About a month ago, somehow I heard the record of Martin Luther King's speech in 1963 called "I have a dream". It is a truly exceptional and inspirational speech. I later came to know that it is a popular speech and can't help but wondering how on earth could I miss it for the pass 25 years.
Since then I've made one of mine. It is very similar to his but much shorter and most importantly it is not dedicated to the people in the U.S but to the people in my beloved country, Malaysia. Now that I have my own blog I decided to write them down before the thoughts vanish into the stream of time.
Here is mine:
"I HAVE A DREAM that one day this nation will rise up and live out to this very truth- that all men are created equal. I HAVE A DREAM that we, the minority groups, will not be judged by the color of our skin, but by the content of our character. I HAVE A DREAM that one day the sons of the privileged bumiputras and the sons of the minority will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood, all treated equally; bound not by the hypocritical social contract but brotherly unity and sacrificial love."
"This is our hope. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be treated equal.
"NOW IS THE TIME to lift our nation from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. NOW IS THE TIME to embrace the once distant freedom of speech and religion. NOW IS THE TIME to make meritocracy from rhetoric to reality. NOW IS THE TIME for all Malaysians to enjoy our differences as much as our similarities. NOW IS THE TIME."
So this is my dream for Malaysia. I have no intention to wreak havoc nor am I anti-government activist.
Malaysia will not be able to progress far as long as the basic humanity issues remain unsolved. Fellow Malaysians, do not be deceived. Even if one day we've achieved the Vision 2020 and become a developed nation, we'll only be labeled then a nation that developed in wealth but not the content. I've recently came across an article about Malaysia in The Economist with a self-explanatory title "Tall Building, Narrow Minded". In spite of agreeing with the article, I felt deeply embarrassed as if my own family being publicly humiliated. But the question is, while I see Malaysia as my family and beloved homeland, do the majority (especially the politicians) see me as one of them? Or after 50 over years of independence, they still see us, the non-Malays, as ungrateful immigrants to whom they show mercy and granted the citizenship? Beside the color of my skin, am I not as much a true Malaysian as the Bumiputra, the son-of-soils?
This article is dedicated all prudent and sensible Malaysians.
God bless Malaysia!!
