archived from wordpress on 5 May 2025
kau tanyaku, apa erti merdeka
aku risau mereka tak tau maknanya
seperti paru-paru yang tak kenali udara
tidak mungkin kenal yang tak pernah tiada
Two words, one meaning.
the first: Freedom.
Such an american concern. Western influence, yknw? We Asians, we’re all about that stability and responsibility and harmony; none of that individualism stuff here, sir.
Or the second…
Merdeka!
Nyanyi lagu, naik gajah. Pahlawan melayu pantang dijajah.
Sovereignty and rights, independence and…freedom.
Anyone can else think it’s a little funny that these two perspectives can (and do) exist within the same person?
If nothing else, it’s a reminder to me of something in my head that I stewed over especially during uni days in UIA.
That if got to choose for yourself (or an entire nation) a non-negotiable core value that defined everything…shouting FREEDOM alone seemed like a bad choice for two reasons:
1. There is nothing in this world that possesses 100% freedom (except God ofc) so we have no idea how this ideal looks like. Forget social norms and legal bindings – we are constrained by bodies, time, space and stuff like gravity. Even planets follow their orbits. How would we achieve freedom if we don’t know it?
2. …and so without extra words (ie. freedom from x or freedom to y) then it’s really an empty slogan. Unlike, for example, Justice or Truth which are stand-alone ideals, with no need for any elaboration to ground them as a foundation, you really need to tie freedom to something else for it to mean anything.
& at that point, it isn’t about Freedom anymore no? It’s about “freedom from colonialism/dehumanisation” or “freedom to practice your own religion freely” – and only then does it start to make sense.
Don’t get me wrong, Malaysia, I love you and you are far, far from being a freedom-obssessed nation…and if anything, coming from a country on the other end of the spectrum where our national day is about getting “kicked out” and we have statues and schools (mine) and grand hotels named after our coloniser, there’s something powerful about the single word and call to action.
Merdeka ✊🏽🇲🇾
but it’s really only this: I worry that we oversimplify what shouldn’t be simplified. Words are magical and I worry about bullshit wizards not using this magic to inspire but to divide and dilute any meaning and value, leaving only sound and fury.
Merdeka. Semoga kita sentiasa kenali makna sebenarnya, untuk diri dan bangsa.