Merdeka !

August is a special month for Malaysians. For one, it is one of the 3 months when the whole country goes shopping crazy. Created in part to drum up the tourism industry, the government has designated these months when retailers are encouraged to organize special sales and promotions to get people to spend their money. For shopoholics like me, these promotional sales are hard to resist. The way I see it, not only am I getting something new for myself but I’m also contributing my bit to the country’s economy. Of course, one of the government reminders that one hears during the MegaSale periods is that you should only spend within your own means. They want you to spend the money but not to the extent of digging yourself into a financial grave!

Another reason why August is significant for Malaysians is that it is the month when we achieved independence from the British way back in 1957. For a few years now, I have noticed the increasing importance put on August as we as a nation look back on our history and review how far we have progressed. It used to be that National Day was only celebrated on 31st August but nowadays there seems to be some patriotic celebration or event that are planned for almost every week in the month of August. Of course we still have the National Day parades on the 31st like those we have year after year.

In a way, I agree with the government’s move to make the whole month of August as a “patriotic month”. Although patriotism is not something that needs to be expressed on only certain months of the year, we do sometimes need a focal point to renew that patriotic conviction to our country. By raising awareness of how much our predecessors have sacrificed in the past to obtained our independence and what we have go through to achieve the successes that we have today, we renew our comitment as a nation united to forge ahead with our future guided by vision and plans for development. Personally, I always look forward for August to come every year as I always feel closer to my country and history at about this time.

It is during this time that we are reminded how unique Malaysia truely is among the member countries of the world. For one, we have defied the odds that was stacked against us and made a country that comprised of non-homogeneous population actually work. Though the population as a whole are Malaysians we still have our own ethnic identities that we freely practice and share with each other. The fact that we achieved our independence from a colonial power free of unnecessary bloodshed is also one of the things that we can be proud of as not many can say that they share the same distinction. This is just another proof that we Malaysians need not have to resort to violence in our struggles moving ahead.

Does all this make me a patriot or nationalist? Perhaps but there are worse thing one could be. It took me the experience of living in another country to fully appreciate what I had taken for granted in the past. I try to remind myself occasionally how lucky that I am to be born a Malaysian and living at this current moment in time. This country of ours is on the verge of greater things to come and we as her citizens should contribute what we can to make that dream a reality. We should cherish our independence always and be ready to defend it to the best of our abilities from those who would take it away from us with any possible means. If we do not do it, who else will?