Malaya achieved its independence on 31 August 1957. Each year, the Independence Day or Hari Kermedekaan would be declared as a public holiday. We also celebrate Hari Malaysia which falls on 16 September each year as Sabah and Sarawak joined the Peninsular to form the Malaysia (on 16 September 1963) as we know today.
Above is the national flower of Malaysia which is the Hibiscus flower (bunga kebangsaaan Malaysia, bunga raya). It comes in various colors of red, pink and yellow.
I am really proud to be born and raised in Malaysia. When I was young, my family had thought about migrating and settling in another country. However I had objected to moving to another country, because I felt a sense of belonging. When we hang out with friends, we speak Manglish or bahasa pasar that consists of combination of Malay, Chinese, India dialects mixed with English. This is very unique to Malaysia (well, Singapore also have their Singlish which is equally amusing).
Of course, it does not mean that our professional spoken and written languages such as Malay, English and Mandarin are broken. We are able to speak and write properly but when hanging out with friends informally, we just choose to converse in the many local jargons than only another Malaysian could relate to.
As a Malaysian, I am grateful for the government to be able to provide me with an education. Because of a degree obtained from a public university in Malaysia, I was able to secure jobs in the private corporate sector. As during my time, in order to get a degree, one must either be able to enter a local university or at the minimum go for twinning program overseas. Our family could not afford the costs of private education.
I am also grateful that as a retired government servant, my mom and my dad’s medical expenses are fully taken care by the government (provided treatment is sought in government or semi government hospital). I would never have been able to afford their treatments on my own.
That is why no matter what is being said otherwise, I have only gratitude and I am proud to be a Malaysian 🙂
