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Still proudly stands on my Waja

Saturday evening, my parents begged me to stay home to take care of Firdaus. “We need to go on a date,” they said. So, being the obedient son, I kicked them out of the house, let Firdaus play his Detective set, while I grabbed a packet of Vinegar chips and cuddled up on the yellow sofa to watch bad television. As I surfed the channels on Astro, I came upon a talk show with four individuals sitting on a long table, yapping loudly over each other. A debate! I thought.

Apparently, the topic was “Merdeka : Trend or Tradition?” and like most intellectual discussions, noses flared, eyes popped, and hands were waved hysterically in the air as each grew more defensive :

- A young consultant argued that Merdeka isn’t trend or tradition. It is semangat.

- A TV male celebrity, with his confused brown hair, said that today’s youth do not understand the meaning of Merdeka. He was also persistent to say that local media production failed to “story tell” effectively on themes of nationalism compared to Hollywood movies.

- A man with a blue batik shirt said that there are many ways to show patriotism, from concerts to communal prayers.

- A young lady from UITM said that it is better to have a special day where people unite to show patriotism than have none at all.

While I agreed that it was healthy to have everyone vomit their views on TV, I did go into utter shock when one actually questioned why Merdeka was not celebrated the whole year long. Well, this sounded to me like a disgruntled accountant in KPMG who wished that the weekend will never end. Are you gila??? Well, yes, perhaps what he questioned was how come people are overly semangat only on the National Holiday, and not throughout the year. But, to me, there is indeed a flaw in this thought.

Well, let’s see. Are you saying that people in general are not patriotic enough? And exactly how should the public show patriotism throughout the year? Wear batik? Drive Protons? Eat satay Kajang everyday??? The consultant first said that Merdeka is semangat, but quickly turned around and questioned people’s semangat on August 31, saying KLCC concerts and putting up Jalur Gemilang on cars were inappropriate and tak payah. Well, who are you to tell us what is tak payah???

Let me tell you something. On Merdeka eve, my friends gathered at Ascott and got ourselves drunk. On Merdeka day itself, my family and I went to PJ Hilton and had high tea. Are you telling me that my way of celebrating Merdeka is not nationalistic? Unpatriotic? Anti-Malaysia? I think not! I believe how a person celebrate Merdeka is up to the person, and should not be questioned. In fact, we gathered in the spirit of union. We gathered to embrace the fact that family members are alive because of peace, a growing economy and national independence. So, let us celebrate the way we want to. Let us understand Merdeka the way we want to.

It’s like how we keep in touch with God. It’s special and usually up to the individual. It is Choice. It is not Failure.

In addition, I was annoyed at how the TV celebrity went on and on that local media productions are too blatant, too in your face with patriotic messages. According to him, the Hollywood movies are better at it. Well let me see. Is this a problem with local media productions with Merdeka advertisements / drama / movies, or is this a problem with the local media production as a WHOLE? Please celebrity, you must realize that there is a vast, deep lake underneath the thin ice you scrutinize. And besides, I personally think that the Petronas / Mas / TNB commercials are the best and are very well done. I got the message. I always have.

Okay, perhaps I should stop rambling at this, be patriotic and switch the channels immediately. MTV, here I come!