Lesson from Merdeka Day

By Ryan Khaw\

My grandmothers grew up in Japanese colonial Malaysia on their father’s plantation. Atrocities, too graphic to list on a senior scribble, surrounded her family consistently. When regular Japanese patrols came, my maternal grandmother would hide in her house, and my paternal grandmother would hide in the drain sewers on the side of the road. Fear and anguish gripped the colonized lands until the war ended. 

Peace fell upon Malaysia, but the cries of independence over twenty years became unavoidable to the British, and this was the case on August 31st, 1957. My grandmothers must have been so proud when our first Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, raised his fist three times, yelling “Merdeka.” 

“She must have been so proud holding her Malaysian passport, Malaysian IC; everyone felt unified; we all shared one culture,” My mother said, recalling the strength of the national unity on Independence Day and during her childhood.

During Merdeka Day all the public schools would gather at the stadium for the parade. All public schools really means all public schools; Chinese, Malay, and Indian schools came to celebrate national unity. Chinese schools would wear their Cheong Sam, Indians their Saree, and the Malays with their Baju. Though with these stark differences in apparel, my mother says there was no difference between the races; they were all handed one flag to hold during the parade, which united them. Oneness in diversity made Merdeka Day so beautiful, and of course, the omnipresent Milo van would be the cherry on top. 

Over the years, however, my mother sees this cultural unity erode as politicians constantly stoke the fires of racial tensions. She lived through the events of May 13th, 1969, when violence flooded the streets between Malays and Chinese. Every ethnic Chinese citizen knows the consequences of an eroded racial unity, and so do ethnic Indians. 

Every Merdeka Day should be a reminder of the importance of peace and national unity. This country has seen the effects of racial division, so lets not replicate that in Dalat, where races from all over the world conglomerate. The Dalat environment can learn from Malaysia’s past lessons to help build an environment where division is shunned.