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LETTER | On the 60th Merdeka anniversary of our beloved country,
We of the Merdeka generation,
Tend to reflect on our past, present and,
Future destination

We studied at the University of Malaya as proud Malayans,
And then served our dear country as patriotic Malaysians,
With full hope and pride, we built the foundations of our nation,
But now most of us feel sad at the increasing disunity and polarisation.

The national unity that bound us as brothers and sisters,
Somehow seems to have faded away like court jesters,
Perhaps it started with the avoidable riots in May 1969,
but the bad trends have got worse and out of line.

Many Malaysians have become racists and bigots,
To fend for themselves and their cohorts.
Some even call true Malaysians "pendatang,"
And hurt our citizens who have served for so long.

Too many leaders tolerate this unity decline,
As they are corrupt and enjoy benefitting from the grime,
Sadly, the rakyat form mostly the silent majority,
Who don’t much care, as long as they too get some money.

So most Malaysians join the Merdeka generation,
To cry out, "where to and quo vadis", our only nation?
However, we can yet make a big difference,
If we vote out the racists and the bigots, with deference.

But about 3 million have not even registered to vote.
It's irresponsible, as they could rock our Malaysian boat!
We have to exercise our rights as citizens,
And not blame everyone else for our national sins.

After 60 years of Merdeka, we need more integrity,
Transparency, good governance and national unity.
then Malaysia will do even better than before,
And we will return internationally to the fore!

Thus, we will also need income and not race-based policies,
where merit, and not mediocrity, will prevail as major entities,
Where superiority or ketuanan will be eliminated,
And fairness to all our posterity will be perpetuated.

Hence we must now follow the wisdom of our founding fathers,
Who stressed national unity and the wellbeing of others,
The poor must be given priority, regardless of race,
And our progress must benefit all Malaysians at a faster pace.

God has given us a blessed country, wealthy and rich in diversity,
But will we pursue our achievable higher destiny?
Yes, we can and should prayerfully strive much more,
To promote peace, prosperity and national unity,
To the fore!


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

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