MERDEKA?
I think it's a lot better to say, "Selamat Hari Kebangsaan" rather than "Selamat Hari Merdeka". Merdeka connotes a freedom, and we're not really free, are we? I still think Malaysia is a great country, and I'm very thankful to be a part of it. But I do not delude myself into thinking that any of us living here are truly free.
I think most of us are still very frightened to speak out against the myriad injustices that occur right before our eyes, every day.
To add, there is a culture of divisiveness amongst the races in this country that nobody wants to address. The worst thing about it all, is that the education system we currently have, fosters it.
In 2021, when advanced societies are denouncing notions like 'superior race' and 'the right (religious) way of life', our political parties inch closer to primitive dogma, and those opposing it can't say anything against it, because it's all cloaked under that big untouchable subject called "religion".
What is wrong with us? Where is our voice? We can't simply acquiesce, just because somebody said, "God mandated it." Over history, God has mandated A LOT of reprehensible acts. Once upon a time, that same God even mandated owning slaves. Atrocities like the Holocaust, the Spanish Inquisition and mistreatment and displacement of the Rohingyas were all committed in the name of God.
People should not be afraid to raise their voices and question the authorities, when their rights are being trampled on. More importantly, they should feel compelled to raise their voices against the authorities, when the rights of others are being trespassed on. It is so crucial for us to speak up for them, because these people, these 'others'... they may not have a voice to stand up for themselves.
When we are free to do that, THAT'S when we can say we have attained freedom. That is when we are merdeka.
So until we achieve that, I will wish you Selamat Hari Kebangsaan instead.💜
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