Merdeka

Today, is my nation's independence day. having spent almost my entire life in a foreign land, i never get to really absorb the independence spirit in my own homeland.

This year, though, is a teeny bit different. Last night at midnight there were fireworks to celebrate independence day. The fireworks aren't spectacular at all, quite common, they even lose to the fireworks my neighbours put up during CNY!!! But the atmosphere was lively. hundreds of ppl standing streetside, waiting near their cars, under trees, in coffeeshops, in their vehicles, just everwhere, all stood or sat there waiting for the fireworks to start.

And when the fireworks stopped, there was a huge traffic jam as everyone started their cars or motors and prepare to leave. Even there are a lot of ppl on bicycles, carrying the flag of our nation, speeding us buy. That's when all the vulgarities began.


'Aahhh!! STUPIID!!!!' people shouted everywhere. Angry curses are flown everywhere as cars tried to reverse and go out. another person screaming stupid again as a motor nearly collided with a bike. chaos is everwhere. I was in the care thinking, 'is this really the true independence spirit we all are supposed to have during this time of national celebaration? is shouting angrily at other people seem like how independence day is portrayed on tv and newspapers? have we lost our patience, understanding and forgiveness in these hard times? where exactly is the unity spirit?'




Then came a soft voice saying, 'Merdeka.'



I turned around to see who said that. A car that was crawling past us had a few guys in it. The driver, seeing me turning to look in his direction, repeated 'Merdeka' again, and smiled to me. I smiled back acknowledging him while his friends at the back looked at me. We eventually passed each other, but i can still hear him saying 'Merdeka' to the car behind us as he drove on.


Soon...some cyclist and people on motor greeted each other with the word 'Merdeka' again. I caught some more angry retorts from some other people, but still the word 'Merdeka' warms the heart more than anything. A simple greeting, a greeting which unites the nation, a greeting that will be returned with the same acknowledgement, is the only important thing at that moment. Despite the bad moods of most of the people stuck in traffic, there are still some who revel in the Merdeka spirit...perhaps caused by the fireworks, or the simple fact that our nation is celebrating its b'day again. Perhaps, after all, not all is lost, and i went home with a smile, extremely proud of my country, and extremely proud of being its child.



Happy Independence Day to my fellow rakyat. Merdeka.