AUGUST 30 — I guess I was setting my hopes up too high for New Malaysia this Merdeka. I was hoping that this year’s Merdeka hype would not consist of the usual messaging of "oh, how great it is that we’ve managed to live assimilate so well with different races and religion.”

I was sorely disappointed of course. We’re still harping on the same things 61 years ago, all the while carefully evading the increased polarisation that is happening behind the scenes.

Firstly, the race messaging bothers me because in the first place, it’s unscientific! There is only one race, and that is the human race, the classifications that we’ve erroneously considered as "race” is really ethnicity.

And ethnicity falls within a broader range, for example, a person can be ethnically Hokkien Malaysian-Chinese or Cantonese Malaysian-Chinese. Call me hairsplitting but really, this race thing should be a thing of the past!

Another pet peeve I have against race-based Merdeka messaging is that it always revolves around the same old arena of food and sports. There is so many possibilities and extensions to a person’s identity and sense of belonging to a country, yet media and politicians alike seem to downplay our sense of commonality to the safe, lighthearted zones of just food and sports.

Not that it is particularly wrong, but it can be suffocating sometimes. Especially when you’re not particularly a foodie (or sportie...). So, is a person less Malaysian for not particularly being obsessed with nasi lemak, durian or teh tarik? Is it okay to be Malaysian and not like badminton? How did we arrive on an unspoken spectrum where people can classify someone as being "more Malaysian” or "less Malaysian” simply based on their palatal preferences?

I’d love to see a Merdeka messaging which is more progressive and inclusive. Will we ever see plainly clothed Malaysians with ambiguous skin colours on Merdeka ads instead of the stereotypical line up of ethnic-typical features donning their respective traditional garments?

Can we talk about the other/alternative Malaysia — fringe communities or cult groups, the less explored geographical and social territories of Malaysia, albeit the minority yet no less Malaysian?

Malaysia has so long been in a state of identity crisis. Its eternal tug of war with its relatives, i.e. Indonesia or Singapore, for historical or cultural imminence is a clear manifest of its own insecurities.

Why don’t we dig deeper into our histories together, form transnational collaborations, move on to bigger things? Because we’re too busy still trying to pigeonhole ourselves probably.

This beautiful, welcoming country needs to be reassured-it’s okay to be ambiguous. It’s okay to not have a clear-cut classification of identity pinned down to oversimplified or even outdated notions of tradition or culture.

As someone racially fluid (Indian, Chinese and Iban mix breed), this notion has long been instilled in me. It doesn’t bother me that I speak another’s mother tongue better than my own. But it has bothered so many Malaysians, more so from those of my own ethnic group.

While to some extent racial/language-based identity can be a safety net for communal groups, the freedom of treading across various race or cultural boundaries has encouraged me to be more self-aware and secure in my individuality.

While it seems more convenient to classify people groups according to race/religion, it can be counterproductive to the dialogue on diversity.

Take it one step further. Challenge yourself on what it means to be Malaysian, beyond just loving nasi lemak and being proud of our squash stardoms... (How many Malaysians actually play squash by the way?)

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.