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)

Top Ten: Reasons To School Them In English

Below are examples of how many of us speak English today. Taken from The Malaysian Today. Out of 100, I chose only 10. They are all true cases.

10. In a hotel a girl calls out to her friends: "Come lets jump into the poo(pool)"

9. A student writing an essay on how to bake a cake,
After all the ingredients are poured in the bowl, DISTURB (stir) the mixture....

8. At a job interview:
Q: You have a long name. So how do I address you?
A: I live in Gombak Setia sir.

7. Another essay by a student: "He suffer from low SELF OF STEAM (self-esteem)"

6. Overheard at a coffeeshop:
"No, I don't want iced lemon tea. I want teh-o-ais-limau."

5. An article by a journalism student in a local university:
"The man died after the post mortem."

4. During a war scene in a movie, a soldier tells his men to run for cover and screams "duck!". The subtitles read: "ITIK!"

3. A part time worker at a concert hall needs to stamp the wrists of patrons going out for a break. She says: "Excuse me sir, can I chop your hand"

2. "Wait later I call you on my CELLULITE phone (cellular phone)"

1. Interview between an airline company and a flight attendant wannabe.
Q: What do you know about flight safety procedures?
A: Passengers must leave their belongigs during EJACULATION (evacuation)

Check out other Top Tens

Ex-ST reporter to publish 'frank' book on Malaysia

SINGAPORE, Sept 17 - As Malaysia continues to grapple with political troubles, a former Straits Times reporter is throwing a few more stories into the mix. Former senior correspondent Ismail Kassim, 65, who was the paper's first Kuala Lumpur correspondent, is publishing a book about his experiences in the country that he says is -frank-.

The 314-page -A Reporter's Memoir: No Hard Feelings-, which he will launch in late October, covers his experiences as a reporter in Malaysia and also includes his thoughts about what he says are sensitive topics.

-Nothing is sacred. I have expressed my views clearly on all issues from race relations to faith and religion and political differences between Singapore and Malaysia,- he said.

-Whether I write about my boyish escapades or my tribulations over faith or my recollections of Lee Kuan Yew, Goh Chok Tong, Mahathir, Anwar, Pak Lah, Najib and others, I have adopted the same irreverent approach and the same nonchalant brush,- he added, referring to top leaders past and present in Malaysia and Singapore.

Having -stepped on many toes-, however, he felt he had to say -no hard feelings- to all of them - hence the title. -This is my way of reminding all of those mentioned in the narrative not to take things to heart,- he said.

The book documents Ismail's life as a former teacher, soldier, reporter and unionist, with about a third of it dwelling on his 15 years in Kuala Lumpur providing Singaporeans with first-hand coverage of politics across the Causeway.

Now a retiree, Ismail had spent more than a year putting the book together -primarily to entertain himself, his friends and former fans-.

-A Reporter's Memoir: No Hard Feelings- will be launched at the end of October at the National Library.

Related Posts:

Bloggers are individuals
Weekend Debut
Malaysian Politicians Say the Darndest Things

Malaysian Artiste For Unity

Quoted from Malaysian artistes for unity website

"bored. so he telephoned a few friends. “how about getting together to make
an anti-racism national unity song and music video?” all said yes without
hesitation. not because pete threatened them with a sharp and rusty knife.
but only because they love Malaysia."

Our artistes have made their move, when will our politicians?