Hari Kebangsaan 2020: The Meaning of Merdeka for Malaysians

In the spirit of Merdeka, we need to draw from history and geography to re-imagine Malaysia, our ‘tanah air’. Even in this aspect, we are unique – no other languages give equal worth to land (tanah) and sea (air) to denote the meaning of homeland.

In fact, our history and geography tell us that the Malacca Sultanate was a great metropolitan city linked to the world by water. Ever since then, we’ve lived as a multicultural society. Diversity is and will continue to be our strength.

If today we see Malaysia as “tanah dan air”, we will see Sabah and Sarawak as very integral parts of the nation, not separated by waters, but linked as an inseparable whole. Malaysia would be a great nation if we unite the lands, the waters and the people, and look outward to realise our potential to contribute in various ways to the development of the region and the world.

Selamat Menyambut Hari Kebangsaan.

Share this article

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Videos

Play Video
30 Dec 2020
The year 2020 has been unprecedented in many ways. We faced a concurrent triple crises – politics, economy and healthcare. The crises exposed our weaknesses. We may be angry with the Sheraton move. The economic and Covid-19 crises may cause us to despair. Yet, behind every challenge lies an opportunity to come out stronger.
Play Video
15 Nov 2020
Growth and distribution are like two propellers on an aircraft. Growth without distribution would spell trouble for the aircraft because demand would not be broad-based and may not be sufficient to sustain long-term growth, and failure to distribute adequately may also spell non-economic troubles that may threaten the prospect of growth.
Play Video
6 Nov 2020
No other economic concern is more important than the question of jobs. We should place the agenda of job creation front and centre. And the Government should be the catalyst to drive this agenda.