Merdeka ! Merdeka ! Merdeka !Dear Jade,
On 31st August our nation, Malaysia, will be celebrating her 50th Birthday, two months after your first birthday, Jade , making 2007 a very eventful year for the nation as well as for the family. The victory cheer “Merdeka ! Merdeka ! Merdeka” of our beloved Bapa Malaysia has been ringing and will forever be ringing in our ears ! Yes , our nation is now 50 years old. In her infancy she was called Malaya but as she grew bigger she came to be called Malaysia., a name she has held so dearly to this day . She has stood the test of time. She has endured all those trying years for many centuries.
Her biography has been one of rich legacy tracing back to the era before the Malacca Sultanate , to the time of the Portuguese , the Dutch, the British, the Japanese and finally at the stroke of 12 midnight on 31st we heralded in a new young and vibrant nation then. At that time Kong Kong was 14 years old and your Ah Ma was just about 9 years old. I remember that time very clearly. I was just a young student in Penang Free School then. There was a special assembly in the hall and we witnessed the lowering of the Union Jack ( British flag ) for the last time and the hoisting of our Malaysian flag . Every one of us was given small sheet of paper with words of our national anthem and we sang it out with joy and pride for the first time. Our Principal then was Mr. JF Todd, a Briton.
In the frame of 50 years of independence , our newborn nation has braved some troubled times, from within and without. There were protests from Indonesia and Philippines to the merger of Sabah, Sarawak , Brunei and Singapore with Malaya and the eventual separation of Singapore from the federation ; the lingering threat of communist influence and the riots of 1969 to name just a few. Yet through it all, Mother Malaysia has weathered them well and though a little battered and bruised her filial children continued to remain loyal and lived side by side in sometimes hard-fraught peace and harmony. This is the spirit of Malaysians with the motto “Keranamu Malaysia “ – because we love you Malaysia and it’s for you Malaysia !
I can still remember the period of the lingering threat of communist insurgence of Malaysia . Travelling around Malaya then was a problem and very inconvenient. Many towns and villages were declared black areas and declaration of curfews in such areas were rift. We were stopped for security checks at almost every town we passed .This was to check food from being smuggled into the communist hideouts. Night travels were out as many places were under curfew after 7pm. Then came the riots of May 13th 1969 spurred by some irresponsible people. Racial riots sparked out in Kuala Lumpur, Penang and some isolated places bringing about a deep scar to Mother Malaysia.
Kong Kong was at that time staying in Ipoh, in 38 Jalan Kuching, with some bachelor - friends. I can still remember vividly the morning of 13th May when my roommate and I were getting ready to go to our school in Chemor ( Sekolah Aminuddin Baki) . We opened the gate of our house only to be told by our neighbours that Ipoh then was under curfew and everyone was told to remain indoors. We were shocked by the news as we didn’t expect anything to happen then. Nevertheless we stayed indoors together with our housemates. There was nothing to do. We were bored and spent our time
playing mahjong to keep ourselves occupied and our mind at ease. Your Ah Ma told me that she was in General Hospital, Kuala Lumpur then. They were quarantined and had to attend to the injured. It was a nightmare to them and they were scared stiff seeing the aggravating number of casualties as they were wheeled in.
After the nightmare of May13th our nation was badly battered and bruised. Distrust, racial prejudice and the likes of it were the order of the day. It took some time for the wound to heal. Slowly but surely our steward kept the faith and heart of the nation steady and steered the nation back to recovery. It was then that the word “Muhibbah” was coined to bring the people closer, to rid whatever ill feelings the various racial groups might have of one another. Many steps were taken to change the mindset of the people and among them was the organization of communal gatherings. As teachers we were given the task of joining force with the many rural kampongs ( villages ) communities to hold communal get-togethers like dinner cum stage performances. It was then that Kong Kong was the teacher –advisor of the Leo Club of Sekolah Aminuddin Baki . Together with another lady teacher we travelled far and wide among the kampungs or villages like around Chemor to re-sow the seeds of muhibbah among the races. It was a rich experience for us. We had to create our own dances ( an assortment of Malay, Chinese and Indian cultures ).
It was then that my past experiences ( 1963-64 ) in Brinsford Lodge came in handy. Brinsford was very much like a mini-Malaya then. Brinsford community was so much like Malaya . We were a happy group. We lived as Malayans without creed or discrimination. When it came to communal festivals we not only celebrated together but everyone chipped in to prepare for the big day. All communities put their heads and hands together in the decorations, the preparation of food for that special dinners on the eve of every festival, the concerts and the floor shows of cultural dances . It’s indeed heart-rendering to hear students of various races blending their voices together to sing Chinese, Indian or Malay classical songs together, and acting in legendary plays to herald in each other’s new year, be it Hari Raya , Chinese New Year, Deepavali or Christmas . That’s the spirit of Brinsford that made “Malaya Boleh ! “
Jade, this year is really an auspicious year for you as well as for Malaysia. It’s your first milestone and the 50th for the nation. Together you and the nation will grow, will develop, will progress , will prosper and in another 50 years time and more you will join the nation again to fly high and proud the jalur gemilang and shout out “MERDEKA ! MERDEKA ! MERDEKA !
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