Beacon of light dims after 69 years of independence

 

Malaysia speaks: I became independent in 1957, and I was then called Malaya. I must say the colonialists didn’t leave the country in a mess when they finally lifted their boots off my soil.

I was young and vibrant and energetic, and I was delighted to join the ranks of the “great community of nations”.

It filled me with pride to hear my leader Tunku Abdul Rahman proclaim my independence on that historic day of Aug 31. I remember how the ground of Merdeka Stadium trembled as the huge, excited crowd of many races and faiths shouted lustily “Merdeka!” seven times.

There was so much promise as I began the long journey to start anew as a nation free, sovereign, and independent.

All along the way, I witnessed many eventful developments that changed the course of my history. Slowly and steadily, I built up my strength by exploiting my natural resources of rubber and tin.

I depended heavily on these two main commodities at that time, and I must say I grew rich.

But this was not enough. The leaders who stood guard over me knew that we must diversify our economy. And so began the expansion into agriculture and industrial manufacturing.

All these developments were spread over the 1960s to 70s, and indeed the future looked promising.

Then came an historic event when I expanded my borders to incorporate my fellow brothers, Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore in 1963. I took on a new personality and a new name called Malaysia. All this was made possible under the umbrella of the now much-disputed Malaysia Agreement.

To make it a joyous occasion, I also celebrate Malaysia Day to mark the joining of the two eastern brothers with my peninsular self.

Unfortunately, Singapore left us to chart its own destiny. Critics predicted the island nation would perish after partition. It didn't happen. On the contrary, it flourished.

Just as I was about to get into a good mood, a tragedy overtook me. That was in May 1969. I won't dwell on that tragic passage of history. Suffice to say, it grieved me to receive so many souls into my earth.

Things began to look up over the years, and from the 1980s onwards I moved on from a mainly agriculture-based economy into heavy industries, electronics exports, petroleum production, and the services industry.

Now I have moved further into the technology sector, investing in all these mind-boggling things called data centres, 5G rollouts, and artificial intelligence.

Turning national pride into political dismay

But hold it! After 69 years of living free from the yoke of colonialism, including fighting off all those pesky commies during those emergency days, I should be rejoicing over the great achievements made over the decades. Right? Not really.

These days I hear ominous noises emanating mostly from people who call themselves politicians. They are giving me a lot of headaches.

This breed of people “runs for office, wins elections, joins the government, and helps make laws for the public”. If only they stick to their duties. What got me all riled up is the way they behave and think subsequently. They didn’t live up to the high standards expected of the representatives of the people.

I hear so many disturbing reports about the many bad things they do, which give me a bad name. You can say these people are “experts at doing what is bad but failures at doing what is good”.

One man in particular, in whom the public had placed their trust and elected him to the highest office on land, came to grief because he chose a crooked path. He’s now languishing in prison. Serves him right!

After many changes of the guard, one would expect life today to be better because we are “masters of our destiny”. It didn’t actually turn out that way. Instead, I hear shrill voices making all sorts of provocative remarks that make the bowels of my earth churn.

Many times they vented their spleen openly whenever it suited them. They stepped on me in the hundreds as they tramped down the streets yelling slogans and waving flags to display their political identity.

I distinctly hear them being classified as bigots, rightists, extremists, village champions, supremacists, diehard conservatives, boycott specialists, to name a few.

All their hate speeches, political rhetoric, and grandstanding make me sick to the bone. Don’t they realise how dangerous all this can be? Their irrational conduct is pushing me to the brink.

As far as I am concerned, I will stick a common label on all their foreheads and call them all “plain troublemakers”. Sometimes, I feel like opening up my earth and swallowing them all to keep the peace.

Lamenting rising racial rhetoric and division

Take, for example, one man who is the boss of one state who has been creating waves with his inflammatory remarks.

I was outraged when he dared to say my vast land is the only home of the dominant race. He’s insinuating that all the others can always pack up their bags and return to their ancestral homeland.

This firebrand even brazenly claimed that a piece of my land belongs to his state and he’s going to court to take back the “Pearl of the Orient”. What nonsense! I will state categorically that my land is all of one piece and no one can tear a piece of me to become part of another state.

Stop it! All you troublemakers! I, Malaysia, am the home to all races and faiths, and no one can claim exclusive rights to me.

Well before independence, I have welcomed warmly many migrants who have made me their homeland. They laboured to extract raw materials from my earth, tapped my barks, tilled my soil; in short, all of them have made me what I am today.

As I see it, my future is becoming increasingly uncertain as I see no end to this constant flow of diatribe which can only do more harm than good. I don’t understand why all these rabble-rousers want to ruin my beautiful land that has been in existence since time immemorial.

Soon I will hear the thudding of hundreds of feet on me as my fellow citizens march to mark my independence. It should be a day full of meaning and unity, but beneath the surface I can only watch with trepidation as I, Malaysia, shudder to think what lies ahead amidst all these unhealthy developments.

Tunku wanted me to be a “beacon of light in a disturbed and distracted world” but, sadly now, I am becoming more disturbed and distracted by all these domestic troubles. The light is becoming dimmer with each passing year. - Mkini

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PHLIP RODRIGUES is a retired journalist.

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