Suanie’s tagged me to post something about the 50th Independence of Malaysia from the colonials, part of the series of posts initiated by Nizam Bashir. This post will make no. 22 in that list. Last year when I was thinking through writing something for Merdeka Day, I thought a little bit about what makes Malaysia, Malaysia – if only to me. And you know, when you think about it, all the high-falutin’ ideas about nationalism and the nation-state fall away when confronted with a simple fact: I was born on a piece of land they call Malaysia, and my allegiance is not to an idea of a country or nation, but to the ties that bind – family, friends and the place in which I have settled. Isn’t that the truth?
My earliest memories revolve around a small little house in the outskirts of Kepong. I would play with grasshoppers and catch spiders in lalang growing next to a hoary, old guava tree just outside the house. It smelled of green, of the earth and of wood. I was three, and my cousins and I found ways to drive my grandmother to distraction. We kept spiders with strips of leaves culled from wayward clumps pandan stalks. We kept them in empty matchboxes stolen from my grandmother’s rubbish bin. We huddled around patches of worn cement, watching spiders with beady, segmented eyes and mottled legs square off against each other. I was too young to understand why my cousins regularly exchanged glass marbles after each match.
We played with sticks and stones, mimicking heroes and villains from the latest Cantonese serials; we cut ourselves on stones; played with snails and caught little longkang fish in choked drains and did experiments on green algae wriggling in a small stream at the back of the house.
My grandmother never once complained, though. She was traditional. If I was dirty, it was time for a wash. And after the wash, it was time for lunch: twelve dishes arrayed on a large, round foldable table and a cacophony of young grandchildren around the table. She had a raspy voice, roughened by years of smoking her long-filtered cigarettes. She was big, full of life and lacking teeth, and she would swat at flies while we ate with friends from the neighbourhood. She would point out the spicy dishes to our Indian friends, and whack our little Malay friends when they reached out for stewed pork dishes. You never ate anywhere like you ate at my grandmother’s. She fed legions, and her house was never empty.
And then sleep. A doze in the afternoon, the brown-and-yellow blades of an old ceiling fan revolving slowly overhead in a semi-dark room. We slept all together on old mattresses on the floor, dozing to the sound of Cantonese songs, soft and tinny from my grandmother’s old radio, itself a relic: a wooden box with a rattan-like mesh over the speaker, and a row of dials above it. And from the living room, the sound of mahjong tiles clattering about. When I couldn’t sleep, I would sit by the corridor on the cool, cement-plastered floor and watch my grandmother hold court with her aunty friends. She played with a cigarette stuck in the corner of her mouth, waving up and down as she exchanged gossip with her friends.
I’ve not forgotten how that place used to look. Wooden slats for walls painted a dull grey-green, a roof of metal sheets corrugated and old, the smell of cooking, of stagnant water and Fab soap. The living room was dominated by rickety old rattan sofas and the musty smell of perspiration, a small twenty-one inch television and the perpetual pall of cigarette smoke and screaming children.
That place is now no more, a victim of development and packed tar and bitumen. What was once a large house built on the proceeds of tin mines my grandfather worked at was now just a spot of land cars rolled over. The trappings of a modern, developed nation sweeps across memories and land - everything changes. But the earth beneath remains the same.
Looks like Howsy’s up next. :)
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s the complete list of countdown posts to Merdeka, compiled by Nizam Bashir: Posts so far - 50, 49, 48, 47, 46, 45, 44, 43, 42, 41, 40, 39, 38, 37, 36, 35, 34, 33, 32,31, 30, 29, 28, 27, 26, 25, 24, 23, 22, 21, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10 (you just read it) God bless Malaysia.
’d like to pass the torch to Peter Tan… Here are the posts in this project so far: 50, 49, 48, 47, 46, 45, 44, 43, 42, 41, 40, 39, 38, 37, 36, 35, 34, 33, 32,31, 30, 29, 28, 27, 26, 25, 24, 23, 22, 21, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9 - this is it Original post by Palmdoc and software by Elliott Back
What’s more - her birthday conveniently falls on August the 31st! So I bring you #3 … Galadriel! Here are the rest of the entries: 50, 49, 48, 47, 46, 45, 44, 43, 42, 41, 40, 39, 38, 37, 36, 35, 34, 33, 32,31, 30, 29, 28, 27, 26, 25, 24, 23, 22, 21, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7 , 6, 5, and me at 4. Yo Galadriel , so I’m tagging you, Sis. You’re #3, so now go and choose your victims, ‘o Merdeka girl!
[...] Posts so far - 50 (you just read it), 49, 48, 47, 46, 45, 44, 43, 42, 41, 40, 39, 38, 37, 36, 35, 34, 33, 32,31, 30, 29, 28, 27, 26, 25, 24, 23, 22 [...]
[...] tagged by Xpyred. So to the theme of BUM2007, lemme do this in a ‘Embrace and Engage’ kinda way.I embrace: The [...]
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[...] 47, 46, 45, 44, 43, 42, 41, 40, 39, 38, 37, 36, 35, 34, 33, 32,31, 30, 29, 28, 27, 26, 25, 24, 23, 22, 21, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9 - this is [...]
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50 Posts to Independence - No 7…
Lucky number 7. I’ve been tagged by Peter Tan to participate in the 50 Posts To Independence project initiated by Nizam Bashir. And yes, I know I’m late. But isn’t doing something at the last minute a very Malaysian thing to do?
Any…
[...] 47, 46, 45, 44, 43, 42, 41, 40, 39, 38, 37, 36, 35, 34, 33, 32,31, 30, 29, 28, 27, 26, 25, 24, 23, 22, 21, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7 , and me at number [...]
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respect and hard-work as our guide. And I pray we continue to live in peace, together… Note: Here are the others that preceded me: 50, 49, 48, 47, 46, 45, 44, 43, 42, 41, 40, 39, 38, 37, 36, 35, 34, 33, 32, 31, 30, 29, 28, 27, 26, 25, 24, 23,22, 21, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2…
[...] Nik Nazmi, Organised Chaos, Mooke, A. Bukhairi, Aisehman, Daft Oi, Paul Tan, Suanie, Xpyred, Howsy, Maverick SM, Jed Yoong, KTemoc, Dr. Hsu Dar Ren, Lucia Lai, Politics 101, Coolcat, Joshua3, [...]
34 - Marina Mahatir 33 - myAsylum 32 - The Malaysian 31 - Critical Thoughts 30 - Nik Nazmi 29 - Organised Chaos 28 - Mooke 27 - Mind Blowing 26 - Aisehman 25 - Potshots 24 - Paul Tan 23 - Suanie22 - Reduced and Recycled21 - The Sensintrovert 20 - Maverick SM 19 - 2020freelunch : not an open blog? 18 - Ktemoc 17 - Dr. Hsu 16 - Lucia Lai 15 - Politics 101 14 - Coolcat 13 - Josh Incorrigible 12 - Lulu 11 - GCGeorge
[...] 47, 46, 45, 44, 43, 42, 41, 40, 39, 38, 37, 36, 35, 34, 33, 32,31, 30, 29, 28, 27, 26, 25, 24, 23, 22, 21, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7 , 6, and me at 5.I am tagging Mat Salo of [...]
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