Malaysia will celebrate
its 61st Independence Day with the theme ‘Sayangi Malaysiaku’ (Love My Malaysia) on 31 August 2018. We have barely
a few more days before the celebrations.
Preparations are already
underway for the grand celebrations, as said by our Communications
and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo. The
theme chosen, says Gobind, is to celebrate and boost the people’s love towards
this country.
The 61st
Merdeka Celebrations this year is unique in the sense that it will be the first
time celebrated by a newly elected government, i.e. the Pakatan Harapan (PH) at the Federal Capital of Putrajaya as
requested by our Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir. Gobind Singh said this
decision was to symbolise the administration of the
new government under Pakatan Harapan.
In the eve of forthcoming
celebrations, let us take time to reflect on the import of the celebrations.
Independence generally
means freedom. In the context of a nation, it denotes freedom from their colonial
masters or from another ruling country. We obtained our independence from the
British on the 31 of August 1957 without any bloodshed but through negotiations
and finally ending with an independence treaty with the British.
The younger generation
perhaps may not understand the untiring efforts and toils of our leaders to
obtain this independence, unless they have learnt about their struggles in
their history lessons.
There are many ways
people show their patriotism -- the feeling of loyalty and allegiance to a
country. In our nation, we proudly display our Jalur Gemilang in our homes, offices and public places to show our
allegiance to our beloved country. The Prime Minister recently said flying the
Malaysian flag will strengthen the bonds between the people.
Some also display the
Malaysian flag in their vehicles. A few hard-core Malaysians paint their cars
with the Malaysian flag and parade with it during the merdeka season. There are also some who wear the Malaysian
flag as their outfits to show their patriotism.
There are also communities
who organize Merdeka prayers for the well-being and prosperity of the nation,
in particular the Baha’i community. In
these gatherings, all Malaysians, despite their religious background are
invited to come together to pray for the nation. Prayers from all religious scriptures
are recited. Such events truly signifies solidarity and unity among the
participants at the event as the participants will be united in prayers and
supplications for the nation.
Of course, the highlight
of Merdeka celebrations will be the national parade to be held on 31 August this
time around at the Federal City of Putrajaya and also in all state capitals in
the country.
In all these parades,
national and state leaders will address the peoples of Malaysia who come from
all walks of life to celebrate this national occasion. Those who are unable to come,
will catch it over the media broadcast.
This is an event which we
truly celebrate as Malaysians, not based on our ethic background. Perhaps, more
such national events should be fostered by the PH government to instil the
feeling of fidelity and patriotism towards the nation.
In achieving national
unity, we should go beyond our parochial distinctiveness and racial identity.
We need to think as Malaysians and citizens of one nation to achieve national
unity and comradeship.
In conjunction with the coming
of Merdeka celebrations, let us all wish our nation a happy and prosperous 61st
Merdeka Day. Long life Malaysia, My Malaysia.
