Surprisingly, after almost five decades of independence and progress, the habit of dumping and littering has not changed much among Malaysians. It keeps on deteriorating and to some of us, it has become a habitual way of life. The lack of enforcement and civility has made this tendency to litter a customary practice among our citizens.

Many of our popular beaches in the country are sites where one can see almost every damned stinking thing papers, plastics, cans, food etc, being deliberately strewn all over the place. Bags of litter are conveniently dumped at any site.

The roads, drains and rivers are not spared either they have also become places for these throw- outs. The beauty of some of our rivers and beaches is ruined, our surroundings are soiled and dirtied with effluent from factories, and some drains in residential and food-court areas are permanently blocked up with the flotsam and jetsam of everyday life.

All this is the result of the unrefined thinking 'As long as it does not have any effect on me, who cares?'. Our disposition has not changed despite the material progress we have achieved thus far. Sadly, not all our children have grown up to appreciate the marvel of keeping the environment clean.

If there were a key point to what we would mean by first-world mentality then it has to be 'a nation of people who do not have the habit of littering'. At the rate we are tackling the issue of filthy surroundings, we can sense that this habit of littering will die hard in our society. This irregardless of all the campaigns and punitive measures taken by the authority to overcome it.

I would suggest that the theme for this year's Merdeka celebration should fit in a more realistic and ordinary message 'Stop littering and clean up Malaysia'. To clean up the country and bring back the essence of civility among its citizens, this should be our resolution for Merdeka Day, and from that day forward.

In tandem with this, the authority and the society in general should be relentlessly vigilant towards making the country litter-free and clean.