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Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Happy Merdeka Day

The past 2 years have been a very interesting for me. Besides the changes in my personal life (like getting married), I have also started to be more concerned about our beloved country - Malaysia. This also means more visits to Malaysia Today (one of the very few sources of real information, in my humble opinion).

It has been many, many years since I sang Negaraku or even read out the Rukunegara. I think the last time I did both was way back in my schooling days. With the National Day just around the corner, and with the WEE Meng Chee issue, I thought it would be nice to re-visit at least one of it - our Rukunegara. Our Rukunegara (National Principles) from www.gov.my:

Bahawasanya, Negara kita Malaysia mendukung cita-cita hendak:
Mencapai perpaduan yang lebih erat di kalangan seluruh masyarakatnya; memelihara satu cara hidup demokratik; mencipta satu masyarakat yang adil di mana kemakmuran negara akan dinikmati bersama secara adil dan saksama; menjamin satu cara yang liberal terhadap tradisi-tradisi kebudayaannya yang kaya dan berbagai corak; membina satu masyarakat progresif yang akan menggunakan sains dan teknologi moden.

Maka kami rakyat Malaysia berikrar akan menumpukan seluruh tenaga dan usaha kami untuk mencapai cita-cita tersebut berdasarkan atas prinsip-prinsip yang berikut:

• Kepercayaan kepada Tuhan
• Kesetiaan kepada Raja dan Negara
• Keluhuran Perlembagaan
• Kedaulatan Undang-Undang
• Kesopanan dan Kesusilaan

Looking at the five principles every Malaysian should uphold, it is interesting to note the second principle, which states that we should be loyal to king and country. Hmmm... No where is it stated anything about political parties. :)

Many years ago, I used to ask myself why should we have Agong or even Sultans? They seemed nothing more than troublemakers. But over the past few months, I am beginning to see why we should have the Sultans and Agongs. They are a symbol. A symbol that goes all the way back to the Kesultanan Melaka time. Removing them would be like forgetting our past and is definitely not something we have all been thought to do - forget our roots and our past.

Anyway, it seems a wind of change is blowing. If in the past, Their Royal Highnesses seemed uncaring and distant, things look set to change. Their Royal Highnesses seem to be more vocal now. They are now listening more attentively to the people, have the people's well-being in mind and they are getting more involved in state affairs, which I think is a very good thing. Take for example the case of the Port Klang assemblyman Zakaria.

So for this year's National Day celebration, I would like to pay a tribute to Their Royal Highnesses by wearing yellow on that day as suggested in Malaysia Today. It will be my sign of support for Their Royal Highnesses. And to quote RPK:

By wearing yellow on Merdeka Day and Malaysia Day, we hope to send a signal to the government of Abdullah Badawi that there is a limit to the people’s patience. This is a peaceful and non-violent show of support for his Majesty The Yang di-Pertuan Agong and his brother rulers to uphold the constitutional oath to defend the people of Malaysia, the sanctity of its government and our laws. This is a not a rebellion but a reassertion of our rights as the citizens of this country. We want to show the Prime Minister, his family, and cronies, that the country is not for sale. We stand united in believing that it is still not too late to save our country.

I don't think I can find a flag to fly in real world, but here's one that I will be flying on my website (flag image 'borrowed' from Malaysia Today -- please let me know if this flag cannot be used on this site).

Kesetiaan kepada Raja dan Negara - Loyalty to King and Country
Happy Merdeka Day! Here's to 50 years and the many more to come. And I hope to see you all wear yellow on that day! :)



...can you all feel the breeze -- the wind of change?

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