Perhaps for the first time in say, my 10 years in KL, I'm spending Hari Raya (or in this case Merdeka Raya in conjunction with 2 festive events, i.e. Hari Raya Aidilfitri or Eid ul-Fitr in Arabic and our own Independence Day aka Hari Merdeka) in KL.
With the hope of clear roads, as it has been on Monday and I must say it was a joy to go to work on clear roads, I was quite wrong when it came to shopping malls. Yes, the crowd in shopping malls, especially Mid Valley and Sunway Pyramid, both of which I went on the first day of Hari Raya, was simply, crowded. But in a good way. You see people simply hanging out or getting bargains out of the Hari Raya sale period and I suppose I got myself some work clothes too. Much needed I must say ever since I lost that much weight.
Well, anyway, it has been a almost 2 months since BERSIH 2.0.
And for once, my Merdeka celebrations didn't seem hollow. In fact, I had tea with a friend of mine, Aaron and today, we reminiscent once more 7th September 2011, when the physical show of unity was resounding. And through that, I have met many new faces as well, and people who share the same vision for Malaysia and for the future of it.
It's a beautiful vision, where race and religious barriers are broken. I have learnt as much as well. And it was a beautiful lesson. And today, hearing more stories on the accounts of BERSIH 2.0, on how the Malays have sacrificed their safety by letting us Chinese, walk through the back alleys of Tung Shin Hospital first before the Police came arresting. I didn't see it happening, but those stories encouraged me a great deal.
For all the talk about how the Malay race would 'lose' their privileges by joining hands in unison for a walk that impacted the nation, they had so much to lose and yet, they gave an example of how much change they desired a change for a better Malaysia, one that is free from corrupt practices and for good governance. For that, we, as the other races joined in the march as well knowing well that our vision was a shared one. But that was in September.
Well, we shared some views on movies and comedy skits as well. It's always nice too, to know that your friends are going to be proud parents as well and I would like to congratulate Aaron and Shin Yee for that. :)
And also after dinner, the discussions with a good friend of mine, Daren on what 1Malaysia is about. I disagree with his views and vice versa, but the discussions were good and opened up our views towards things.
Today, as I update Facebook statuses and observe others, people are more vocal about change. This is good. Whether they agree or not, at least discussions are more proactive. Thanks to platforms like Facebook and Twitter, information and views are easily shared. Yes, we all have different views on things, but it doesn't mean that we don't respect the views of others. :)
And looking at this, it encourages me even further, and hence this year round, my Merdeka celebrations seemed more meaningful.
Perhaps the adverts that have been shown on TV (minus of course the NTV 7 Ad, which perhaps we took it all too seriously) the most meaningful one, without so much as a show of 'unity' of races so often portrayed in our tv adverts during these times, would be the DIGI advert.
It doesn't speak of unity, but it speaks of us as individuals and also Malaysian. And it speaks on forgiveness, which is always thematic with Hari Raya Aidil Fitri.
And so it is here that I also seek forgiveness for all the things that I have done, the wrongs and the hurts I have caused people.
You may have been offended by my views and actions and I'm truly sorry.
So to you, whovever you may be, or if you know that it is you:-
I'm sorry for being a loser.
I'm sorry for being an arrogant SOB.
I'm sorry for being impatient
I'm sorry for not being a better boyfriend
I'm sorry for not being a better son
I'm sorry for not being a better employee at work
I'm sorry for being arrogant on my views
I'm sorry for not being a better friend.....
Forgiveness is indeed something given through grace. I don't suppose you can earn it. I know I can't. Be it on religious grounds or forgiveness from other people.
But to forgive is often more rewarding than to be forgiven.
As the ending quotes in the advert states "forgiveness does not change the past, but it brightens the future". That, like it or not, rings true in life.
To all my muslim friends, be it Malay, Chinese, Indian, Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Maaf Zahir dan Batin. And Happy Merdeka 2011!
May the best years of our country be ahead of us and for days to come :)
With the hope of clear roads, as it has been on Monday and I must say it was a joy to go to work on clear roads, I was quite wrong when it came to shopping malls. Yes, the crowd in shopping malls, especially Mid Valley and Sunway Pyramid, both of which I went on the first day of Hari Raya, was simply, crowded. But in a good way. You see people simply hanging out or getting bargains out of the Hari Raya sale period and I suppose I got myself some work clothes too. Much needed I must say ever since I lost that much weight.
Well, anyway, it has been a almost 2 months since BERSIH 2.0.
And for once, my Merdeka celebrations didn't seem hollow. In fact, I had tea with a friend of mine, Aaron and today, we reminiscent once more 7th September 2011, when the physical show of unity was resounding. And through that, I have met many new faces as well, and people who share the same vision for Malaysia and for the future of it.
It's a beautiful vision, where race and religious barriers are broken. I have learnt as much as well. And it was a beautiful lesson. And today, hearing more stories on the accounts of BERSIH 2.0, on how the Malays have sacrificed their safety by letting us Chinese, walk through the back alleys of Tung Shin Hospital first before the Police came arresting. I didn't see it happening, but those stories encouraged me a great deal.
For all the talk about how the Malay race would 'lose' their privileges by joining hands in unison for a walk that impacted the nation, they had so much to lose and yet, they gave an example of how much change they desired a change for a better Malaysia, one that is free from corrupt practices and for good governance. For that, we, as the other races joined in the march as well knowing well that our vision was a shared one. But that was in September.
Well, we shared some views on movies and comedy skits as well. It's always nice too, to know that your friends are going to be proud parents as well and I would like to congratulate Aaron and Shin Yee for that. :)
And also after dinner, the discussions with a good friend of mine, Daren on what 1Malaysia is about. I disagree with his views and vice versa, but the discussions were good and opened up our views towards things.
Today, as I update Facebook statuses and observe others, people are more vocal about change. This is good. Whether they agree or not, at least discussions are more proactive. Thanks to platforms like Facebook and Twitter, information and views are easily shared. Yes, we all have different views on things, but it doesn't mean that we don't respect the views of others. :)
And looking at this, it encourages me even further, and hence this year round, my Merdeka celebrations seemed more meaningful.
Perhaps the adverts that have been shown on TV (minus of course the NTV 7 Ad, which perhaps we took it all too seriously) the most meaningful one, without so much as a show of 'unity' of races so often portrayed in our tv adverts during these times, would be the DIGI advert.
It doesn't speak of unity, but it speaks of us as individuals and also Malaysian. And it speaks on forgiveness, which is always thematic with Hari Raya Aidil Fitri.
And so it is here that I also seek forgiveness for all the things that I have done, the wrongs and the hurts I have caused people.
You may have been offended by my views and actions and I'm truly sorry.
So to you, whovever you may be, or if you know that it is you:-
I'm sorry for being a loser.
I'm sorry for being an arrogant SOB.
I'm sorry for being impatient
I'm sorry for not being a better boyfriend
I'm sorry for not being a better son
I'm sorry for not being a better employee at work
I'm sorry for being arrogant on my views
I'm sorry for not being a better friend.....
Forgiveness is indeed something given through grace. I don't suppose you can earn it. I know I can't. Be it on religious grounds or forgiveness from other people.
But to forgive is often more rewarding than to be forgiven.
As the ending quotes in the advert states "forgiveness does not change the past, but it brightens the future". That, like it or not, rings true in life.
To all my muslim friends, be it Malay, Chinese, Indian, Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Maaf Zahir dan Batin. And Happy Merdeka 2011!
May the best years of our country be ahead of us and for days to come :)
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