Ahh...its good to be back home, finally! After weeks and weeks of running around all over Malaysia...island hoping, paddy-field roaming, up north, to the west coast...it was pretty obvious that the spirit and festivity of Merdeka Day is very much alive and kicking. For those of you who live under a coconut shell, Merdeka Day is exactly 24 hours time!Get those fireworks ready, pop the bottle open, fly the Jalur Gemilang proudly, and have a teh tarik and nasi lemak, for goodness' sake!
Personally...its been an interesting drive for me over the past week. I've seen many people from many states, seen their lives, their city, their homes, and tasted their food. This trip also gave me time to do lots of thinkin and soul-searching. And one of the most interesting questions I started asking myself was this...
What truly makes us Malaysians?
Is it the nasi lemak and teh tarik over-indulging? Our roti canai's and nasi kandar???
Our 'sinful' craving for late night mamak sessions every night? I'm talking about all year long...
Our passionate support for English football? Our countless amounts of fake jerseys... How we actually play is another story...
The fun of being a real 'banana'? Yellow on the outside but 'kwai lo' on the inside??
Or even being a coconut shell?? Brown on the outside but definitely white on the inside...
Our eating habits? We love to eat one meal a day...its called 'all day long'
As Malaysians, we can be proud of many great things our nation has achieved throughout its 50 years of Independance from the white fellas...As Klang-ites, we've got a few of our own personal records that worthy of mention...Throughout the years, Klang has been labelled many things...old town, jungle area, messy, noisy, gangster land (can challenge the Mafias), food haven, etc etc. Being a true Klang-boy, there are many things I love about Klang. Just to name a few records of our own, here's my top 10 list of Klang's greatest facts and attractions! Enjoy pals...
1) We have the longest parking lot in the world...The Federal Highway! Clap clap...(Klang ppl are the the main cause of it...) The jam basically starts from Klang all the way to KL.
2) The weirdest varieties of roti canai...
3) The biggest keris in the world....who needs it anyway?? If you're truly a Klang-ite, you probably would have NEVER visited the monument in your entire life!
4) The most notorious and infamous river thats worthy to be mentioned alongside other famous rivers such as the Mekong, Ganges, Thames...our very own Klang river! Steady laaaa...
5) A record number of crows...have you EVER seen this many before in one city??? You could probably take a shot in the air blindly, and you'll probably kill a few. Ever seen how this notorious wildlife use our clothe-hangers as part of their nest???
6) World-famous gangster groups...24 Top and 18 ar? or is it 18 Top and 24? Whatever laaa...just look around every school wall, and you'll see their signature mark.
7) We revere our pigs and take pride in boiling them in soup...producing one of the world's most unhealthy yet tasty dishes...
8) Our most famous war...the Perang Klang, between the Gee Hin and Hai San clans. Have not managed to find one Gee Hin fella so far. But I managed to find a couple of Hai San dudes...in church, some more!
9) We've got the most popular Little India in all of Malaysia! If you wanna see millions of Indians, here's the place to be. Who needs Mumbai?
10) We've also had the most famous Ocean supermarket...famous for all the wrong reasons though...:) Now closed down already. *sob*
50 years on...its time to ask ourselves, "What can I do for my nation?" Its times like these that our people need to pull ourselves together and get our act right. The greatest strength of this nation, in my opinion, lies in our differences. Where else can you find a nation in this world as unique as our own? Tell you the truth friends...we're blessed as a nation and we're definitely blessed to be in this land! So what do need to do? Firstly, start loving our nation. If we dont love our nation, how can we fully realize our purpose of being here and destiny that God has set for us? Always remember your beginnings...and never forget to thank God for this amazing land!
Secondly...love our people! Not only those of same epidermis colouration as us...but everyone! How can we ever start living as true Malaysians if we continue to allow skin colour and religion to continue to separate the people? Forget what other people say or do...it starts with us! Yes...you and me! We must understand that there is a purpose for everything and everyone. So start discovering your purpose and start living it!
Forgive me if you find this post quite random..cause it is! Many thoughts are running through my mind right now and I'm just typing it out as it comes...
Anyway, to celebrate this Merdeka, we'd like to wish our Senior Guide a very special congratulations, for being selected to serve his country! Well done, Ranger Shaun Lim! And just to prove that he's been one of the few thousand lucky ones, we've got the evidence for you!
Actually, this was the main purpose of this post...not sure how I ended up with the whole long article anyway...must be the Merdeka fever oozing its way in me!
Ok la...this has been one of the weirdest ever post for me. Hope you've had fun reading about it...and for all our ranger family members abroad, hang the Malysian flag proudly outside your window, and have a blast with the Negaraku on D-Day!
God bless!
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