56th MERDEKA but what is there to shout about?

As the clock struck twelve midnight on 30th August 2013 – the eve of Malaysia’s national independence day, the cool night sky burst into a thunderous rapture of brilliant colors as the mammoth fireworks formed ‘endless possibilities’ of patterns and hues that almost held your breath in your mouth in the heart of the Federal capital city of Kuala Lumpur.

The 56-year old government of Malaysia – long serviced by UMNO, and the current UMNO-Baru under Najib had decided to splash good money to entertain the citizens with fireworks in marking their proud Independence day. And for company we had just as many migrant workers, both legal and probably scores of illegals on the many streets of Kuala Lumpur.

But as many of us chose to forget our differences, pains, frustrations and instead be mesmerized and immersed in a mood of celebrations being pumped up by the booming fireworks that left a jolt in your heart and deafening sounds on your ear drums, there was another revelation taking place around us.

Yes, spoilt and unable-to-compete

Youths were seen making a mockery of the drummed up celebrations. The noise, the boos and the noisy plays on their motorbike throttles as they took to the many roads in the city made you sit up and ask: After 56 years of rule of independence, who then is responsible for this social decadence? Surely not the colonial masters!

Yes, after 56 years of self rule and above all giving the vote every five years to the same political party, what are we left with today? Let us list them for debate in our national conscience:

- Drug addicts

- Drug smugglers and their network of peddlers

- School drop outs who cannot get past the immigrant workers who will snap up any work for half the fee and perhaps even a third of the rate if they are illegal.

- Creation of these so called social out casts out of our failure to plough alternative routes of sense of achievements and livelihood

- Creating these country-wide pockets of young people who do not seem to be able to fit into the seemingly ‘progressive’ society for our failure to infuse self-esteem in them.

- Our failure in leaving these young minds behind in our hurry to be a developed nation.

The cover-ups and injustices

And as each giant firework lighted up the night skyline, we also remembered the many affirmed, alleged, suspected and covered up issues and concerns that have come to haunt law abiding and patriotic citizens.

We remember how we killed and blasted a foreign national into nothingness and are unable to still find the killer or killers nor even see it crucial to establish the mens rea.

We remember the how on earth we ended up after 56 years of seeming good governance, with local gangsters who are gunning people much like in the wild, wild west movies we are so familiar with.

How on earth did we end up not being able to give equal opportunity in education for all Malaysians? How could we have been so blinded after 56 years of self-ownership of and independent control over the nation’s wealth not be in a position to give education for all Malaysians as long as they made the grades?

Soul of the nation eaten hollow by racism, corruption

The British left us 56 years ago without any race and religious animosity and suspicions between us the citizens. But after 56 years of UMNO rule, we are now so racially divided and use religion as the razor’s edge to strike and strip us apart.

Yes we have great roads; we have resplendent buildings and are building some more. Yes, yes and yes to many more claims we will parade come dawn of 31st August at the Dataran Merdeka. But what are all these greatness when the soul of a nation is in pain with corruption, suspicion, manipulated democracy and vested interest of the elitist cartel as well as social rot?

Could we not have been as good or even better than other nations who also earned their independence? Or are we really the best of the lot?

At least, looking at the rowdy youths on the eve of Merdeka as the gun power hit the skies with euphoria, the rot and many ills within our society are screaming for attention with it seeping and spilling on the ground level.

Indeed it was a sad 56th Merdeka eve for most citizens who were born before Merdeka.

MAILBAG