My prayer for Malaysia

It has been said
It is always darkest before the dawn
We today live in the constant state of hostility
Not with other nations,
But between ourselves
This cesspool of misinformation has clouded our daily lives
I pray
For us to remember who we really are

It was not long ago
We were put together on this land
Inadvertently by the plundering capitalist conquerors of the past
Nothing ever happens by chance
We were always meant to be together

We often hear stories
Of great deeds from the past
Of heroic unselfish martyrs
Historical moments that changed everything
Yet sometimes
Greatness was just achieved
Not by landslide victories
But by the skin of their teeth
One vote can make the difference
But these minuscule details were all lost
History remembers these great feats
Like the all-conquering Tunku
Leading us through the hell of tyranny
Overcoming the might of an empire
Taking us to the Promised Land
Of self-governance

We must take heed of lessons
From all the leaders of our past
That led us through our civil war
The Malaya emergency
That drove families apart
Through the anguish of civil disobedience
The infamy of May the thirteenth.
Our leaders saw strength in unification
In the Federation of Malaysia

We must also remember the grit of the nation
Lies not within our leaders
It was not them who persevered
It was the rakyat who stood fast
Through the despotic rule of the Japanese occupation
Who came under the pretext of liberation
In the end turn to be greater oppressors
Let us remember
When we struggled through those first years of independence
With barely enough to get by
Yet we made it through together

Together
Malay, Chinese, Indians, Iban, Kadazan and our lain-lain siblings
We were never born to hate
We knew little of discrimination
We somehow learnt that along the way
With our Freedom comes great responsibility
Freedom of speech shouldn't lead to
Freedom to oppress, freedom to hate
Freedom to antagonize

Brothers and sisters
The fate of this small country of ours
Lies in our actions with each other
Let's not let our prejudices take charge
Let's rejoice in our unity
Rejoice in our collective strength

Our future is what we make of it
Let us always remember
We are always stronger together

Selamat Hari Malaysia. -Mkini