Being an Anak Malaysia means more than simply being born or raised in Malaysia. To me, it means developing a sense of belonging to this country and caring about the people who call it home. Malaysia, as we know, is a federation of former British territories, including Malaya, Sabah, and Sarawak. Malaya, along with the Malay states, gained independence first on 31st August 1957 [National Archives of Malaysia], followed by Sarawak self-government day [The National Archive,1963] on 22nd July 1963 and Sabah self-government day [The National Archive,1963] on 31st August 1963. Then, on 9th July 1963, the Malaysia Agreement was signed [Malaysia Act 1963], and on 16th September 1963, Malaysia was officially established. Hence, called Malaysia Day.
Ever since I was a young boy, I have always had a great respect for the nation and would do anything for it. My parents were never eager about Independence Day or Malaysia Day. Perhaps to them it's just another national holiday, but every year I would be super excited about it. I remembered how my friends and I would be waving the Jalur Gemilang energetically to patriotic songs played at the school hall. I even joined multiple contests and activities organised during the month, such as patriotic song choirs, writing contests, and fashion shows. I was even one of the committee members organising the UMPSA PAYA BESAR Merdeka Night Run: One Step, One Nation! 2025 last year, which was a very wonderful experience.
But as I grew up, I realised that not everyone shares the same vision as I did. Loving Malaysia isn't always as simple as waving a flag. Many Malaysian individuals nowadays become deeply attached to political parties and ideologies, without realising how their actions are slowly eroding our Malaysian harmony. Some of them even created slanderous posts and comments just to bring down the other side. There's nothing wrong with political parties, but political tribalism is when people put total loyalty to their political group above facts, rules, or personal values, which results in anger over disagreement and losing people's trust. Malaysians can support different political parties and still recognise one another as fellow citizens. In fact, it is a symbol of our democracy and leadership stability. But it should not be a medium for Malaysians to argue with each other. We should be working together to succeed instead of having a “us vs them” mentality.
Moreover, I understand that not everyone is tolerant of racial diversity, especially among the older generation, but it shouldn't make us become racist and divided. I grew up living in Ipoh, which is known for its huge Chinese population. I myself never enrolled in any SJKC school, but I did grow up with Malays, Chinese, indians and Orang Asli friends, teachers, and neighbours, which also affects how I see the world. Furthermore, among the goals of Rukun Negara are to build a united society (Mencapai perpaduan yang lebih erat dalam kalangan seluruh masyarakat) and to keep a liberal approach to diverse cultures (Membentuk sikap liberal terhadap tradisi kebudayaan yang pelbagai). Our government can't succeed in reducing the economic gap and ensuring racial harmony among its citizens unless we work together in unity. Don't you feel embarrassed by other nations that are more diverse than us but more accepting of religion, beliefs, races, and gender diversity? We keep spouting about Perpaduan Kaum and Kesopanan dan Kesusilaan but never really reflect on ourselves. It shouldn't merely be a slogan.
Therefore, I implore every Malaysian out there to go outside and talk to your neighbours. Celebrate together. Learn about each other's cultures. Disagree without hatred. Being an Anak Malaysia means caring about the country, but also caring about the people who live in it. Together we can break this toxic chain.
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Asyraf Zaim (asyrafz368@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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