AUGUST 29 — During last Friday’s sermon, the imam reminded us that Independence is a gift bestowed by God. We enjoyed peace and harmony living in a society of many religion, races and cultures within this great nation of ours and the benefit of independence shall not be taken for granted.
‘Malaysia Care’ is this year’s theme for the National Day celebrations.
Normally, there will be parades involving a multitude of contingents but due to Covid-19 there will be no parades this year. This is the new norm. The current resolve is for everybody to combat the pandemic.
The resolve before Merdeka was the struggle to free our nation from our subjugators. We are grateful for all the sacrifices made by our forefather. They also had to contend with the communists and Indonesian confrontation.
Marching towards the future, we must be united and be working together for a better Malaysia. We must learn from the unity of the Muhajirin and Ansar during Prophet Muhammad’s time, so that peace and harmony continue to be preserved and enhanced.
Regretfully, we still hear voices of division, trying to split us as a united country. Messages of hate including rekindling the communist issue are becoming popular through social media. My suggestion is for these prophets-of-doom or rumour-mongers to approach the authorities with prove so that appropriate actions can be taken.
I would recommend for them to watch the American sitcom, All in the Family. Ranked number one in the Neilsen ratings for five years, it discussed topical, controversial themes, such as race relations, religion, homosexuality, infidelity, antisemitism, feminism, Vietnam war, etc and represented the kind of ordinary, working people who had thus far been invisible on screen.
The sitcom presented the race and culture wars of the ‘70s in a more complex and layered way and I am sure we are not All in the Family’s ‘dingbat’.
Our beloved country is rich in resources. Let us share the benefits but is sharing it equally fair?
Consider a situation in which one sibling has devoted his or her career to the family business and shown an aptitude for it, while another has chosen a different path. Is it fair to either of them to take equal parts in running the family business when parents are gone?
But parents before they are gone should take every step possible to train their children and inculcate the spirit of helping and care for each other.
Just like we must ensure that we observe all regulations and standard operating procedures (SOP) under Covid-19, we must observe the Federal Constitution and Rukunegara religiously. Incidentally, this year marks the 50th anniversary of our Rukunegara.
Selamat Hari Merdeka to all Malaysians.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
