Our true Merdeka: freedom from division, dependency and impatience

 Malaysians must stay on the track built by our forefathers, honour their vision, and to carry it forward.

“Merdeka!” is more than just the declaration made on Aug 31, 1957, that Malaya would be free from British rule.

It represents the hopes, struggles, and triumphs of every Malaysian, as well as the choices we make today that will shape the lives of our children tomorrow.

That is why, on this day above all others, we must reflect on our commitments, responsibilities and shortcomings.

To do that, we need to recall the two main struggles our forefathers were faced with.

One was ensuring sufficient human resources to guarantee the nation’s security and survival, as well as to bring about progress.

The other was bringing a religiously, racially, and culturally diverse group together — which was no small feat.

Through debate and compromise, they forged a constitution that reflected both who we were then, and who we aspired to become. Yet that foundation was shaken by the May 13 racial riots in 1969.

Out of that tragedy, however, came a silver lining: the birth of the Rukun Negara, declared just over a year later to remind us of the values that must anchor us as a nation.

Both the Federal Constitution and the Rukun Negara are not foreign constructs or colonial legacies. They are the products of our collective hopes, fears, and wisdom — shaped by Malays, Chinese, Indians and others, drawing from Islamic, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist and many other traditions.

It is for this reason that we must preserve the goals set out in these documents. We need our own “Merdeka” — freedom from those who seek to divide and destroy the ideals envisioned by Tunku Abdul Rahman, our founding father.

How do we achieve this? It begins with a shared vision, followed by earnest efforts to build a Malaysia free from housing insecurity, food shortages and environmental degradation.

Affirmative action may still serve its purpose, but justice demands that we eventually move beyond it. We must pledge to elect the best among us as leaders, which requires diligence and discernment.

A shared vision, however, is meaningless without collective action. Our ancestors laid the foundations of our economy, education and social structures.

Each community, post-1957, displayed grit in building upon them, creating a nation proud of its achievements. Our success lies not only in how far we have come, but in the fact that we laboured together for the sake of future generations.

Just as unity defines our success, division marks our failure.

We fail when hatred spreads like a cancer, when divisive narratives cloud our judgment. The victims are rarely one community alone, while the beneficiaries are often power-hungry politicians.

A shared vision requires patience. Rome wasn’t built in a day, so why should Malaysia be any different?

We also need a Merdeka from impatience.

Change does not come with the flick of a switch, nor with the replacement of a party or prime minister. It requires time for governments to untangle past missteps and for society to wean itself off toxic rhetoric that has poisoned minds in recent years.

Once we have patiently realised our shared vision, we must seek a Merdeka from dependency.

We must learn not to rely solely on our own kind, nor to retreat into isolationism. Such thinking is propagated by opportunists seeking power. Yet our faiths remind us that pluralism is part of God’s plan, and kindness to our neighbours is a sacred duty.

Our forefathers built the track for nation-building. It is now our responsibility to stay on that track, to honour their vision, and to carry it forward.

Selamat Hari Merdeka to all! - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.