Merdeka. What does it mean? It’s a day on our calendar that tells me that many Malaysians will get together to have a parade, some will stay home, planting the national flag outside, watch some live telecast, cause it’s a public holiday. Some will consume more as there would be Merdeka sales, some will spend more for Merdeka dinners and Merdeka parties in bars. Some might just post lots of related post on Facebook, just to be part of todays themed celebration.

So what is Merdeka actually? Let’s see what Wikipedia says, “Merdeka is a word in the Indonesian and Malay language meaning independent or free. It is derived from Sanskrit, Maharddhika meaning “rich, prosperous and powerful”. In the Malay archipelago, this term had acquired the meaning of a freed slave.”

Growing Up Merdeka

I was born in 1976, so that’s many years after the day Malaysia stamped itself as independent from a British colony. When I was a child, I fairly understood it from school and what I saw in the newspapers, not much from my parents or my grandparents, as they were busy working to earn an income.

They were too engaged with surviving, caring for their kids or they never really create a connection for me with our independence day. One thing I remember is my days in school where we got together to rehearse for the freedom march, or growing up celebrating with friends on the streets as we saw thousands getting together at the main city square all dressed up in official attires.

It was a day to go out, join others and have fun! Of course wishing Happy Merdeka Day to all we met, waving the Malaysian flag, as that’s what everyone else was doing, so I just followed my parents. It was like a street party, with many echoing the word… Merdeka!

Our early adult working years in the big city, we got together to celebrate it in a different fashion, which included alcohol, lots of food, friends and music! Parties that came with hangovers as a morning gift, I’m sure many of us remember those days too.

So I guess it was a way of celebrating, our own Independence too. My freedom together with others, to be able to support myself and spending my own money. I didn’t feel that I personally fought a war to be ‘Merdeka’, I didn’t feel it’s really a day to celebrate being patriotic. I didn’t have any kind of connection with what happened in 1957, before or after, and school wasn’t the best place to truly learn about this history.

The only thing I felt was that we get a holiday and it’s a day like any other public holiday. (New year, Christmas, Hari Raya or any national holiday.. since we have so many), routine yearly celebrations, which we forget the next day and went on with our daily working lives.

The Young Indian Guy

As a young Indian guy growing up in Malaysia, I felt to be free it means to be equal in all race, cultures, societies and status, right? So everyone no matter where they came from, what race you are or what status in life you are in, needs to be treated fairly, since we are all born on this free land, a land that has it’s independence achieved.

The poor or the rich, the young or the old, we are all equal here, living our lives and being part of a society. Somehow being a Malaysian for over 35 years now, I never saw that happening, especially with those who are managing the country, the education system, the banking system, our politics, our media.. etc, why is there no independence on that? If we are all ‘free’ than why still with the same discrimination, like the ‘Bumiputera’ identity stamp?

Let’s ask Wikipedia again – Bumiputera or Bumiputra, which is a Malay word, also comes from the Sanskrit word Bhumiputra which may be transliterated as “son of earth” or “son of the soil” (bhumi = earth; putra = son).

This Malay only right, to be Bumiputra, comes with so many discriminations against those non Malays born here, like political conditioning, religious bias, property prices, land rights, education rights, income disparity, life status and much more.

For example, homes for Bumiputera’s are cheaper, government business loans go to majority Bumiputera first, public universities seats are offered to Bumi’s first, most land in Malaysia are Malay reserved. Just to name a few of the ‘easy benefits’, which today has effected progress in the Malay communities itself.

I have many amazing Malay friends, who today are also feeling this pinch, by gaining this easy benefits, they are left out on the social and mental growth as an individual, they don’t experience life as an achievement of self when everything is given away on a superficial platter of easy benefits.

Son Of Earth

So I’m not ‘son of earth’ enough for Malaysia, at times I joke with them? How am I really then free? I remember my birth cert saying I was born in Ipoh, Perak (I think thats a ‘soil’ in Malaysia.. right?). But in the other hand I made it my own freedom, a day I would do something different. Today I celebrated with friends out on the streets, photographing amazing scenes of other Malaysians and celebrate together with them. I live the day through their stories.

So, I don’t think Merdeka is a day celebration of Independence of the whole nation as one, to many it’s not about 1957 anymore. Many who were born years after, don’t have any experience or a personal connection towards Merdeka or why they celebrate it.

Today it should be about our own freedom, our own Independence, it should be about celebrating and sharing your freedom with those unfortunate that we forgotten or celebrating your ‘Merdeka’ to show you are truly free from the ‘bubble’ of society and the failed system.

“Independence’ is no longer about governments, corporations, politics or past history, it’s about our cultures, our values and being in a balance and fair society. That’s what humanity and social awareness is born out from.

Without a growing healthy community, humanity and ‘Merdeka’ there is no true meaning then. It’s also about the poor, the tribal children living in poverty and the families living with no basic needs. Are they ‘free’ today? Ask yourself.. if not, then what are we truly celebrating? How can we truly be free when so many are still living in poverty or not given equal rights? It’s 2014 friends… not 1957 anymore.

We fought a political war to gain the countries freedom from the British, then we start discriminating our own people, by race, religious politics and ethnicity. So how are we free again?

Rather than celebrating this one day commercial celebration, why not we do something for another in need every other day. City folks can get together on this day, spending thousands of ringgits celebrating on streets (mostly stay home, like me), burning fireworks, going to dinners, buying new outfits for parties today, spending on alcohol, but do we think about those living in poverty around Malaysia?

Tribal Independence Day

Your other ‘Merdeka’ family who has been left out. How are they celebrating their Merdeka today? It’s been 57 years since we been celebrating it, but till today there are still those tribes who are living below the standard of human rights, with no electricity, no education, no clean water and no proper shelters. Like our Temiar and Jakun tribes (orang asli), when will their Independence happen?

Be free by being human to each other, be free for standing up for your right to be here, celebrate freedom by doing what you love and are passionate about, by making a choice to change yourself and our community.

Be truly ‘Merdeka. Be present. Let’s not be sheep, like our politicians. They had 57 years to make things right, nothing good came out from it. Nothing truly changed. Today, we have ‘cold wars’, human rights discriminations, poor education and social conditioning.

Do what you feel is right, find your own purpose, your passion to make society better, then you truly find your own freedom. It’s not about the past anymore, it’s about today and tomorrow.

So ask yourself again, what are you actually celebrating.. what is Merdeka to you?

Happy 57th ‘Merdeka’ Malaysians!