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LABQUIP (M) SDN. BHD.
17, JALAN PJU 3/46,
SUNWAY DAMANSARA,
47810 PETALING JAYA,
Friday, September 17, 2010
Bringing two halves together on Malaysia Day
For too long, we didn’t pay enough attention to Malaysia Day. Now that we have, there is still much to be done to forge a greater sense of unity, togetherness and appreciation of each other.
YESTERDAY was Malaysia Day. We “celebrated” it, or rather took note of it for the first time because it was a national holiday.
It’s good that we have finally given recognition to an immensely important historical event but one wished it had come sooner.
Imagine what we could have achieved if we had started years ago. That was what hit me when I read our Malaysia Day Star Special. It was the work of my colleagues who were picked for their familiarity with Sabah and Sarawak. Together, they produced an excellent edition that focused on giving a voice to Malaysians in those two states.
While I enjoyed the stories, I came away feeling that after 47 years there seems to be two nations, not one. All this leads to the inevitable question: Why is this so? Is it because of the way history is taught in schools?
Our history books seem to end with Merdeka declared on Aug 31, 1957, with only a cursory look at the events after that. The creation of Malaysia seems barely imprinted in our consciousness.
It is this failure to connect the two halves of the country that we now find ourselves in the embarrassing situation of being ill-informed of what brought these halves together as a nation and who these people are who share the same nationality as us.
It’s not just our education system that has failed. There are other institutions that should have played their part but didn’t.
While it took a peninsular leader to create this entity called Malaysia, it is those in Sabah and Sarawak who seemed to have embraced it more whole-heartedly.
They are the Malaysians who are more colour blind and united, as observed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak himself. They are the ones who more comfortably adopted Malay as their lingua franca and intermarried more easily and with greater acceptance.
More than ever, we need to confront the truth why Peninsular Malaysians are “less Malaysian” than those in Sabah and Sarawak. Then only can we accept that something needs to be done; that we must bring the two halves of the nation closer together and learn the best practices from each other.
And we can do it because we do have common values and interests. It’s called 1Malaysia and if we can put aside our knee-jerk cynicism towards such a notion and really work towards it, it can become a reality.
We know clever and sincerely wrought humour, even if built on stereotypes, can be accepted and enjoyed wholeheartedly. We have Lat to prove that. So why haven’t we been able to build on Lat and have something that we share proudly? It’s not that we haven’t done it before – produced shows that Malaysians wanted to watch. We had those much-loved P. Ramlee movies, Bakat TV (this talent competition was the hottest thing on TV circa 1972) and Empat Sekawan.
If we look hard enough, we can find great stories to tell. For one, there is the fictional pirate created by Italian writer Emilio Sagari in 1883 called Santokan, the Tiger of Malaya, who was the nemesis of White Rajah James Brooke of Sarawak. Wouldn’t that make an exciting series if done right?
Remember that excellent Maybank advertisement about the Iban girl making her way in the world without forgetting her roots? Could that have been expanded into a powerful and riveting drama that would get Malaysians cheering for one of their own?
Here’s another idea: Next year marks the 500th year of the fall of the Malacca sultanate in 1511. That is one date we all learnt in school. Can you just imagine a gripping TV series based on the events leading to that year of infamy? History can be useful if we know how to wield it.
Malaysia's Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has promised a greater push towards ending the social and economic disparities between peninsular Malaysia and Sabah and Sarawak, and for greater opportunities for people of all races.
In his speech at the first Malaysia Day national-level celebrations at Padang Merdeka in Kota Kinabalu, Najib said he wanted these dreams fulfilled within the next few years.
He said these could be achieved without disrupting the existing social contract.
“My aim is to see Sabah and Sarawak to be fully on par with peninsular Malaysia. God willing, within the next few years, this will become a reality.
“The Government is giving priority assistance to those still very much in need of help because we realise that not all segments of society are at the same level now in terms of economic and social standing. This is due largely to the geographical divide,” he told 10,000 people who gathered for the historic occasion.
Najib said Sept 16 was an excellent occasion to put in place a greater vision to develop the whole country, adding that the people in Sabah and Sarawak had chosen rightly and wisely to form Malaysia, and vowed not to let extremism and fanaticism derail his plans.
Najib said the people must remember that Malaysia’s formation was fraught with challenges, adding that there had been past attempts by neighbouring countries to stop it.
In PETALING JAYA, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin urged Malaysians not take the country’s harmony and unity for granted but work towards preserving peace.
“I hope the Malaysia Day celebration will speed up the social and psychological integration between Malaysians of all races despite our geographical locations,” he said in his Malaysia Day message.
Happy Malaysia Day!
Checkout 1Malaysia website at http://www.1malaysia.com.my/ for Najib’s latest poll and blog posts.
*Sources and pictures taken from The Star Online.
YESTERDAY was Malaysia Day. We “celebrated” it, or rather took note of it for the first time because it was a national holiday.
It’s good that we have finally given recognition to an immensely important historical event but one wished it had come sooner.
Imagine what we could have achieved if we had started years ago. That was what hit me when I read our Malaysia Day Star Special. It was the work of my colleagues who were picked for their familiarity with Sabah and Sarawak. Together, they produced an excellent edition that focused on giving a voice to Malaysians in those two states.
While I enjoyed the stories, I came away feeling that after 47 years there seems to be two nations, not one. All this leads to the inevitable question: Why is this so? Is it because of the way history is taught in schools?
Our history books seem to end with Merdeka declared on Aug 31, 1957, with only a cursory look at the events after that. The creation of Malaysia seems barely imprinted in our consciousness.
It is this failure to connect the two halves of the country that we now find ourselves in the embarrassing situation of being ill-informed of what brought these halves together as a nation and who these people are who share the same nationality as us.
It’s not just our education system that has failed. There are other institutions that should have played their part but didn’t.
While it took a peninsular leader to create this entity called Malaysia, it is those in Sabah and Sarawak who seemed to have embraced it more whole-heartedly.
They are the Malaysians who are more colour blind and united, as observed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak himself. They are the ones who more comfortably adopted Malay as their lingua franca and intermarried more easily and with greater acceptance.
More than ever, we need to confront the truth why Peninsular Malaysians are “less Malaysian” than those in Sabah and Sarawak. Then only can we accept that something needs to be done; that we must bring the two halves of the nation closer together and learn the best practices from each other.
And we can do it because we do have common values and interests. It’s called 1Malaysia and if we can put aside our knee-jerk cynicism towards such a notion and really work towards it, it can become a reality.
We know clever and sincerely wrought humour, even if built on stereotypes, can be accepted and enjoyed wholeheartedly. We have Lat to prove that. So why haven’t we been able to build on Lat and have something that we share proudly? It’s not that we haven’t done it before – produced shows that Malaysians wanted to watch. We had those much-loved P. Ramlee movies, Bakat TV (this talent competition was the hottest thing on TV circa 1972) and Empat Sekawan.
If we look hard enough, we can find great stories to tell. For one, there is the fictional pirate created by Italian writer Emilio Sagari in 1883 called Santokan, the Tiger of Malaya, who was the nemesis of White Rajah James Brooke of Sarawak. Wouldn’t that make an exciting series if done right?
Remember that excellent Maybank advertisement about the Iban girl making her way in the world without forgetting her roots? Could that have been expanded into a powerful and riveting drama that would get Malaysians cheering for one of their own?
Here’s another idea: Next year marks the 500th year of the fall of the Malacca sultanate in 1511. That is one date we all learnt in school. Can you just imagine a gripping TV series based on the events leading to that year of infamy? History can be useful if we know how to wield it.
Malaysia's Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has promised a greater push towards ending the social and economic disparities between peninsular Malaysia and Sabah and Sarawak, and for greater opportunities for people of all races.
In his speech at the first Malaysia Day national-level celebrations at Padang Merdeka in Kota Kinabalu, Najib said he wanted these dreams fulfilled within the next few years.
He said these could be achieved without disrupting the existing social contract.
“My aim is to see Sabah and Sarawak to be fully on par with peninsular Malaysia. God willing, within the next few years, this will become a reality.
“The Government is giving priority assistance to those still very much in need of help because we realise that not all segments of society are at the same level now in terms of economic and social standing. This is due largely to the geographical divide,” he told 10,000 people who gathered for the historic occasion.
Najib said Sept 16 was an excellent occasion to put in place a greater vision to develop the whole country, adding that the people in Sabah and Sarawak had chosen rightly and wisely to form Malaysia, and vowed not to let extremism and fanaticism derail his plans.
Najib said the people must remember that Malaysia’s formation was fraught with challenges, adding that there had been past attempts by neighbouring countries to stop it.
In PETALING JAYA, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin urged Malaysians not take the country’s harmony and unity for granted but work towards preserving peace.
“I hope the Malaysia Day celebration will speed up the social and psychological integration between Malaysians of all races despite our geographical locations,” he said in his Malaysia Day message.
Happy Malaysia Day!
Checkout 1Malaysia website at http://www.1malaysia.com.my/ for Najib’s latest poll and blog posts.
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong taking the salute at the march past at Merdeka Stadium on Sept 16, 1963. The KL proclamation of Malaysia was held in the evening under floodlights to enable the dignitaries from Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore to attend the celebrations.
Celebrations at Padang Merdeka yesterday.
*Sources and pictures taken from The Star Online.
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