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CEBISAN MEMORI

By Eugene Chua K.H.
August 31, 2008

Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!
Merdeka! This resounding proclamation of joy rang out
over the Merdeka stadium fifty one years ago, representing
freedom and hope to all the people of Malaya, and subse-
quently Malaysia. What does this word mean today, after
so many years? I think that Merdeka means that we get to
call ourselves, Malaysians, a people with a nation of our
own. Those of my generation are said to be unmindful of
history, unappreciative of the sacrifices made, the strug-
gles faced and overcome, in order to enjoy the freedoms of
a democratic country and the economic comforts that the
first people during that first Merdeka did not enjoy, nor
could they have imagined. Yes, Merdeka!

But what is Merdeka, when a young man and his friends,
out for supper at a local stall, receive no service at all, and
instead get hostile looks from the other patrons? What is
Merdeka for a young boy who gets singled out and called
all manner of terrible names by his teacher in front of his
fellow young impressionable students, all because his skin
colour is darker? What happens to Merdeka, when a stu-
dent leader from one of our leading universities sends out a
memo, vetted by the university’s student affairs depart-
ment, telling one group of students that they should be
prepared to stand against other students and fellow Malay-
sians?

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