Declaring your love and support for your country in a positive manner are often times looked at as hollow and without true meaning.
Where is the negativity coming from? That is one question that I feel all Malaysians, if they are keen on moving forward, should ask themselves.
While we’re pondering that, ask ourselves too, what have we done to inspire positivity and to express our love and hope for the nation?
One of the ways to inspire, or to get a positive and hopeful message across a large mass of the population is by producing a film, a song or a work of art.
As Malaysians are well aware, every festive season, without fail, corporations would produce their own corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives that bring on the message of togetherness, harmony and celebration. For our 56th Merdeka and 50th Malaysia Day celebrations this year, it is no different.
An organisation whose CSR initiatives are usually eagerly awaited, seen and commented by many is PETRONAS.
This year alone their campaign to promote unity involves three aspects. The first to kick off was the Love Letters to the Nation, an event showcasing their past works, where attendees were asked to share their thoughts regarding each video screened.
This was followed by the webfilm Children, a Merdeka and Malaysia Day video celebrating the common values, dreams and aspirations shared by many Malaysians in their respective circles of life.
Children webfilm director Quek Shio Chuan
The video depicts the lives of four families from differing backgrounds, from the births of the children, coming together at one point in their lives in university and as time passes, each moved on to their separate lives with careers, marriage and their own families.
The message lies in the fact that even though our lives are different and our paths may never cross, but our hopes and dreams will remain the same.
This powerful message, the beautiful shots and direction by talented young director Quek Shio Chuan and the stirring music were stitched together so intricately that after the video debuted during Merdeka season, it has to date, reached more than a million views on Youtube.
We share the same land, breathe the same air and from the moment of our births, when we open our eyes, we feel and think as Malaysians, diverse as our experiences may be, when push comes to shove; we are still the same people sharing the same motherland.
A musical composition by renowned composer Audi Mok accompanied the immortal words from the poem Tanahair by the late Datuk Dr. Usman Awang, portrays just that.
Performed by four up and coming young artistes Aizat Amdan, Stacy, Suki Low and Alinda, it is a rousing pop anthem celebrating the nationalistic spirit of our past, present and future.
In support of the song, flash mobs involving drummers, musicians, dancers and the singers of the Tanahair song were held in public spaces in East Malaysia and around the Klang Valley, culminating in a final performance to be held in Publika on the 15th of September.
These flash mobs locations were marked by the boxes parked in strategic places with the hashtag #tanahairku, which is the same hashtag making its rounds on the social media, particularly Twitter.
Riding on the popularity of the hashtag, local indie kings Monoloque were also inspired to create a song and music video for Merdeka and Malaysia Day.
Roping in the ultimate Malaysian songstress Dato Siti Nurhaliza, the main melody for the song was driven by traditional instruments, er hu and sitar, with the words sung in our national language.
The song was imbued with the spirit of patriotism and longevity evident in the poems of Datuk Dr. Usman Awang.
Titled Tanahairku, Tanahairmu Jua the song calls upon Malaysians to set aside their differences, whether political or socio-economic, and stand together and defend the nation and what it stands for, as one.
The first line from its chorus Tua muda kanan kiri miskin kaya, inikan tanahairmu jua says it all. Malaysia is ours to keep and protect whatever differences there are out there.
Another verse that I find especially poignant is this:
Mampukah berpadu satu?
Di antara engkau dan aku,
Ramai ragu, banyak bisu,
Mari kita mulakan dulu.
(Can we unite?
Between you and me
Many are in doubt, many are in silent
Let's we start it first)
Unity and social cohesion should not just be lip service and efforts for national healing a target of cynicism and jokes. While there will always be those who will undermine this, there are others who are optimistic, striving for the better.
And what better way to kick-start the shift towards real unity, one that is felt by all, than to lead by example?
One of our strengths is our multicultural diversity, and despite being different we understand each other.
That is social cohesion. We are unique in our own ways, and this has evolved into phrases and ways of life that only Malaysians will understand, ways that we can proudly claim as our own.
Astro managed to capture this essence in their video Excuse me sir, your Malaysian is showing, a hip hop mash of words and phrases that celebrates what it means to be truly Malaysian.
This essence of Malaysian-ness is also shown in the Merdeka commercial for Maybank. Simple, short yet meaningful, it encourages togetherness through a game of badminton.
Once upon a time, this was the neighbourhood standard, to play a simple game of badminton on the street with your neighbours and friends.
There was no division because of race and politics, but there was simply friends enjoying themselves and having a laugh.
These efforts towards promoting unity and patriotism, by corporations, artists, writers and musicians are noble.
Some of us may not realise it and may think of the efforts as inconsequential, but there is nothing better than a little reminder now and then about what truly matters.
Recently I asked a few friends what ‘tanahair’ meant to them, and the resounding answer was that it is home and it is a place where they live, where they love, where they build their lives and families, where they hope to grow old and where they hope to die.
Love is indeed a place, and that place is Malaysia.
Happy Malaysia Day to all Malaysians.
