Negaraku (My Country) is what we have been taught to memorize from our first day in school and that’s the title of my work. This is the one song that every Malaysian has sung at some point and the words remain with us throughout our lives.
Malaysians are unique in language and personality. Yet we share a multi-cultural society. We are part of the whole called Negaraku. Like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, we each have a role to play in making Malaysia what it is.
We are 52 today. We’ve had glorious years of growth. As we age, we are challenged by new thoughts and ideals that echo in our conscience.
Who exactly are we? Are we moving in the right direction? Are we taking the right steps to get there? Do shouts of Malaysia Boleh (Malaysia Can!) mean anything? Are we a more harmonious society than we were half a century ago? And in 50 years time, will we still be asking these same questions?
Charlie Cham was born in Melaka, worked in France as an artist and runs the studio cum gallery named The Oranghutan House in Melaka. See www.charlescham.com
When I was younger, Merdeka used to be just another holiday, a reason not to attend school. These days though, because of the nature of my work and the things I’ve discovered over the years, Merdeka means a reflection of what we are right now and the direction we are moving forward. Sure, there is a reason to celebrate but there is also a long way to go before the meaning of the word Merdeka is realized.
Mark Beau de Silva is resident playwright/director of KL Performing Arts Centre
Working with our past has deepened my understanding of our shared heritage as well as our individual stories, but experience has also led me to question how we value these. Merdeka, for me, would seem an appropriate time to ask ourselves. Have we each found our place amongst our fellow Malaysians; do we give enough importance to the different chapters of our history; are we truthful with our past; and does our spirit of independence foster inclusiveness, trust and respect?
Lim Huck Chin is a former Council Member of Heritage of Malaysia Trust and was part of a team which restored a Dutch period shop house in Hereen Street, Melaka for use as a heritage resource centre.
There is no meaningful celebration without true understanding of the significance of Merdeka. My dream is for the Orang Asli community to know their rights as citizens of an independent nation and to be free in their minds from subjugating influences.
Mahat Anak China is a radio DJ and producer, writer and poet
What I love about Malaysia is being able to converse in so many local dialects, like Chinese, Malay, Indian, a smattering of Iban, Kadazan, yet we are still able to communicate and understand each other. My wish for my country in future is that someday, my grandchildren would be able to write and speak fluently in at least five languages of our mother tongues and do not identify their friends by race but only by their names.
Cheah Kok Yoon is a retired civil servant whose sketches can be viewed at www.telukansonchildhood.blogspot,com
My dream for Malaysia is that we become a people “whose consistency and flavour are indescribable….A rich custard highly flavoured with almonds…gives the best general idea, but there are occasional wafts of flavour that call to mind cream cheese, onion sauce, sherry wine and other incongruous dishes. Then there is a rich glutinous smoothness in the [people] which nothing else possesses, but which adds to its delicacy. It is neither acidic nor sweet nor juicy, yet it wants neither of these qualities, for it is in itself perfect. It produces no nausea or other bad effect, and the more you [have] of it, the less you feel inclined to stop….A [country and people] of the most exquisite flavour, it is unsurpassed.
(apologies to Alfred Russel Wallace, 1856 for mangling his original on the durian for this description of the Malaysia of my dreams)
Dr. Lim Teck Ghee is CEO and Director of CPI
Note: The various descriptions of Malaysia by the first five personalities initially appeared in the MAS magazine, Going Places, August 2009.
Having been born after the country’s Independence, I do have a hard time grappling with the true meaning of Merdeka. This is probably not the most popular confession in view of the fact that words like ‘patriotism, ‘Malaysia Boleh’ and the most recent, ‘1Malaysia’ are parroted in the various media channels like an ID signifying ‘Malaysian-ism.’ I’ve heard it, but I don’t really get it. All I comprehend is, I am born in this land and this is my home. Therefore, I sincerely wish this country peace, prosperity and harmony.
Helen Hoh is a housewife trying to make ends meet.