Merdeka! 31st August Malaysians celebrate Independence day

31st August 1957 marked the day that Malaysia officially achieved independence day. Each year, on this day there is a celebration marked by a national parade; boasting all of this countries' achievements, culture and military might. I was involved in this celebration back in 1990 when Sri Aman Girls School along with Assunta Girls School and Taman Petaling were performing a Malay-Chinese-Indian traditional dance. We were in year 4 of secondary school and that must be the only time I attended the national parade live at Dataran Merdeka (Merdeka Square).


THE VIDEO OF MERDEKA


However, in celebrating this memory we must never separate the celebration from the actual event. My little daughter asked me in the car, she said "I don't understand what 'Merdeka' means?" So, I had to explain to my children and it was difficult explaining to them because it involved both parts of themselves. I told her that once this country was colonized by the British. Being half English, it was difficult for her to understand what that meant for her. Trying to explain to her what "colonization" meant was even harder as she is still so young. However, my older children understood it quite well.


History is made of factual things as well as the emotional aspects and points of view. I wanted my children to understand the facts; as well as to recognize that the points of view of history often depends on what we believe in. I didn't want them to start self-loathing nor to have negative feelings towards their English half. However, they needed to know the facts and be able to critically evaluate what it meant.


If one believed in Capitalism and the exploitation of wealth then one would view colonization as a good thing. However, if one believed in humanity and are against exploitation then colonization would be bad as it meant exploiting another nation, extracting its wealth, 'enslavement' of the people either physically or mentally and often retarding them.


So, I gave them the facts. This part of the world have always been prosperous. It was laden by spices, tin, fertile land that was good for rubber and palm oil plantation. On top of that at one time, Malacca was a very popular trading port. Due to its resources and strategic position, it became a sought after place by emerging powerful Capitalist nations. The people in the Malay peninsular have embraced Islam and although (correct me if I'm wrong), it was never truly under direct Ottoman rule but it had strong links with the Ottoman Empire and was under its protection.


The first Western Capitalist nation to occupy Malacca was the Portugese followed by the Dutch and finally British who managed to secure the whole of Malaysian peninsula in 1824. After more than a hundred years of British rule, Malaysia finally achieved independence and the people finally had their country back.


However, the British did not leave us empty handed. They gave us two things that were to shape our minds and system. It was a gift that would ensure that we would never truly be independent, at least not in the way we think...

The two gifts were:
1. Nationalism
2. Secular system

Nationalism was to ensure that we will forever be trapped within our own borders. The concept of a borderless nation or to form unity for the Muslim ummah became a far-fetched idea. The once great empire of the Muslims starting from the time the Prophet Muhammad SAW sent his army on expeditions to Syria, which was then under the Roman Empire and Persia until Islam spread to 2/3rds of the world became awesome stories in history books. Nationalism ensured that we will never rise again as one ummah and any attempt to break those borders will be met with fighting and resistance.

Don't get me wrong....I'm not saying we should open our borders for attack or to allow infiltration of our borders by negative elements. I am talking about the imprisonment of the mind...

Let's say for argument sake the Khilafah, a true Islamic state were to be re-established tomorrow. Would we be ready to give up our borders and be part of this state? To give our bay'ah to the Caliph (Khalifah)? Don't answer it yet...just think about it!



The other gift is secularism....or more specifically a secular system with secular laws i.e. laws that are man-made enshrined within the constitution. A law that states Islam as the official religion and that is as far as it goes...but when it comes to making laws; the reference is not Qur'an and Sunnah. Essentially that is what secularism is...religion is fine as long as it stays personal or a logo or a symbol but never to be used as something to solve daily problems, political problems, economic problems, social problems, foreign policy, judiciary or anything that involves governing the people.

There is no point in pointing fingers or accusing the people in the past for what has happened today. History is a lesson for us to be better in the future. It is however good to recognize that the secular system has been embedded so deeply within this country that any attempt to replace it is met with such strong resistance sometimes by the Muslims themselves. There have been attempts to bring more shariah laws within this country by various groups but it is often still trapped within the secular framework.


I'm not claiming to be an expert nor do I have all the answers but I do know ONE THING...which is what I am pointing out here, we may be physically independent. Theoretically we are in charge of this country...theoretically we seem to be able to determine the future of this country but in our minds are we truly independent? For the Muslims let us ponder...are we truly independent from our colonial past? Can we really fulfil our roles and function as the one who was created to worship Allah SWT alone, in our daily life, rituals as well as our public life and how we govern our nation?

It is a joyous moment to hear the words of our respected Bapa Kemerdekaan Tunku Abdul Rahman [CLICK HERE] when he shouted "Merdeka" back in 1957 and I can't imagine how it must have felt for the people at the time...but as we celebrate this event each year, let's question ourselves...how truly independent are we?