Merdeka

'Merdeka'. Literally, it means free or independent. I have celebrated every August 31st as my country's Independence Day. It is the date when my country freed itself from the rule of the British empire; and together, as a nation, we rose as ONE. Sadly, over the last few years, the meaning of Merdeka has changed...for me at least. After 58 years of independence, one would think that the nation would be forging ahead, growing stealthily, as the years add up. Yes...we have Vision 20:20 in sight. Yes...we are aiming to be a developed country. BUT...how are we going to achieve all that when the very foundation upon which our country was built upon i.e. the harmony of the people, is threatened? The foundation upon which we gained our independence on, which thus allowed us to build our country and nation, is now marred with  widening cracks that are threatening to crumble the entire institution. The original spirit of 'Merdeka' has vanished. I can't help but ask myself, WHY IS THIS HAPPENING? Shouldn't we be moving forward, growing together as a nation, getting stronger each year? Instead, we seem to be chiseling little but sturdy cracks into the cement that holds the foundation together. We're supposed to be progressive, advanced, forward thinking. We're the new generation that will one day lead the country. And yet.... While the acceptance of certain issues like interracial marriages has been socially accepted and in fact boomed in the past few years, I am perplexed, confounded, baffled, by the sudden and unexpected backward steps of the up-rise of religious/cultural differences of the people (I don't even want to think about politics at this point!). It is simply ironic. On one hand, there is the socially acceptable and boasted about issue of interracial relationships, how we're all living so peacefully with one another, celebrating each other's festivals etc. The diversity that is the pride of Malaysia. We boast about this anywhere, anytime!  Then on the other hand....there are issues of disagreements between races, declarations or statements of superiority of one race or religion over the other, unacceptable or thoughtless taunts.The very basis of what we built our nation on is now under a serious threat. Where did these come from? It's worrying to think that as we move ahead in time, technology etc, we seem to be moving backwards in our thinking and mindset. Sighs... And so, this year, my Merdeka message, or rather wish, is for us, as a nation, to be MERDEKA from all the political/social/cultural differences. We need to come together as one, and start cementing back our foundation; fortifying it against everything that we fought against when we claimed independence. As cliche as it may sound, UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL!! Happy Merdeka everyone! :-)