Be a Merdeka Blogger

After the visit to London by ol’ Tunku Abdul Rahman, many Malayan (not known as Malaysian yet) gathered at the Merdeka Stadium awaiting words they long to be uttered ever since their soil was visited by foreign power. These words made into phrases was to congratulate them of their country spirit and declaration for the country’s independence from the British empire.

That day was on 31st August 1957; where Tunku Abdul Rahman stood on a podium with several other British officers seated behind him facing the abrupt Malayan crowd. When his speech had ended, he shouted this word continuously that is now one of the most celebrated words of our country.

He shouted, “MERDEKA! MERDEKA! MERDEKA!”

(mer-de-ka is the Malayan translation for freedom).

In commemoration of our past wars, lost lives, and freedom, our country celebrates her day of independence every 31st August. The coming date will celebrate our 48 years of independent glory and years we have gone through building our country into a city known by many now.

Each year during the celebratory event we’ll see many participating bodies of the government marching pass the Agong (king of the country) and other ministers. There used to be many locals standing around trying to catch a glipmse of the parade. Some with their own children seated on the barrier while they held an umbrella over their heads. But the numbers grew smaller because live coverage is shown on the TV now. Many prefer the comfort of their home than join in the celebration with others.

Come to think of it, I wonder if there’d be any way for bloggers to march during the parade in future. LoL! A celebration of freelance online writers who’ve glorified and raised the country’s name. Not to mention those who’ve defended her in textual debate online.

In the meantime, while we allow the country to mature further and understand the world of IT better, I have a suggestion for all local bloggers to celebrate Merdeka online.

Let us join in power and spirit once again by not causing war or debate online but celebrate one of the more finer things as a Malaysian. We’re a country known for its multi-cultural values and are able to live peacefully among ourselves. Therefore, I’m suggesting to bloggers to blog in their own prefered language on Merdeka Day itself.

We have a choice of languages from Bahasa Malaysia (BM), English, Chinese and Tamil. If possible, try posting in BM instead of English if that’s the language you normally use. We might not be able to march physically pass the Agong, but we can march on our own online by celebrating our cultural languages.

Let’s call this; The Merdeka Blogger project. But if you have a better calling card for it then do share.

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