What it takes to be a Malaysian ?

My father,
he was born in China.
At young age, he was brought to Malaysia.
Never know much about his younger days,
because he was never good in telling stories...

As a young boy,
my father used to take me to the local cinema,
whenever Malaysian flag was displayed on the big screen
and the national anthem was played,
he asked me to stand straight,
and he stand tall next to me in complete silence.
He was proud that he is a Malaysian.

I remember an incident years ago..
when an arrogant and ill mannered man

shouted at him at the wet market
“ Ah pek Cina, balik tongsan lah !” (“ Chinese Old man, go back to China !”)
With dignity, he replied with a forgiving smile
“Encik, Wau orang Mah-Lai-Ah. Nenek moyang Lu datang dari mana ? Indonesia kah ?”
(“ Mister, I am a Malaysian. Your ancestor came from where ? Was it Indonesia ?”)
As a true Malaysian,

my father is a very forgiving man,
he was never offended by racial slurs.
However, he did advised me to walk away from ignorant racist.
In his words, “Never pick a fight you did not choose to start”,
“ One less hatred is one less burden and one happiness gained” and
“let the racists carry the burden of their own hatreds till their death.”

He was probably one of the first to join the Home Guard
to defend the security of Malaysia.

He donated his savings generously to worthy causes.
Race, religion, and creed was never his parameters of judgement.
He was never selfish and lived his life with dignity and humility,
he believed in contributing back to his adoptive country.

He held Tunku Abdul Rahman in high esteemed,
in his word, “Tunku is a fair man that care for all Malaysian”

He shed his tears of joy

when Tun Abdul Razak visited China to established diplomatic relationship,
In his words, “Tun Razak now understands not all Mah Wah ( Malaysian Chinese) are communist”
and “for far too long, we have been treated unfairly.”

When the first Proton car rolled out from Shah Alam
He beams with pride that “now there are Malaysian made cars on our roads”
and with the same pride, he told all his friends that “my son works in proton saga”

My father,
he was born a Chinese national,
his wrinkled eyes traced the life of hardship as a Malaysian.
At times his dignity and steely determination to overcome
unfair treatments of his adoptive country tore my heart.

But despite all that,
he standby and stand-up for his adoptive country,
he identified himself with the adoptive country,
he died as a proud Malaysian.

He may be poor,
but he is rich in national prides.
He may not be a religious scholars,
but practiced righteousness and tolerances.
He may not be well educated,
but he is learned on life's moral principles.

He brought up his children to accept and respect cultural diversities.
He brought up his children to become responsible Malaysians.

I am born a Malaysian,
I may not be the prince of the land,
But I am a true Malaysian.

If any of those selfish mental retards
still wants to question my nationality with ulterior motives,
and attempt to racialize my rights in this land of the blessed,
they are answerable to my father's “nenek moyang lu datang dari mana ?”
( “your ancestors originated from where ?”)
Be truthful, don't tell me you don't know where your ancestors came from ?

With significant progress and development,
Malaysia is what it is today not because she is lucky,
Bur because there are also groups of extremely
hardworking, unselfish, tolerance, and determined minorities,
willing to sacrificed, worked hard, with pride of not accepting on hand-outs,
and refused to live like parasites,
have contributed to the economic miracles of Malaysia.

Don't let greeds and inferiority complex blind you,
don't carry the burdens of your misguided hatreds till your death.
Be a man at peace with the environment,
sow no hatreds against other races and religions,
respect the rights of others, play fair, and live a contented life as a peaceful Malaysian.

Rakyat hidup bersatu dan Maju.
Be a responsible and ethical Malaysian.