Marking MERDEKA! Mocking MERDEKA!

Those of my generation who has seen TV3’s Merdeka advertisement would have had a lump in their throat watching. Remembering our childhood games of Combat with friends, bickering who will be Sergeant Saunders as the squad leader in fighting them krauts, the typical squad made up of the neighbourhood kids that in my case are made up of Malays, Indians, Chinese and even Sikhs. Come to think of it, Sergeant Saunders’ squad was also a United Nations of Greek, WASPs, hillbillies and farm boys if my memory serves me right. I don’t know if it was intentional by RTM, but Combat the TV series managed to instil in us kids that you have to fight for your freedom far better than any propaganda could, in those dark days of insurgency where even in the urban areas you can still hear the army guns pounding away at the bandits in the bush. We faced a threat to the nation’s freedom and well-being, and we her citizens will stand hard to defend the nation in their own way. Thus those who joined the armed forces and entered the fight are saluted as the heroes they are, and not seen as deadbeats who cannot hack it in the real world as some are wont to do nowadays. And the rest would contribute in our own way, as nation building is grasped as the best weapon to defend the freedom that Merdeka brought. Thus the TV3 ad that illustrates how the kid that role-played as Sergeant Saunders who mocked the little girl who wanted to join the games feeling no shame when in adulthood both are saluting our Tugu Negara even though he is now only a sweeper while she has triumphly became a paratrooper sergeant. Both know they are heroes in their own right, both contributing to building their beloved nation.

But it makes you wonder how many of the new generation comprehends this subtle message. When I put forward the question in the military board that I frequent, sadly it seems only those of my generation seems to have caught and noticed this ad in all its subtleties. In an age where even home grown patriotic series are relegated to red eye or dead viewership slots by even the government channels, where commercially profitable sinetron drivel hogs the prime time, is it any wonder that these young ‘uns don’t give a cow’s shit of what nationhood and national pride is all about. We are all now in such a comfort zone that some even think having a military is a waste, an anachronism in this so called erudite age. Why me worry, if my country goes down the drain, with my passport will I go, wherever the money be, right? Begone then I say, the nation and we do not need the likes of rats such as you.

Thus is it such a surprise that some young punk under the guise of creative expression has made a mockery of our national anthem to mark our Merdeka. And some apologists, even those that are part of our nation’s government are saying that this great slur to our nation can be swept under the carpet with just a simple request for forgiveness, as we should not destroy someone’s future just because of this youthful indiscretion. NO I SAY! Punish not only this punk but his family also as they are the ones who have led him down this derogatory path. My dear Minister and your pandering lackeys, I don’t care if he was misinterpreted as derisive of the Malays or the Azan, the bottom line is he has made a travesty of our national anthem, you know the one where we have to stand at attention to when it is played as a sign of our reverence. Please resign if you cannot get that through that cash padded thick skull of yours! Your ilk talks of punishing bloggers who mock your kind as instruments of the government, yet you dare say forgive this punk who committed this treachery. You got your electoral priorities all wrong fool, and if you are contesting as my YB you surely will not get my vote. Think about it, the powers that be, as our Merdeka was not won to give such freedom as this.
MERDEKA! MERDEKA! MERDEKA! MERDEKA! MERDEKA! MERDEKA! MERDEKA!