Baby Steps

All of us are placed somewhere for a reason. How ? I rather not question. But why? Well, that's a journey.

Some 100 years ago, my late grandfather set foot on this mighty land, after a long journey from Afghanistan. He came here in order to perform the most basic task human MUST do, and that is to survive. I wonder if he had knowledge about the bond his grandaughter would form with this country.

The blood and might of an Afghan runs deep within my veins, but it's the heart of a Malaysian, that I truly take pride in. I never really get the term "bumiputera" (native). Despite the fact that my IC states I'm a Bumiputera due to the fact that I was born as a citizen and am a Muslim, I'm yet to appreciate the honour of being called one. Now don't get me wrong, I see that being a Bumiputera is somewhat rewarding and honourable, but it does not determine if I'd love my country more or less.

You see, I have this problem. I see everyone, as ONE. In my eyes, all of us live in this country are EQUAL. And in some beautiful ways, EQUALLY DIFFERENT. I mean, look at us. We all speak ONE common language despite having our own mother tongues, we all love ONE common category of foods despite being from cultures of different cuisines and we all have ONE common set of customs that we perform no matter where we are, no matter what our race is. But what's just amazing is, once upon a time, we all got together as ONE to fight for the most important date in history of Malaysia.

31st August 1957 - As ONE, we were FREE.

My grandfather, my Afghan grandfather was filled with gallons of water and placed under a plank of wood, STEPPED ON REPEATEDLY, TORTURED by the Japanese soldiers who visciously tried to steal this land away from us. But he fought on with honour, not allowing this country which was so new to him, slip from OUR HANDS.

He wasn't the only one. Thousands of others, Indian, Malay, Chinese, Asli were treated the same way. They didn't back down.

I don't put a blind eye to status and double standards, but I do look, at the bigger picture.

We're Malaysian and we all play a part in its past, present and future. In some sense, we're still under the "divide and rule" authority. But in many other senses, we religiously break through these boundaries and fight on for a better tomorrow for our people.

So for once, take a step back, and look at the bigger picture (but never turn a blind eye) . Be proud to be part of this miraculous race of people, be proud to be part of the RAKYAT.