Setia - 21 years on

Picture by Choo Choy May

The man who was responsible for that famous (infamous?) patriotic song of our Form 5 year, Tok Rahmat, recently wrote a memoir of his times as Information Minister. You can read the write ups here and here.

Now ailing with cancer, Tok Mat did not hold anything back in his book, and he revealed that the song was actually an UMNO propaganda song to counter the split in the party during Tengku Razaleigh's challenge to Mahathir in the late 80's.

Still, I have fond memories of the song. Stephen Chung and I used to love to sing it, it was emotionally stirring to be reminded that we have this "Negara yang Tercinta" to serve. At the age of 17 and looking forward to go out into the world, it was really heady stuff then.

Now, with most of us reaching middle age, it is easy to be cynical about the song's lyrics. But I prefer to believe that most of us do find it within us to believe in them. Actually, how we felt did not really change. What changed was some people destroying our perceptions about our place in this country. And that realization hurts every time I relive the song.

Malaysia Day Holiday

Finally, it was announced that 16th of Sep will be a public holiday to commenmerate the formation of Malaysia. Yahoo !

Do we really care about the formation of Malaysia ? Do we really care about unity seriously ?

If yes, what are we going to do during this holiday of Malaysia Day ?

Do we need a holiday to show unity ? to remember the formation ? Isn't it all in the mind ?

I tend to agree with Tun Dr. M about too many public holidays we have in Malaysia and do we need another one since we have 31 August for the Merdeka Celebration. How much does the nation lose in productivity for a day of holiday ? Does anyone know ?

Well, with the good intention to share with the young ones....those who were born after 1963 the meaning of this freedom, independence and formation of Malaysia, I believe it is worthwhile, as a start to drill this respect into the minds of the young ones and to remember how the elders had sacrifice their life for the freedom for us.

I hope every one could use this extra holiday to spend meaningful time to share with family members and friends on the formation of Malaysia and how important to keep the fire of unity and patriotism alive...beside celebrating Ardy's birthday ! Also to recover the lost times, everyone must work smarter and harder to provide real productivity to Malaysia, our beloved country. The progressive and dynamic country does not only lies in the hands of the few leaders or politicians...but at the very centre of rakyat's commitment to uphold justice, truth, unity and progress.

How about holiday for Deevapali in Sarawak ?