Meaning of Merdeka

By admin-s Last updated Sep 1, 2016

Pakatan cannot change things because they will not make the rules transparent and accountable. Where the process of obtaining a passport or a driver’s license is clearly listed out online and completed by following all the instructions, the rules governing development projects are entirely opaque. And development projects are where the money is – millions and billions of it.

Mak Khuin Weng

Merdeka is much older than I am. I’m 40-years old whereas the country I live in celebrates its 59th year of freedom from colonial rule.

I understand the basic concept of it. Merdeka represents the freedom of Malaysians to decide and chart the course of this wonderful and beautiful nation independent of a foreign country’s influence.

But can Malaysians really dictate their own future on an individual capacity?

I can say for certain many could not during Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed’s reign as Prime Minister. My formative years were mostly under Dr Mahathir Mohamed. He was omnipresent in everything Malaysians did in the 1980s and 90s.

When I started working as a journalist in 1996, I was made to understand one rule. “You must never give bullets to the opposition to shoot our own people.”

That was how it was, and perhaps still is, to a certain extent. The fear of Barisan Nasional was real even if it was unspoken. I penned the following thoughts in Dec 2007:

“What is the truth? The truth is that regardless of how many issues I bring up, how many wrongs I show the people, we simply do not address the root cause of the problem. Each issue that crops up points towards the failing of the system. Somewhere along the lines where rules and regulations have been put in place to ensure this country runs smoothly, there is a flaw (or many flaws as it may be).

“With each abuse, people invariably ask why no one seeks to correct the policies or systems that allowed such abuses to occur in the first place. Is enforcement so pathetic that we cannot prevent wrongdoing from occurring?

“We know the answer intimately, even though we keep silent. The newspaper I work for continues to ‘champion’ the rights of the people, but deep down, it simply condones what is inherently wrong. How can I blame them? They are entrenched in a system of fear for their livelihoods. When the print media license is renewable every year, when there are sedition laws to punish you…”

I wrote that after I sent in my resignation letter and decided to help a DAP candidate run for office. Datuk Wong Chun Wai even gave me a pep-talk after receiving my resignation letter.

“I’ve been there,” said Datuk Wong. “You may think you can change things, but history has shown that nothing really changes.”

I said nothing much, except that I had to try.

I’ve tried. From 2008 to 2012, I was a councillor in MBPJ and I have come to the conclusion that Pakatan Rakyat was no different and incapable of change.

The hardworking and honest government officers – yes, they exist – were the ones who told me, “Mr Mak. Kalau kita tutup mata dan dengar mereka cakap, kita tak akan dapat bezakan sama ada mereka ni dari PR atau BN.”

In Selangor, highway projects that cost billions of ringgit and with 65-year concession agreements to collect toll charges are coming up with the express permission of the Selangor government. The government has in fact issued land acquisition orders and de-gazetted forest reserves without going through proper procedure.

The residents who oppose the highway projects have repeatedly said that the Selangor government was not following the rules and laws, but no lawmaker has bothered to clarify whether the rules and laws mentioned were in fact being violated.

Instead, everything is BN’s fault and Pakatan is blameless and powerless to act. People seem to forget that when it was politically expedient to do so, the Selangor Menteri Besar can cancel projects deemed unpopular. Case in point: the Kidex highway and the Batu Caves Dolomite Condominium project.

With all this arbitrary application of rules depending on the whims and fancies of our politicians that leads to the same oppressive feeling that was once the hallmark of Mahathir’s BN government, I had to take a step back and consider what Merdeka really means in the larger context for the people.

Is Merdeka, a symbol of our struggle for independence and the right to determine our own future, a lie? Are we destined to suffer oppression regardless of who actually rule over us?

Merdeka is the annual celebration and reminder that our forefathers united and fought to right the wrongs, to give the future generations of Malaysians a symbol of hope that impossible fights are not actually impossible but take time to nurture and develop.

It is something that cannot be taken for granted and the struggle isn’t just a matter of casting a vote. It requires constant vigil, because everyone given the mandate to rule are susceptible to corruption.

Happy Merdeka, my fellow Malaysians.