Monday, August 31, 2009

Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!

Happy Merdeka Day. For this auspicious day, I present to you the poem that we recited during Malam Gemilang in Canberra. Videos will be uploaded soon.


A Letter From Tunku

(Haymini)

Once there was this dream I had,

It made me smile, I felt so glad,

I received a letter from someone familiar,

None other than Tunku, our first Prime Minister.


Tunku as as they say was a man of laughter,

He solves his problems, big or small, full of composure,

As I began to read his letter,

It came to my realization, the things that mattered.


(Siang Hang)

Dear Malaysian,

It has been 52 years since we lowered the ‘Union Jack’

It has been 52 years since we introduced ‘merah, putih, kuning dan biru’

It has been 52 years since the debut of ‘Negaraku’

It has been 52 years since I proclaimed “Merdeka”


Tell me, dear citizen of this privileged land,

Is everything going according to plan?

Is my Malaysia a country for all?

A land that provides shelter,

A land that offers a bright future.


Tell me, what has become of my country, Malaysia?

Do we stand tall among others?

Giving a hand to those in need,

And defend the powerless from becoming a victim of greed.


Tell me more about Malaysia,

Share with me a thing or two,

About the people, about the culture

Are we still living in harmony?


Tell me about my successors,

Describe to me their legacies,

Do they show compassion?

Do they show respect?

And not forgetting humility.


Tell me something, most importantly,

A country so young with many years to come,

A destination so far with burdens to bear,

Will the path that we chose, lead us there?

Yours sincerely,

Tunku.


(Haymini)

He penned his words so graciously,

A show of concern to his posterity,

I intended my reply to be short and sweet,

But in turned out as one full sheet.


(Iskandar)

Dear Tunku,

We have gone far, since the early days,

Mountains with the highest peak, we have conquered,

The earth with all its seven seas, we have crossed,

Oceans with all its depths, we have explored,

Stars that seem so far, we have reached.


At a time, we had the tallest structure,

But soon after, even taller ones emerged,

“Never mind” were the words of Dr. M.

“We still have the tallest twin towers”


All of those may seem superficial,

Missing some substance, lacking some essence.


Perhaps this is more significant,

We have established a common platform,

Where freedom of speech is upheld

Where great minds debate policies,

Where issues that are dear to our hearts are discussed,

Let me introduce you this special place called the mamak stall.


From “Should we teach math and science in English?”

To “Did Malaysia thrash Man U last night?”

Nothing is left untouched.

Besides that,

Here, Malaysia’s most unique cuisines are created,

Roti Planta, Mee Goreng Mamak, Nasi Lemak.


After 52 years,

We have finally found, the recipe to unity,

DOTA,

Nothing spells unity and integration

More than a weekly Dota session


Dear Tunku,

To the question

Whether I think that I’m in the right path,

My answer to you is

Yes, I do,

Because when I look around, I don’t see strangers

I see brothers, sisters, Malaysians,

Yours truly,

A proud Malaysian.


(Haymini)

Bangunlah rakyat Malaysia,

Sambutlah tangan saudara-saudaramu

Adanya mereka, kita tidak perlu gentar

Kerana bersama mereka, kita kan berjaya.


(Siang Hang)

Masa depan itu, mereka kata misteri,

Pahitkah? Maniskah? Hanya esok kita tahu,

Apa yang pasti perjalanan in harus kita teruskan,

Tapi bolehkah kita lakukan seorang diri?


(Iskandar)

Masa depan itu, mereka kata misteri,

Pahitkah? Maniskah? Hanya esok kita tahu,

Apa yang pasti perjalanan in harus kita teruskan,

Tapi bolehkah kita lakukan seorang diri?

Merdeka! (Iskandar)

Merdeka! (Siang Hang)

Merdeka! (Haymini)

Monday, August 3, 2009

Race to Istana Negara

Aug 1 -Heavily influenced by reality shows like the Amazing Race and such, Malaysia hopped on the bandwagon and organised its own program, ‘Race to Istana Negara’. Unlike the Amazing Race, contestants are not expected to run around in circles navigating themselves and cross the globe to search for clues. Instead, the routes are laid out for them and they are not required to run the distance as of a marathon.

A piece of cake you say? Here’s the catch. To add more excitement, the police were stationed at strategic places as obstacles and roadblocks for the participants. Sources informed that the cops have equipped themselves with tear gas and water canon for this event. This, however, did not discourage the participation of more than 30000 people. Due to the overwhelming response, the organisers divided them into two teams, Pro-ISA and Anti-ISA. Each wearing white and red t-shirts respectively. Participants were to work in teams, and the team that reached the finish line the fastest wins.

There are three possible outcomes awaiting the participants. The first is reaching the finish line, which is Istana Negara (National Palace). Second is stumbling to a roadblock midway which will lead them straight to jail (kind of reminds you of monopoly isn’t it?). The third is you can opt to exit the race by diverting from the route.

As the final tally showed, only 1 person managed to reach the finish line (Pro-ISA), more than 400 were sent to jail (Anti-ISA) and the others decided to call it a day(mostly Anti-ISA). Even though the participant from Pro-ISA finished the race thus claiming victory for his team, participants from Anti-ISA claimed there is preferential treatment towards this individual and should be disqualified for it. Consequently, the Anti-ISA claimed that they are the real winners of the day. Below are their reactions.

The man who reached the finish line: I wore the pro-ISA T-shirt underneath a Visit Malaysia T-shirt, to avoid being noticed by the authorities.

Pro-ISA: We won since we reached the palace and given the memo to the palace.

Anti-ISA: Victory is ours. The world has known our struggle.

Barisan Nasional: This race is a waste of time and public funds. This is all PR's doing. The security of the country is under threat.

Pakatan Rakyat: What security threat? It is our democratic right to do so.

Agong: What Race????

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