Patriotism

With so stories and articles in the papers on the Malaya's road to Independence really made me wonder what patriotism really means to each and everyone of us.

Merdeka Day to me has always been known as a public holiday to me and the day Malaysia achieved Independence. What does it really, really means? We are in the era of a new development, of not knowing the hardship and availability of resources in our parents' generation.

As a kid, I use to think how my parent's and their siblings, together with their own parents, lived through the day by day life during the Japanese occupation, in the presence of Gurkhas in their surrounding areas. I was told many stories about how one big family of 15 (my mum's side), survived on livestocks, planted tapioca and tapioca leaves, farming their own vegetable plots to feed not just the 15 of them, but the workers at my grandfather's bread and biscuit factory in Kluang, Johor.

We are now in the generation where everything seems to be available. And we are spoilt with choices. Do we really understand the true meaning of Merdeka deep down in our hearts? I read with much awe the many write-ups and had always understood that Merdeka for Malaya then was more than an Independence for the country - it's total freedom, complete unity, happiness, hope for a better life, life for a better generation, search of happiness, experiencing the moment which meant history for development of this country.

We are really spoilt with choices. We take things for granted. We complain about not getting enough of this and that... and we forgot the spirit of freedom and living life to the fullest....

Selamat Hari Merdeka to all Malaysians...