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The sixteenth of September. I never really gave much thought to this date when i first came across it on my sejarah book, which has a picture of the "Jalur Gemilang" at the bottom right corner of that page. Few pages back was the independence day of Malaysia with the well-known "Merdeka" picture of black and white with Mr.Rahman lifting his hands up high that marks the significant date of August 31st. The date 16th of September was not mentioned much, just a light brush across.

Growing up in this country, one would never be foreign to the criticism and complains of the country. If it was the first thing that i learn about Malaysia it would be that its people did not like the country. Doubts and grapevines of politicians, stories of corruption from the highest to the lowest of society, the labeling as a developing country, the constant comparison with Singapore or any other countries, the list goes on and on.


But to pull myself out of the chaos of mouth battling and grandpa whining about the country, it is actually a horrible joke to see the citizens and locals of a country knowing nothing but criticism for their own country. Japanese fought till death for their nation's pride, American's are born to live up their national flags, people in Indonesia call themselves Indonesians, and even though having the size of just an island, Singaporeans love their country. And yet we Malaysians are a funny kind, who admire every part of the world except the land we're sitting on right this moment :)


I might not be the extremist which literally curses my homeland, but i wasn't a lover of my country as well. With a dream of going overseas all the time, i never bother to find out who's my local MP or what budget 1990 to 2009 says. I didn't know the legal age for voting cause i most probably won't be voting and i literally ignored the names of all our Agong's which can only be found in the uniqueness of Malaysia's ruling. ( I did memorize it for SPM essays though, gosh that's pathetic)


But i repent.


While in KL, i've came to know groups of people that gathers and pray for Malaysia once a week. My first reaction in mind was, nothing. I had no respond to what they were doing and have no conviction to do the same. Malaysia seems to be not even at the bottom most of my prayer list.

However, as time grows, i realize Malaysia is my country. I'm born here, not by accident. That statement does not just mean i have to live here because i'm born here. I am a Malaysian, and Malaysia is my country! I guess i need to repeat that a few times to truly grasp what it means. My generation may not have went through the war against independence so we never knew how to appreciate the country's independence. But of everything the country has gave me the least i can give back in return is to love this country.

Malaysia is our land, we might not have to fight in wars to protect the country's identity, but i think we should definitely uphold it with pride and gratitude. To be proud of our country isn't to deny its weaknesses and live with it, but i believe we can accept them and be a part of improving it instead of complaining as if we're not Malaysians. Talking bad about the very place we are born into is just bringing shame to ourselves.

Yes there is a lot of holes in this country that are yet to be filled, there is corruption in everyday life, there is poverty and unfortunates in areas all around the country, there is racial sensitivity that till now still remain a dilemma. I too wish they could be solved. But instead of creating a catastrophic bomb out of all the holes we can start being a part of solving it. To be deeply unhappy with our status quo and yet doing nothing about it , isn't that foolishness? ignorance?

Our young generation needs to snap out of the continuous adoration of United States or Korea or Taiwan and start living like you're actually in Malaysia. (we are actually living in Malaysia!) To stop criticizing and have a low-class mindset of Malaysian brands or artist or ministers, (you see we never discriminate Malaysian food, that's a good start :) To stop being ignorant and ungrateful for what this country has made us into. Think about it, we are unique! We speak at least three languages and some could even write in all, we never had a serious natural disaster and we have been heavily subsidized in petrol all this while. Our education is free and our poverty rate is going down year by year. We can have cross race marriage that could make babies of funny "mix race" like Ci-ban,Ci-dayuh, Melayu-Cina, Baba Nyonya and the newly booming race of Bananas.

A few months back, a few hostel mates and I met up and started a prayer group to pray for Malaysia. We were all blunt and confuse at first because the love for our country was so dried up that a simple act of praying for the country felt so distance and unbelievable. But as we went through prayers and prayers, God gave us a heart for our country. To love and not discriminate. Praying may have very different definitions to different people. The general meaning would be to seek God for help and for Him to intervene. But to be able to just start the simplest act of faith of praying for the country and to be able to put Malaysia in our heart, a revivalic change for this land would have begun. The heart to accept and embrace the country would have been sown into our hearts when we put Malaysia into our request to a Higher Authority.

Friends, Malaysia was formed in 16th of September 1963 where Singapore, Sarawak and Sabah joined Malaya to form MalaySIA. Without this date, we would not be called Malaysians but Malayans, which is slightly less cool. So give thanks! And let us embrace this country and be a part of changing the country.

"If my people who are called by my Name would humble themselves and pray, and turn from their wicked ways and seek my face, then i will hear from heaven, and forgive their sins and heal their land"- 2 Chronicles 7:14

I am proud do be a MalaySIAN, are you? :)

*outside my house, in Malaysia :)