So yeah, had dinner with our PM, not Aussie, but M'sian PM.
And we were singing both these songs: our national anthem and 1 Malaysia. And, while I was singing 1 Malaysia, I was thinking: What is our Malaysian identity? What do you mean by priotising citizens? What is the one aim that you want us to work towards? And who are we to show our loyalty to?
My translation of 1 Malaysia, excuse me for inaccuracies:
Standing strong on Earth
Nurturing the one Malaysian spirit
Together, Citizens are prioritised
Achievements are emphasised
Unity, is blessed
Racial tolerance is practiced together
Success, we develop
One Malaysia
In achieving one aim
Our responsibility
The backbone of a great nation
We build One Malaysia
One Malaysia is our principle
National Principles are the core of unity
Malaysian citizens being loyal
One Malaysia for everyone
During the dinner, we also watched Made by Malaysians
That's one of the awards given out during the dinner, for a Vlogger who is recognised by the government for his video blogs. Here is another Typical Local Film/Drama Scenes
How are citizens prioritised when his sons and daughters are called putera and puteri? (Putera = prince, puteri = princess) How are citizens prioritised when we drink tap, at best filtered water, and his table has these:
It makes me wonder.
I am touched by so many of us being united as one big Malaysians family, and I am a patriotic citizen, I will defend my country if there such need arise, and I am not going to back away. It is serious thoughts, and I love my country.
I am wondering, what is tolerance when these things happen?
I want to be optimistic, I have multiracial friends, and I would like it to be free to share our lives and beliefs to each other, instead of being controlled by the government. Here is where I would like to clarify: GOVERNMENT IS NOT COUNTRY.
Yes, government is the body that runs the country, but it is not the country. Moreso that the National Front is not government, but elected to be for the period of 4 years. WE ARE NOT REQUIRED TO BE LOYAL TO NATIONAL FRONT, BUT ONLY TO OUR COUNTRY. I am totally fine that our King is our ceremonial head of country.
Life is tough back home for those who do not have access to wealth-generating real estates and big corporations. I experience it all by just how hard it is for me to be here in Australia and to receive higher education without borrowing money from the government. We do not have equal opportunity in enrolling into universities back home, the government will say otherwise, but for those who wish to study Medicine, they will tell you the truth. Wealth is not distributed down to the citizens but stopped at the aristocrats, elitists and corporate giants. Their wealth increase as the citizens wealth stays the same. Shouldn't we change this?
My cousins are staying in the countryside, and it is not easy to get proper education into all the countryside areas and even to introduce them to scholarships that are meant to help them. What should we do as the new generation of citizens as our country started on its 55th year of journey to a developed nation?
A transparent (although it is impossible to have a perfect government, a greatly transparent one is good enough) government is what we need to attract all these skills and experts back to Malaysia; a nation that truly treasures human resource is a nation that is successful. If the government is not changing, probably WE SHOULD START THE CHANGE.
