By Ding Jo-Ann
THERE has been an surprising volume of bickering over the Merdeka celebrations this year. There have been open disagreements over the Merdekatheme,songandlogo, as good as over thecelebrationsthat have been held, as good as who should beinvited.
There were the sovereign government-organised Merdeka celebrations atBukit Jaliland the countdown atKuala Lumpur City Centre, as good as the Pakatan Rakyat state supervision celebrations. There was alsoJanji Demokrasi, organized by civil society, during Dataran Merdeka. Individuals, together with ateenager, have even been arrested,handcuffedandexpelledfrom school over their behaviour during the non-government Merdeka celebrations.
The Nut Graphspeaks to domestic scientistWong Chin Huaton the different celebrations of Merdeka as good as tries to pin down because this year's jubilee is some-more contested than in alternative years.
( KELANTAN JOTTINGS @ Flickr)
TNG:Why the tussle over Merdeka this year? Has it been this way before? What's different this time round?
This is not the initial time the central jubilee of Merdeka and/or Malaysia Day has been contested. In 2008, the little bloggers posted the inhabitant dwindle upside down to expostulate home the summary of "nation in distress". In 2009, after the Perak coup, Teoh Beng Hock's death as good as the cow-head protest, the little adults called for the blackMerdekacelebration. In 2010, upon the night before to of Malaysia Day, instead of carrying the loud countdown, endangered adults organized "47 minutes of silence", the jubilee to usher in Malaysia's 48th year as the nation as good as reflect upon whatMalaysiawas meant to be the guarantee offraternity by freedom.
These were, however, often small-scale gatherings as good as expressions. What makes this year's state-citizen contestation some-more pronounced than before to is the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition's desperate move to push the electoral debate in to the Merdeka jubilee by regulating "Janji Ditepati" the self-praise slogan. Many Malaysians can no longer stomach such self-serving behaviour generally after their "baptism of fire" in theBersih 2.0and3.0rallies. This is something the BN supervision cannot or refuses to acknowledge.
The actuality which Merdeka as good as Malaysia Day have been no longer usually central rituals speaks volumes of the rise of citizens. They want to reclaim the country. They have been not confident to be pushed around by politicians, bureaucrats as good as the police after profitable taxes. They have been putting their feet down as good as telling the state: "Hey, look. Who's the boss here?"
Prime Minister Datuk SeriNajib Razakreportedly described the rounded off 100,000-strong crowd during the government-organised Bukit Jalil jubilee as the "majority who have been nation-loving citizens". Are those who snubbed the supervision celebrations then nation-hating citizens?
Thomas Paine (Wiki commons)
It appears which "Najib the Moderate" has not readThomas Paine, who said: "The duty of the loyalist is to strengthen his nation from the government." OrMark Twain, who said: "Patriotism is ancillary your nation all the time as good as your supervision when it deserves it."
The exam of democracy is about living with people you don't like. State officia! ls who c annot see themselves as serving the finish nation should return the portion of their salaries which come from those who oppose or have been critical of them. That would simply be the honest thing to do.
For me, which jubilee people join, either with inhabitant laureatePak Samad(A Samad Said) or with Najib as good as Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, speaks not of nationalism though preference. Personally, we am really blissful which all my friends have the welfare they have as good as were not captivated by the food or the fanfare in Bukit Jalil.
What do you have of the hostileresponsesto the drifting of the dwindle now identified as theSang Saka Malaya?
Many of the BN's critics, generally left-leaning ones, subject Malaysia's dwindle as good as inhabitant anthem as good as consider them copycat products.Negaraku's tune is pronounced to have originated fromTerang Bulan, the Malay-Indonesian love strain which possibly developed fromLa Rosalie,a renouned French song. The Malaysian flag, now branded Jalur Gemilang, is also belittled by the little for being identical to which of the American flag. Hence, in these critic's eyes, it has the whiff of colonialism about it.
(Flags source: Wiki commons)
The criticisms as good as gibe surrounding the anthem as good as the dwindle vigilance the rejection of the Umno-centric discourse of inhabitant history. Through the heavily narrow! -minded as good as distorted story curriculum in inhabitant education, Umno tries to save Malaysians to believe which Umno was the sole founder of the nation state, as good as hence the healthy statute party. Not usually have been the Borneo as good as non-Malay tools of the inhabitant psyche heavily suppressed, so, too, have been tools of Malay nationalism.
Umno is portrayed as the autonomy struggle's dwindle bearer. But the party was, in fact, the party tranquil by Anglophile aristocrats as good as bureaucrats collaborating with the British to suppress the some-more proletariat, pro-Indonesia Malay radicals.
(Source: 10tahun.blogspot.com)
The raising of the mutated Sang Saka Malaya dwindle should be seen in the same context as Fahmi Reza's documentary10 Tahun Sebelum Merdeka. These have been initiatives as good as attempts to discuss it us the alternative sides or perspectives of the inhabitant history. You need not agree with them, though you contingency apply oneself their right to express these perspectives as counter-mainstream as they may be.
The Sang Saka Malaya recalls the onslaught of Malay leaders for autonomy by Melayu Raya, which was the mixing of Malaya with Indonesia. I, for one, am beholden which "Project Malaysia" survived the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation. In hindsight, we am blissful which the leftists' ambition for Malaya to turn partial of Indonesia failed. For when Sukarno lost power to Suharto in 1965, the little 1.3 million suspected communists as good as sympathisers were killed in thepost-Sukarnoperiod.
Malaysia from October 1965 to May 1998 was the freer as good as better place than Indonesia under Suharto's New Order. Hence, for me, it is of no larger value for the dwindle t! o resemb le the red-white Indonesian dwindle than the striped American one.
Additionally, we would intent to any offer to shift the inhabitant anthem as good as inhabitant flag, for they paint continuity. This clarity of smoothness is extremely critical to supporters of the BN system of administration during this juncture in time. They contingency be assured which the nation stays the same even if the supervision is altered as good as which they won't turn second-class citizens. A finish mangle with the past does not prophesy good for the future.
we would, however, not support any authorised action opposite the offer or promotion of the new dwindle or anthem. For me, the Malaysian dwindle as good as anthem paint freedom, the really as good as usually reason because you applaud or should applaud independence. To "protect" the inhabitant dwindle as good as anthem by curbing freedom is essentially an insult to these symbols, as good as the negation of the independence.
Wong Chin Huatis the domestic scientist by precision as good as was the journalism techer before to fasten thePenang Institute, the Penang supervision consider tank. If readers have questions as good as issues they would similar to Wong to respond to, they have been welcome to e-maileditor@thenutgraph.comfor the consideration.
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