It has been more than 6 months without a new entry, a long rest indeed from this blog. I am starting again with this 50th Merdeka entry.
On 31 August 2007, I finished work at around 8 am, got home, had breakfast then sent my wife to work before going to the Merdeka parade at Dataran Merdeka Kuantan. I arrived at around 10 am with my youngest, Maman. The parade had already took off for about 1 hour when we arrived at the desired 'shooting' position. We got ourselves not far from the grand stand and had a good view on the colorful participants.
Independence or merdeka is something that we should not just feel proud of without feeling with understanding the hardship of those who sacrificed for our freedom and also our responsibility to full-fill the demands as a patriotic citizen.
We started to free ourselves from the day we were invaded and colonized by the Portuguese, the Dutch and the British. I could not agree that we were invaded by the Japanese because the act of war was on British and their colonies during the vastly spread World War 2.
There were individuals who were killed or banished to protect the sovereignty of this soil from the invaders. They fought for a cause until they died with no desire to sacrifice the dignity of the people in exchange for conditioned freedom. Some who were martyred, silenced or disappeared were forgotten as they did not bring any significant mileage.
Only a few past names are needed and to be repeated to boost some strategic moves of today.
What is important is the making of heroes in the present that is to be remembered in the near future.
The word merdeka will be more meaningful if each person who claim this soil theirs, swears and practices not only to protect this land from outsider but also from the enemy within who are traitor citizen that scavenges the riches of this land for themselves.
Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!