50 years: a path of no return

When I was still in primary school in the 1960s, the teachers used to tell us to show our love of the country by singing songs such as Berjaya. So, singing these patriotic songs became a staple diet with us. We might have been too young to understand what they meant but we still sang with gusto. Boy, it demonstrated our love of the country.

Today, especially this month, I've been hearing a lot of this song again in, of all places, the shopping malls. Was there a directive to the malls that they must play these songs?

Listening to this song again brought a lump to my throat. Has it been so long ago? There I was, a child barely of age to apply for an identity card and here I am, old enough to see my children graduate from college.

But of course, it is different. I still love my country. I was born here and I'll continue living here. But I've also become skeptical with the developments around me. What used to be accepted without question, I now look at issues with a more critical eye. In my secondary school days, my friends and I accepted one another with scant disregard of race or religion. I could count as my jolly good friends classmates who were Malays, Indians and Sikhs. We joked a lot in class and outside class but we never took any slights into our hearts. We didn't have to remember to be more sensitive of what we eat and say to the people around us.

Yes, the country has certainly progressed. The country has prospered. Where before half the country was agricultural, today we have manufacturing and the service industry leading us forward. Quality of life has generally improved. There are new houses to buy, new cars to ogle at, new shopping malls to visit, new toys and gadgets for the young and not-so-young, new products to pamper the vane. Yet, amidst all the material instant gratification, the situation has also changed for worse in many aspects during the past 40-odd years. I put this squarely at the feet of our politicians. They have led this country down an irreversible path of no return. How can it be that we continue to turn a blind eye to the racial polarisation in this country? How can it be that we continue to turn a blind eye to the religious divide? How can it be that we continue to turn a blind eye to the discriminations in the country? How can it be that we continue to turn a blind eye to the social labelling in this country? How can it be that we continue to tolerate the politicians who have exploited these issues for far too long?

But what can we do as we continue willy-nilly down this path of no return? To me, the damage of the past 40-odd years cannot be undone with the snap of the fingers. We cannot wake up tomorrow and say, okay, everything is back to square one. No, if we are serious in undoing all the wrongs inflicted on the citizens of this country, I foresee that it'll take at least two generations to heal the damage. Two generations, unless we are hijacked again by the politicians for their own personal agendas. I am not confident at all.

So there you are: a Malaysia still beset with racial polarisation, religious divide, discriminations, social labelling and exploiting politicians after 50 years of accepting a social contract that was drawn up by our founding fathers but is now being questioned and ignored by politicians who think they are doing us all a favour. Thanks but no thanks for your favours.

But do I love my country any less? I may be disillusioned with the issues around me but no, I do not love my country any less. It's just as strong. I love my country but not the asses and the morons and the holier-than-thous and the I'm-doing-it-for-your-own-good around me.

Coming back to the patriotic song Berjaya. Listening to it today, it feels positively out-of-date. It's now an old-fashioned, military-type song. Does it still stir patriotism in my loins? Not any more. In fact, it's not only an old-fashioned, military-type song but it hints at music that's typically composed during the communism era of the 1960s. I'm sorry to say this but having looked at life for slightly more than half a century, that's how bad I perceive this song to be now. It's become a silly tune.