Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Happy Independence Day


Boom! I hear something explode loud. I run to the safest place I know… yes to our base, where we are hiding all this while. I can’t control my breathing properly. It’s hard and my heart is beating fast. Maybe from the running or maybe because I’m so terrify now. I don’t know. I can’t even think properly now. My mind puzzled.

I turn right and left to see whether my family members are in good condition. Yes, they are fine with the neighbors. I don’t have watch to look at but they are eating some boiled tapioca with shredded coconut. I look down on the ground. I am sad…Sad to look at what is happening to us… to our country now. War is very painful. I walk slowly… haggard… starving… with watery eyes. I sit at one of the corner. Boom! Again… the sound of bomb yells out loud outside. We can hear it clearly. I cry.

“Faisal…!” I hear mom is calling my name. My head is heavy. Oh it is a dream! Thanks God. I hug my mom and smile. She just thinks it’s another weird day for me… to wake up in a smile and yell before that.

The dream was really scary and maybe because I think too much about ungrateful citizens we have nowadays and some bunch of brainless youth who involved with illegal motorbike racing. What a shame to our country. Maybe we have gone so far… perhaps too far until we forget how hard too achieve our independence last time?

Do you still remember the effort for independence was spearheaded by Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, the first Prime Minister of Malaysia, who led a delegation of ministers and political leaders of Malaya in negotiations with the British in London for Merdeka, or independence along with the first president of the Malayan Chinese Association (MCA) Tun Dato Sir Tan Cheng Lock and fifth President of Malaysian Indian Congress Tun V.T. Sambanthan. Once it became increasingly clear that the Communist threat posed during the Malayan Emergency was petering out, agreement was reached on February 8, 1956, for Malaya to gain independence from the British Empire. However, for a number of logistical and administrative reasons, it was decided that the official proclamation of independence would only be made the next year, on August 31, 1957, at Stadium Merdeka (Independence Stadium), in Kuala Lumpur.

Do you still remember The Federation of Malaysia, comprising the States of Malaya, North Borneo (later renamed Sabah), Sarawak and Singapore was to be officially declared on the date August 31, 1963, on the 6th anniversary of Malayan independence. However, it was postponed to September 16, 1963, mainly due to Indonesian and the Philippines' opposition to the formation of Malaysia. Nevertheless, North Borneo and Singapore declared sovereignty on August 31, 1963. Indonesian opposition later escalated to a military conflict.

Indonesia considered Malaysia as a new form of colonization on the provinces of Sarawak and Sabah in the island of Borneo (bordering Kalimantan, Indonesia), which they laid claim on. To assure Indonesia that Malaysia was not a form of neo-colonialism, a referendum, organized by the United Nations, and the Cobbold Commission, led by Lord Cobbold, were formed to determine whether the people of Sabah and Sarawak wished to join Malaysia. Their eventual findings which indicated substantial support for Malaysia among the peoples of Sabah and Sarawak, cleared the way for the final proclamation of Malaysia.

The formation of the Federation of Malaysia was then announced on September 16, 1963 as Malaysia Day. The Independence Day celebration is still held on August 31, the original independence date of Malaya. However, this has caused some minor discontent among East Malaysians in particular since it has been argued that celebrating the national day on August 31 is too Malaya-centric.

Do you still remember when Malaya celebrated its first Independence Day, new hotels were built everywhere in Kuala Lumpur to accommodate the huge foreign delegation invited by the Government of the Federation of Malaya to witness the historical day.
The historical event was captured by Malayan Film Unit, below are the recorded arrival of the guest of honour.

Upon arriving at the Sungei Besi Airport, the guests of honour were welcomed by the British High Commissioner in Malaya, Sir Donald Charles MacGillivray and Lady MacGillivray, the First Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaya, Tuanku Abdul Rahman accompanied by the Raja Permaisuri Agong and the first Prime Minister of Malaya, Tunku Abdul Rahman.

I won’t elaborate about what happen during Japanese conquer too. If you know some oldies around you, kindly ask them. I bet you will be frightened till death.

Let forget our skin color, race, religion and culture that differentiate between one to another. Let us vanish the boundary and live in a happy country… our lovely country Malaysia.

Happy Independence Day! 31/8/2008





p/s: I write about it now instead of on the exact day because this celebration should be celebrated in this whole month... in fact the whole year.

39 comments:

  1. Selamat Menyambut Hari Kemerdekaan ke 51 dan jgn dilupakan Selamat berpuasa... yang tinggal tahun lepas sah ganti??

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  2. Selamat Menyambut Hari Kemerdekaan ke 51... post bulan puasa kena sabar. Akan menyusul nanti... uik tahun lepas perfect 30 lah! keke..

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  3. hi faisal...

    at 1st ingat kan aper la pasal bom..bom nih...mimpi rupanyer... :P

    Selamat menyambut hari kemerdekaan yang ke 51....

    harus bersyukur dan bertuah kita hidup di era ini....


    cheers..

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  4. Happy Independence Day!

    skullsplitter

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  5. selamat menyambut ulang tahun kemerdekaan yg ke 51..merdeka kan minda kiter sumer...:)

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  6. yea. my late granddad once told me that a japanese nearly kill him during the occupation period..

    then if he died that day, i won't be here..

    yea. slmt berpuasa jugak. puasa2 jugak, tapi amalan sunat lain jgn dilupa.

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  7. mimpiiii.. ehehe.. wat suspen ajaaa... :D

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  8. Tema Merdeka kali ini: 'perpaduaan teras kemajuan'

    Perpaduan siapa yang dipentingkan si sini?

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  9. LoL. its a dream!
    semangat kenegaraan!
    merdeka!

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  10. yeppp... selamat menyambut hari kemerdekaan semua.. =)

    Renungi, dan hargailah sejarah dan pejuang-pejuang bangsa kita.. kerana tanpa mereka.. mungkin kita bukan kita pada hari ini..

    I LOVE Malaysia n I am proud to be Malaysian..!!

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  11. selamat menyambut hari kemerdekaan semua..!!!

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  12. riena - ya riena. kita seharusnya bersyukur dengan kehidupan kita yang aman damai di muka bumi ini. ramai yang dah lupa tentang tu... selamat menyambut hari kemerdekaan yang ke-51 :)

    Skullsplitter – Happy Independence Day :)

    Wahidah – Selamat menyambut hari kemerdekaan yang ke-51… betul tu… merdekakan minda kita… merdeka kah kita? :)

    Myadlan- yes, those oldies who were born earlier than us and experienced the nightmare before independent understand the exact meaning of suffer and know how to be grateful today.

    Selamat berpuasa. Semoga amalan kita diterima oleh-NYA.

    Ej – hehe ye Ej mimpi ja. Seram tak?

    Joseph – perpaduan rakyat Malaysia tanpa mengira kulit, kaum, bangsa dan agama.

    Zamir – hehe yea it’s just about a dream (nightmare) and a dream (what I want Malaysian to think).

    Merdeka!

    Zaza – selamat menyambut hari kemerdekaan yang ke-51. Betul tu, tanpa pejuang-pejuang Malaysia tak mungkin kita akan berada di tahap ini sekarang.

    I’m proud to be Malaysian too :)

    13May – Selamat menyambut hari kemerdekaan :)

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  13. Selamat Menyambut Hari Kemerdekaan yang ke 51..Dah 51 ek negara kita...hmmm...bebaskan diri kita dari segala anasir2 yang menyekat minda dan mempengaruhi minda..Semoga kita dapat menghayati kemerdekaan yang sebenar-benarnya...Insyallah...

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  14. nice analogy.. Selamat ari Merdeka gak!

    Hurm.. what should I do for my blog for this Merdeka? I better start thinking about it from now..

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  15. Ad – Selamat menyambut Hari Kemerdekaan yang ke-51. Semoga kita semua dapat menghayati erti sebenar kemerdekaan dan bebas dari belenggu anasir-anasir luar :)

    BCD
    – Hehe I know you can create a good post for Merdeka too. Waiting for your Merdeka post! I need some ideas about my next post -- fasting :)

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  16. Happy Independence Day! I love how you did your awards in your side bar, how did you do that?

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  17. tanggal 31 bulan 8 57 hari yg mulia hari yg bahagia kita smbut ..............huhuhu

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  18. tanggal 31 bulan 8 57 hari yg mulia hari yg bahagia kita smbut ..............huhuhu

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  19. tammy - Happy Independence Day tammy... Thanks i will let you know in your blog about the slide show :)

    wahidah
    - hehe amboi nyanyi pulak :P

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  20. kena la nyanyi..semangat ni..lalalal

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  21. hehe keta dah pasang bendera malaysia? lagu dlm keta semua kena lagu patriotik okeh

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  22. semoga Malaysia sentiasa berada dalam keadaan aman damai, rakyatnya hidup dengan selesa, ekonominya semakin maju dan kuat.... dan semoga rakyat sedar betapa pentingnya kestabilan politik di negara yang telah 51 tahun merdeka ini....

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  23. betul tu... kita hendaklah mengikut negara matahari terbit sebagai contoh. negara yang telah dibom di nagasaki dan hiroshima menjadi padang jarak padang terkukur akhirnya berjaya menandingi negara maju yang lain... malah jauh lebih hebat dari negara kita. diharap suatu hari nanti negara kita dapat mengikut jejak langkah jepun :)

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  24. I was just involved in a couple of events related to the Jap occupation and stuff and boy, it was so emotional. I can't imagine us having to go through what our grandfathers and so many others went through...

    There's so much to be thankful for and I guess sometimes we do take things for granted.

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  25. Oh ya btw, I baru ja finish doing your dream gadget tag! Hehehe Sorry lamabat!

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  26. salams faisal :) selamat menyambut ramadhan yang mulia nanti and also, i guess, selamat menyambut kemerdekaan malaysia yang ke 51 :)

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  27. i feel lucky to be born after the war...happy independence day to all...D

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  28. Happy Independence Day!
    Salam Merdeka!

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  29. Rozella – I agree with you. Most of the time we take thing for granted. That is why history is important to make us think and learn about today and our future. I used to hate history when I was in secondary school even in college but now I open my eyes wide to learn about the past for a better tomorrow.

    Hehe. Thanks for doing the tag. It’s never too late :)

    Bunkerangs – Ya Ramadhan dah dekat kan… macam mana dengan persediaan puasa di sana? Meriah tak? Mesti rindu makanan di Malaysia kan? Hehe. Selamat menyambut Ramadhan dan Hari Kemerdekaan yang ke-51.

    Waliz – I feel lucky too. I couldn’t bear the pain and suffer before independent. Happy Independence Day :)

    Zara – Happy Independence Day to you too! Nyanyi sikit Zara hehe :P

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  30. kejap je masa berlalu ek . x lama lagi dah nak merdeka .. which is next week !!

    :D

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  31. Happy independence day Faisal!!!SEMOGA NEGARA KITA TETAP AKAN KEKAL HARMONI DAN SENTOSA SETIAP MASA...

    *kenapa mentalilti kita masih di jajah??

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  32. Salam Faisal. I like this article you wrote a lot. Especially the part about forgetting our difference and live as one. Isn't that what Malaysia is all about? Teruja yer, masa I baca entry nih. Selamat Hari Merdeka!

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  33. Anonymous10:04 AM

    Nice!!! You should write books lah Faisal... :) winkwink

    Happy Independence Day to all Malaysian... :)

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  34. well, happy birthday Malaysia~ (in advance)! may your life be long and victorious. *^^* your post is good, mr faisal. =)

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  35. Lily – hehe janganlah cakap cepat masa berlalu. Rasa macam cepat sangat tua hehe. Ye next week Merdeka. Nasib takyah masuk kawad hehe! Nanti tak pasal-pasal Hari Raya jadi negro…!

    Axim – Happy Independence Day Axim. Ya, kenapa mentality kita masih dijajah. Itulah persoalan sebenarnya. Merdeka nih begitu general dan boleh ditafsirkan di dalam pelbagai bentuk :)

    Ginseng4desoul – Salam Ginseng… “…live as one” hehe macam lagu Imagine by John Lennon pula. Ya, betul… that is what Malaysia about, no difference and live as one... united. Teruja? Hehe tq tq… Selamat Hari Merdeka!

    Nurin – hehe tulis buku? Tak layak lagi. Tapi semoga dikabulkan doa you! :) Happy Independence Day to you too

    Hanna – Happy Independence Day to you Hanna… thanks for the compliment :)

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  36. Happy Independence Day to you and to the rest of the Malaysians! :) I enjoyed reading your post. I let my grandma tell Japanese war stories when she was still alive.

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  37. hehe thanks aisha :)
    yes to those who has a grandma or grandpa, they can ask them about their suffer before independence. i hope this post can open others mind :)

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  38. Axim: mentalititi kite dijajah siapa?

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  39. joseph - erk... encik axim sila jawab (",)

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