COMMENT | Merdeka: A young man in danger of losing faith

COMMENT | Growing up, Merdeka always seemed to be a celebration of our country obtaining freedom from the clutches of the colonial powers.

From watching videos of the first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, declaring independence to the rakyat gathered at Dataran Merdeka in 1957 to visiting historic landmarks on weekends, it would not be a stretch to say that the idea of Merdeka really inspired me.

This, tied in with Hari Merdeka being a celebration of our country’s diversity, had led me to always believe that we as a country would move forward into the future together as a developed and first-world country.

However, as I grew older, I noticed the quiet atrocities committed in our nation.

Tunku must be rolling in his grave

From corruption amongst our political leaders to catching phrases of casual racism being thrown about every day, and even being the butt of racist “jokes”, I began to think deeper about whether our country had improved as a nation even 65 years after independence.

And now, as a 21-year-old youth, I can safely say that yes, I used to relate to Merdeka’s importance, and no, I do not relate to it anymore.

Hari Merdeka is just another holiday to me now, and it will be that way until positive changes are made in this country.

A vast majority of the rakyat say they are proud of the country, and of how far the country has come since obtaining independence.

I beg to differ; I think the country has gone backwards.

The late Tunku Abdul Rahman, or as he was lovingly referred to, Bapa Kemerdekaan, was a strong critic of unclean and undemocratic governments.

I truly, truly hope he is not seeing what is happening to his beloved country today.

Look at our former premier, who was just sentenced to 12 years in prison for corruption and misappropriation of funds, with more trials on the way. Yes, it’s great that justice was finally served but the way in which it dragged on was farcical.

And the current government is not even one that was voted in democratically. 

I think it would be safe to say that he would be disappointed with the state of our country today.

Hope is not lost

Before and during Tunku’s time as the leader of our country, we were faced with many immense challenges, including the Japanese occupation of Malaya, the Communist insurgency, the Indonesian confrontation and the racial riots of May 13, 1969.

However, even through all the tumultuous times, there was still a sense of togetherness among the rakyat, and most Malaysians truly trusted the government to make the right decisions.

We all get the impression that race relations at that time were way better than what it is now, when politicians never hesitate to use the race and religion card to divide Malaysians.

Even through all this and despite all my negativity, it does not mean I have lost all hope for the country.

While I would say there are many moments every day where the country is divided, whether in opinion or in actions, there are still rakyat who can honestly say they are proud of the country.

I have witnessed many moments where the rakyat unite for one cause, with my most recent memory of this happening being watching our national shuttlers at the Olympics in Tokyo last year, and now with the recent World Badminton Championships win.

I vividly remember that whenever I opened social media, every tweet, post, and video would be about their strong performance, and willingness to put blood sweat and tears to represent the Jalur Gemilang on the international stage.

Moments like these make me proud of our country, despite all the atrocities we live with on a daily basis.

At crossroads

To briefly wrap it up, Malaysia is at crossroads.

And while some may argue that this has been the case since GE14, the upcoming GE15 may prove to be another crossroads.

With the voting law changed to now allow citizens of Malaysia above 18 to vote, it could be possible that the rakyat are able to repeat the outcome of GE14.

However, this all depends on the sense of patriotism in the rakyat, would they want to fight for change, or have they given up?

GAJENDRA JEYA KUMAR is a law student who has just completed an internship with Malaysiakini.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.

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