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For about 43 years we have tasted the sweetness of the independence
for our country, which is something that we can be proud
of. For about 43 years we try to achieve the real meaning
of independence with so many slogans come with it. But still,
many of us seem perplexed by the definition of the independence
itself. We then create so many definitions for the independence
to suit our own pleasure and lifestyle.
As
for me, the independence really means a lot to the people
who really value the price of being released from the painful
memory of the colonization. Imagine for hundreds of years,
we were colonized mentally and physically by the Portuguese
and the British, and then came the Japanese with so-called
friendly slogan "Asia for Asian". However, after we got
our independence from the British on August 31st, 1957,
did we actually free ourselves from the influence of them?
Ideally, as if in terms of mentally and physically.
Recently, a new term was introduced in the economic world
known as the neo-colonization. A lot of people say that
this kind of colonization may bring more destruction rather
than being physically colonized like we experienced a few
decades ago. Roughly nowadays, the scene of seeing people
drinking Pepsi, or Coke, seeing people wearing Christian
Dior's shirt, Calvin Klein's leather jacket and few other
brands which come from the western world, becomes so ubiquitous.
It looks like our teenagers are becoming the moving advertisement
by these giant western corporate companies. They are dying
to purchase the western branded products rather than made-in-Malaysia
products. They seem jovially enjoy themselves to wear Doc
Marten shoes compare when they wear Gombak's brand sandals
though actually the sandals makes them look better and walk
comfort on the street. It does make me sometimes wonder
how this true and more effective colonization has taken
its place in our society, not physically but deeply rooted
in the image and people's self-attitude.
Why
can they just wear Gombak's brand shoes and with Langkawi
Bermuda and walk down the alley in the downtown of KL with
a sense of pride because they are wearing Malaysian products.
This phenomenon could take place if only we educate our
young people to start appreciate our own products. However,
the scenario nowadays seems disallow this sacred hope from
blooming in our community. We always assert to our young
children that the western products are better than Malaysian
products. Yes, that is true but until when we have to depend
on that western market. The whole situation will start to
change if we show some supports on Malaysian products.
In another instance, we can see that the negative western
culture starts to roam rapidly every inch of the city in
Malaysia like mushroom after the rain. Furthermore, a lot
of extreme morale cases seem to be a common scenario happening
to our teenagers. Years before this, even before we received
the Independence amendment, hardly we heard such cases happened
in our community. Even we did not allow these cases to be
bred in our harmony society. But right after we signed that
declaration, it seems that it changed the whole goal of
getting the independence itself. Don't we get it? What is
it all about when we talk about the independence when we
allow ourselves to be succumbed into the web of destruction?
What does the independence means to us when we could not
stand up by ourselves and start to protect our life values?
And how are we going to let ourselves be mature by celebrating
the Independence Day with and letting our young generation
leisurely and delightfully spend their 31st August night
in the bar or dancing madly, deeply and seductively at Merdeka
Square? So much of celebrating the Merdeka Day.
As for now, our teenagers are turned into a western's negative
attitude display. I can't deny that the western also stresses
on the positive values of life, but still why we in Malaysia
would like to choose the bad ones rather than practicing
the good ones. There something must be wrong in our way
of bringing up our children. Moreover, especially in our
bad-economic standing, we suppose to start looking back
at our long forgotten eastern values.
I
urge my friends out there, who can see what can I see here;
please act in the name of protecting our most precious asset
to the country (the Malaysian teenagers). We, so called
the educated people, should start to raise the hand and
stop this nonsense from keep occurring in our nation. The
young generation should be given an equal chance to develop
themselves as an intellectual individual, not as guinea
pigs for the western product market or as the living stage
in the East World to depict the western society's madness
behavior. However to be or not to be, the options are still
open for we to think.
"Selamat
Hari Kemerdekaan, Keranamu Malaysia"
Written by:Mohd
Farid Mohd Nor
Age :
20 years on Aug 31st 2000
Editor:
Student.Com.my Editorial Team
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