MERDEKA!!!!

My memory is really getting bad nowadays, I do remember that our National Day falls on the 31th of August, but I cannot remember the year. One sure thing when it comes to 31st of August, PUBLIC HOLIDAY!!!! That is why we Malaysians will ever be so patriotic! What more, our government spend quite alot each year entertaining us with cool display of fireworks;




I know, I've not been a good citizen, barely remembering how we got our independance. The only figure I can clearly recall is our beloved Dato Seri Dr. Mahatir bin Mohamad, OH! MY MISTAKE!!!! I mean Tunku Abdul Rahman, the father of Independance. By the way, Dato Seri Dr.Mahatir bin Mohamad is our 4th Prime Minister, and all due respect to him, what a great job he did!

Okay sorry for the misleading information, Tunku Abdul Rahman, father of Independance, fought for our independance from the grasp of the selfish British rule! The year was 19... when a group of Malaysian politician led by Tunku Abdul Rahman flew (I think so they flew, maybe they took a boat?) to England with their keris pointing at Queen Elizabeth's neck demanding that Malaya be set free! Of course by then, our poor country has been sucked dry of its tin ore and gold. I really cannot recall what actually happened, so I did a search on the internet about our history;

THE BRITISH RULE
In 1786, the British acquired Penang Island and established a settlement called George Town there. Gradually, Britain acquired control over more of the area to protect its shipping lanes between China and India.............................. In 1896 the Malay states accepted British advisors, and Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, and Pahang formed a federation. By 1914, Britain had either direct or indirect colonial control over all the lands that now make up Malaysia, which it called British Malaya.

British rule took several forms.................... Britain placed a representative called a resident in each kingdom. The local sultan agreed to accept the resident's advice on political and economic matters.

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INDEPENDENCE FROM THE BRITISH
From the 1890s the British invested heavily in what was then called Malaya, developing transportation and rubber plantations. Coupled with the power of the White Rajahs in Borneo, Britain ruled over Malaya until 1941 when the Japanese invaded Malaya and captured Singapore in early 1942. Japan occupied British Malaya and much of Asia until losing the war in 1945. World War II and its aftermath brought the end of British rule.

After World War II ended in 1945, the British tried unsuccessfully to organize Malaya into one state due to a mature independence movement organized as an alliance under YTM Tunku Abdul Rahman. This led to the birth of Malayan nationalism, which opposed a colonial status. In 1946 the United Malaya National Organization (UMNO) was established. ..................................... With Malay help, the British finally subdued the Emergency in 1960, three years after independence. In 1955 the Malayan Chinese Association (MCA) joined UMNO in an anticommunist, anticolonial coalition that won 51 of 52 parliamentary seats. The British relinquished their powers, and in 1957 the Federation of Malaya had gained complete independence from Britain. Singapore, which had a mostly Chinese population, remained outside the federation as a British crown colony. Peninsular Malaysia became an independent nation called Malaya in 1957. When the British flag was finally lowered in Kuala Lumpur's Dataran Merdeka in 1957, Tunku became the first prime minister of Malaya

The article has been cut short for easy viewing, moreover I believe none of you all will be reading it, but for those who are interested, click here. After reading the article, I feel proud to be a Malaysian, and proud of the people who fought for us. I do aptly remember how my grandmother praised our first prime minister. She remembers him as a non-racial malay who would go around mingling with his people, making sure that everyone is happy, and she remembers clearly how she met him loitering in the streets with a smiley face greeting any passer who recognizes him.

Our country has really progressed a long way since, gone are the days of trishaws and bull carts, now we have our very own car manufacturer, Proton! Which of late, has just lost its CEO and is now speculating on hiring a foreign CEO, in which, does not bodes well with our ex-prime minister. Okay, enough of politics, and of course for all fellow Malaysians, HAPPY MERDEKA DAY!!!! May your pants be so filled that you'll drop some coins for me.