RIFLE RANGE BOY

At a time when tranquillity is a distant memory and race politics is rearing its ugly head, it is only appropriate that we re-evaluate our stand on what it is to be a Malaysian. Does it encompass only the majority of people of a particular ethnicity who dominate most fields, as determined by the country's social engineering policies? Does it refer to the earliest occupants of the country? Does being a Malaysian mean being a Muslim only? What happened to all the people who sacrificed their hearts and minds for the nation all this while? Their  “blood, toil, tears and sweat” mean nothing? To the pea-brained who insists that Malaysia is only for Malay-Muslims and the rest are most temporary occupants of the land who should be thankful for their temporary occupation, read this. The Dass legacy: Soldering on By Adrian David June 14, 2021, New Straits Times.   Flying Officer (Rtd) David Samuel Dass in his Royal Air Force uniform during War War I. - Pic courtesy of Brig-Gen Dr Alexan...

Negaraku by  Farish A Noor  ( Notes ) on Thursday, May 9, 2013 at 12:43am By Farish A Noor When I was a kid growing up in Malaysia, I, like millions of other kids at school, was compelled to sing the national anthem Negaraku. The words were learned by rote, memorized and repeated in a repetitive fashion during the morning assembly as the national flag was raised. Being brought up a Johanian at St Johns Institution, this ritual was drilled into us on a weekly basis; and later on when I became a prefect I also had to learn the other rites and rituals of mutuality and association: Brushing and polishing my shoes til they were so shiny that one could see one's face reflected; brushing and cutting one's hair tight and above the ears, the incessant marching and drilling that rendered our lives routine and regimented- very much like cadets in an army camp. Though we detested these rituals then, they were nonetheless the means through which ci...