of course does not come from merely flying the flag or singing Negaraku. It comes from many interconnected actions and activities like safety, security, employment opportunities, economic and social well-being, healthcare, human rights, and overall peace and good governance. Yes, we are plagued by political drama. We have a situation where Parliament is literally hanging by a numbers game. This game will end soon. Let’s not give up hope or get immersed in this sad state of political affairs.

Remember, we will pass these dark clouds looming over our nation. Yet, our sovereignty and love towards our motherland should never be doubted or faltered. We should stand upright and sing our national anthem and show our love, respect and loyalty without an ounce of doubt. Politicians are a passing cloud. They will soon pass and there will be great leaders governing our nation. This temporary period of instability is not the yardstick to measure our nation’s strength or its calibre.

Celebrations such as Merdeka and Malaysia Day are not merely a public holiday to pass. We must make it a point to engage with our family members, neighbours, and friends to bring about the camaraderie and spirit in rejoicing in the National Day celebrations. Though Covid-19 is an issue, we can always organise Zoom meets among our friends and families to exchange pleasantries and greetings marking the significance of the day.

The celebrations need not be crowded with people. They must be crowded with positive thoughts showering love on our nation and its sovereignty. We should all understand that the pandemic will soon be a thing of the past. The political impasse will soon see its end. Never shall our love, respect, and loyalty towards our nation pass. It will continually blossom into several million hibiscus flowers colouring our nation as one beautiful country.

Malaysia and Malaysians need a break. We are bombarded by too many negative issues. Every mobile phone is laden with fake, sad, gory, and make-believe stories, affecting the people. Suicides are rampant. Politicians are not getting it either. We are not here to read and see these unwanted stories and news; we are here to build a nation that was once known as Swarnabumi – a land of gold.

We want a better nation. We want our people to be happy. We want our children to be back in schools and universities. We want the hospitals to return to their norm. We want every Covid-19 patient returning home with hope and determination. We want the shops and places of worship opened. We want football fields and badminton courts filled once again with people playing and rejoicing. It is exasperating to contain children within the four walls of the home; parents, mainly mothers, are struggling to manage this.

This is my wish. I want a nation that is happy. I want people to smile and forget their pains. I want enough food at every B40 kitchen. I want people talking about the next Olympics and World Cup with Malaysia playing and participating in it. I want our nation to completely eradicate poverty. I want our nation to provide equal opportunities for everyone. From Sabah to Sarawak, from Kedah to Johor, we want every Malaysian returning to normalcy after this pandemic and political uncertainty.

Let’s all pray while rejoicing for our Merdeka and Malaysia Day. Let’s celebrate this unique day/month of independence and unification with hope, courage, enthusiasm, and patriotism.

Happy Merdeka and Malaysia Day to every Malaysian here at home or abroad. May the Jalur Gemilang fly high in all your hearts wherever you may be. – The Vibes, September 18, 2021

Ravindran Raman Kutty is a communications and reputation management expert who has worked in multinational and government-linked companies, as well as government agencies