De-fabrication hypothesis

My thoughts this merdeka: We no longer know what it means. And that is the cause of the de-fabrication of racial unity.

We keep hearing the point emphasized over and over again that we must appreciate our independence, and what it means to us. But I guess for third generation Malaysians, it is very hard to see it any more than a lot of pomp, or a holiday. Why is that?

Simple. Because we were not there. And we can't go back and try to appreciate merdeka experientially. Even if we camped overnight in school and ate ubi kayu ala Japanese occupation. Because first of all, our ubi kayu tasted good. Secondly, we had barbeque chicken, catfish, and lamb to go with it. And thirdly, we weren't around during 1941-1945.

Third generation Malaysians wake up, and get a social contract from their forefather's time forced down their throats. That doesn't help in their appreciation of merdeka either.

It is a fact we have to face. We weren't around during the British occupation. We weren't around during the Japanese occupation. We weren't around when the British regained occupation. And there is just so much we can appreciate something of the past without going through it experientially.

Anyway, let me digress...

Did anyone ever wonder how Tunku Abdul Rahman managed to negotiate our way to independence? Don't you think that is something monumentally difficult to do, that borders on impossibility? What did he actually say? What did he actually do? If you were a Brit, why would you want to leave Malaya permanently, in a win-lose situation?

My colleague commented that Tunku Abdul Rahman bought a fruit as a gift for the British at the negotiating table. And consuming the fruit affected their judgment.

???

Sometimes you can never tell if my male colleagues are serious. Cos they can really talk nonsense with a straight face.

Now, back to my point. We can't fully appreciate something, or be good at something, before going through it experientially. Think about the value of working experience. Think about your conversion experience. Do you think you'd be equally as appreciative, if you have not seen the before and after?

Our forefathers who had lived through the pre-independence era seemed to be able to get along better with other races. I put it to you that it is because they understood and accepted the social contract back then. Third generation Malaysians see the fabric of racial unity falling apart. Because we no longer see how that same social contract applies to us when we have not been there to be part of it.

Abdullah Badawi mentioned some time ago that the social contract will be reviewed. I think it's a good effort to be reviewed. But I doubt it will be amended.

To see why we possibly won't want it to be amended, we have to put ourselves in a Bumiputera's shoes. We will look to Australia. Do we want the same fate that has happened to the aborigines to fall on us too? We will look to South Africa. Do we want people from a different color skin to become the dominant race in our own land?

No, we don't. They can live in our land. But they cannot live off our land. When they first arrived, they were tin miners and rubber tappers. Since they stuck around until merdeka, we offered them a social contract. They were very happy with it anyway. So we keep it at that. And that is the way it should stay.

There isn't any logic to give absolute equality to people who came to our land just to work, isn't it? Would you want to give equal status to the Indonesian maid who lives in your house? If the maid gets married, has children, and her whole family continues working in your house, are you going to elevate her family's status?

It actually makes a lot of sense to maintain the social contract the way it is... If we were in their shoes.

On the other hand, we stand in our own shoes... Here's how I feel.

We always hear things like "Cina babi." Or "Cina balik China." Truth be told: If I am made to return to China, I will be grieved. Why would I want to return to China? I wasn't from China in the first place. How do I return to a place I didn't come from?

If Malaysia is taken away from us, we have nowhere to go.

So stop seeing us as immigrants from China. We are not from China. We are from Malaysia. We are Malaysians.

It is something hard for westerners to understand how you can be Chinese and not be from China, or how you can be Malaysian and not be Malay. Ask anyone who has gone for student exchange in foreign countries.

I am hoping that we, as Malaysians, can understand this better than westerners.

MERDEKA!! MERDEKA!!! MERDEK...

Eh, actually how many times did Tunku Abdul Rahman say merdeka ah? Until now I also dunno...