502 words

I was asked by a friend to write an article (which if was good enough, would be published in the papers) on well, something to do with patriotism, but i think i sort of missed the deadline. So rather than let my 430am writings go to waste, I'll just deposit them here:

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Because Home Is Where the Heart Is

“Eh, why-lah don’t want to work in London? Makes sense what…better pay, better working environment, better expertise and support….”

To be honest, I wonder too at times. Reading our local papers, blogs, talking to various people, occasionally one feels the desire to run away from all the sadness and grief that always seems to steal the headlines; violent crimes, corruption, incompetence, politics, so on and so forth. Escapism, a friend once termed it.

But you see, the problem with running is that it never made the difference.

Three years overseas thought me a lot about patriotism. We are too quick to criticize, too quick to give up, too pessimistic to fight for ideals, too slow to put our hands to the plough when it really matters, too blinded to see that there are plenty of things worth fighting for.

Yet I can relate to the frustrations of others. Reality dictates that there are places out there which your average Malaysian will be better off living at. Fortunately, patriotism is not about moving out when things don’t go right and swearing your allegiance to whoever pays you the most. Patriotism, at least as I understand it, is acknowledging that there are fault lines which can’t be covered up. More importantly, it also means taking the responsibility to make the wrong things right. It’s about being the difference.

This is Malaysia. The land we call home. We are Malaysia. The people who feel sad when our badminton doubles lose out on the gold medal. The people who sit by the teh-tarik stall, eat nasi lemak, complain about reduced government petrol subsidies, buy illegal DVDs, all at the same time. The people who come together and celebrate Hari Raya, Chinese New Year, Deepavali, regardless of race. The people who complain loudly about the state of our national football team all the time, but deep down inside really want to see them do well. The good, bad and ugly.

No, we’re not perfect. Far from it. Which is all the more reason for us to stand up and be counted. We need to stop sitting by the sidelines waiting for someone else to do the work. We need to fight to preserve what is good and what is right. We need to lose that “tidak apa” attitude, because really, when you think about it, it does matter. Every little bit, every single person. There will always be people who seek to undermine, to steal, kill and destroy for their own gain; but if we run away, lose hope and despair, then we lose everything.

50 years of independence may have passed, but we have thousands of years of history ahead of us to be made. It’s time to lose the shades of Malay, Chinese, Indian or “dan lain-lain” and put our hands together. It’s time to be Malaysia.

So, why not work in London? It’s simple. Because home is where the heart is. Really, I never bluff you one.