Salam and greetings to all my friends out there. Let’s pray that this weekend will be more happy and fun compared to last weekend ! Anyways, the country will be celebrating here 52nd independence day on Monday. MissJeweLz would like to wish all her Malaysian friends ‘Selamat Hari Merdeka’. I must admit, the mood for merdeka celebration this year (or even the past year) was never lifted,(or rather never was there!) apart from getting 1 day break. I’ve never went for any merdeka processions, the ones mainly held at Dataran Merdeka. This year, I’m not sure if they’re going to have it.

Jalur Gemilang

And about flying our national flag high.. I humbly don’t think we Malaysians should only fly it during Merdeka season only..and then after 31/8 see the flags taken off, or some were left to rot.  And again, comes the question, why some of us are only proud of flying the flag? Well,that’s the least that some of us can do. Patriotism should be shown at all times, not occasionally.

Patriotism is subjective

Patriotism should come for the heart. But before the heart, is the brain, our cognitive conscience  What do we know of our country’s history, whether or not we have any sense of belonging to this country.. I don’t think patriotism is appropriate to be built upon plastic agendas and campaigns. If you can imagine a rotten cake.. and then the baker  decides to put a thick layer of cream on top of the cake to cover up that cake. That cake may not be for sale..may be for display only.. Because in the end, what matters to the baker is that the outer appearance and his customer’s perception of the ‘look’ of the cake is primarily more important than the cake’s quality, texture and taste. That is what I feel about merdeka campaigns.. It’s a bit too commercialized. But what’s the whole point of doing this if the real essence of Merdeka is not stirred into us. Historical education, reflections, are far more important.. What we do now to ‘save’ our country is also important. Plastic merdeka agendas and campaigns, and then what? Yes, I respect the move of certain parties to make us love our country. But on the basis of what? How do you love someone if you don’t know anything about that person? You truly love the person, but lately the feeling have been so-so because you found out that person have been involved in a string of conflicts, cheating, and what else ? You lose faith, but you don’t lose hope.

Love for the country should come from the heart. Take time to get to know your country. There is a famous Malay proverb ; “Hujan emas di negeri orang,hujan batu di negeri sendiri;lebih baik di negeri sendiri.”. Hujan emas means ‘gold rain/shower’.. hujan batu ‘rock/stone shower/rain’.. negara orang –> other countries, negeri sendiri –> our own country. So, it doesn’t matter how rocky/ugly the situation is in our country, we must not turn our back to it. We should face it, and be prepared to instill some changes. Starting from ourselves. Everybody plays a part in this. Parents, children, teachers, cab drivers, the gym instructor etc. Starting with our own selves. That patriotism may be somewhere in there already, so bring it to the surface. We see people reacting when we see Malaysia being flagged by the international media as a conservative country, a country which says something else but does another thing. As a Malaysian, we will naturally react to this. Why? Dig to the roots and you’ll find out that the love for the country is the cause of the reaction. We can’t sit down watching our country being torn apart by irresponsible people. That’s our bit, to react. And that’s natural. React for the good our country.

The Chronicles of Mahu,Want and Wish

I was attracted to the word WANT in the 1st 2 photos (captioned ‘And I found this! from the Bernama website‘ (click on the link!)  and ‘Wants’), as well as the word WISHED (WISH) in the 3rd photo.

WANT.

WANT translates to MAHU in Bahasa Malaysia.

‘Mahu’ adalah kata kerja (verb). According to Dewan Bahasa dan Pusataka ,  ‘mahu’ is synonymous to the words : hendak, berkeinginan, berhajat, berhasrat,bercita-cita, berazam.

WANT according to Merriam-Webster online dictionary :

1 : to be needy or destitute
2 : to have or feel need <never wants for friends>
3 : to be necessary or needed
4 : to desire to come, go, or be <the cat wants in> <wants out of the deal>

A wish which comes externally, compared to a wish which comes internally from ourselves will be projected differently.  Take a brief example here.. ”I wish for you to become a doctor”..compared to “I wish to become a doctor”. The latter has an overwhelming essence to it. The former sounds a bit forceful even though the intent of the person speaking out those words is positive and may be for a good cause. Usage and play of words not only can twist a reality, but further than this is it reflects the speaker’s own comprehension of the words he/she have chosen to use to express himself and to convey a message. Choice of words can unconsciously affect,eventually the sensation, perception, and reaction of the listener.

I’m not talking psychology here. I’m talking common sense, even though I might integrate some psychological inputs here and there. But still, try to follow me if you will 🙂 I’m not there yet..but getting there! ehehhhee….

In the case of patriotism, a.k.a love from the country, I think it should come from the heart. Coming from within us. It is usually stronger, and lasting. Instead of waiting for someone to want and wish for us, why don’t we want and wish something for ourselves? If patriotism is fed into us through our senses, our eyes, our ears.. there is a possibility to retain it in the short-term memory.. but, once the ‘feeding’ is stopped, the memory can disappear. Just like when the Merdeka promotions/campaigns are over.  You’re back to your normal everyday life minus the feeding hence minus the merdeka-ness.

In my case, I want it come from the heart.I’m gonna project it my style, my way, based on my own appreciation of Merdeka spirit and patriotism..  The promoted agendas and campaigns, will be supplementary to what I have in me. So, thats gonna be it..

I never had a Merdeka wish before.. and I don’t know why this year, I want to have this list.. not because I am jolted from my dream with a thousand watt of patriotism..nope..not like that..  but rather this is a reaction to all this politico-religio-racial circus going on.. arrghh… Sedih nengok kan ?! (meaning..what a pity..).

Here’s my list. I wish…:

1. for no more plastic/branded patriotism. let it come from your heart.
2. to love Jalur Gemilang; its does boost some patriotism. will make sure to display it somewhere.my bag,car.. but not doing it because someone wants me to do it !
3. for Malaysians to wish that they will be wiser and more knowledgeable of their country’s history. Let’s do this together
4. for Malaysians to wish that they will not to be fooled or tricked by people who wants the country to ‘fall apart’
5. for the parents to wish that they can teach themselves how and why we need to love this country, and then teaching their children what they’ve learn !
6. for the private sector to wish they can be proud of Malaysia. getting your business running and increasing KPI doesn’t mean you only look outside of the sphere..don’t forget to look what’s around you, near you, which land you came from.. if there’s no ‘me’, then there’s no ‘you’. It is nice to contribute our bit for this country.
7. to the entertainment industry to wish for more and more Malaysian talents.. bring them up ! Where’s Aishah, 4u2c, KRU, P. Ramlee… More Yasmin Ahmads ! And more internationally ‘recognized’ local films !
8. these words are read by the government and ministers.. “The people selected/elected/voted for you. So you serve us.Not us serve you. Let’s get this correct ya. So, when you’re high up there, you gotta remember this. Humble yourself down, and trash away all elements of arrogance. Easier said than done. We elected/voted the current government..by the people..so that they can run this country for us.. for the people. Arrogance and sneering cannot be tolerated at all.Your PR..is as important. So to the minister who sneered The Star reporter, I think you owe him an apology, Sir. 🙂 No really, I mean it. What happened to this basic sense called respect? Hilang sudahkah ? Lupakah kita?”.
9. to express to all triathletes (ehemm), and duathletes, runners friends, that I’m just so proud of you all. The sports scene we’ve been engaged in, is a living testimony where all of us can come on a common ground, interest, and be together in harmony. Even without the existence, of the word SATU or ONE, we’re all laughing away,during training or races,  and enjoy doing what we love to do, TOGETHER. It does not get any complicated than this. Its not complicated. Never was. So LET US SPREAD THE SPORTS AND HEALTHY Lifestyle/Culture to all levels of the communities. What say you?
10. that we all can do our part. 🙂 Love the country no matter what.
11. for the VOICE of the nation to be HEARD lah , what else !!! I don’t mind if you wanna copy and paste my entry to anywhere. 🙂 Spread the love okay?
12. for Malaysians to always WANT to be in peace, and no more using religion as a bait to defend certain parties’  interest. Respect all the religions. As a Muslim, Islam NEVER ENCOURAGE D hatred and having enemies. All human are EQUAL  in the eyes of God. What makes one individual different from one another, is based on the sincere virtues and good deeds that he’s done. If a religious person backbites, he”ll be equal or even worse than those who is not so religious (but never liked backbiting.. )  I’m not perfect myself. I’ve committed these mistakes of talking bad of something, of people..(especially on Facebook..!!)  Gotta improve on that… …(on not back biting and slandering lah! )

So there goes my MERDEKA list. My independence list. Notice, there are no word from the history textbooks in this list. There are no mention of names of the Merdeka heroes. We all, as Malaysians, do know , identify and appreciate these heroes. As times passes by, people change, their perception of things change. We should be the heroes now, o defend our country and continued what our predecessors have done in building and uniting the country. My Merdeka wish reflects my personal view of the things that we should ponder upon when we talk about MERDEKA.

Well, here are a few verses I would like to share with you. These are translations from the Qur’an, applicable not only to all Muslims, but to all mankind.

God has forbidden the believers from backbiting

O you who believe! Avoid much suspicion, in deeds some suspicions are sins. And spy not neither backbite one another. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would hate it (so hate backbiting). And fear God, verily, God is the one who accepts repentance, Most Merciful. (49: 12)

When we reflect deeply over this assimilation it should be enough to keep us away from backbiting!

Do not treat the issue of Backbiting & Slander with indifference because it is a great sin

Behold, you received it on your tongues, and said out of your mouths things which you had no knowledge; and you thought it to be a light matter, while it was most serious in the sight of God (24: 15)

Many of us back bite and gossip without thinking. We think it is minor matter, however God reminds us to be careful and even though we think we are doing something little it is in fact very big in the sight of God!

God teaches us to speak out against Slander and try to put a stop to it

And why did you not, when you heard it, say? “It is not right of us to speak of this: Glory to God, this is a most serious slander” (24:16)

Many people are so busy spreading the slander they hear that they do not even stop to think if it is true or not.

SELAMAT HARI MERDEKA MALAYSIA.

SAYA SAYANG KAMU.

SAYA RINDU KAMU.

BILA MAHU PULANG? 🙂