Negaraku Nerakaku

-I have returned back from Japan to Malaysia. The weather's still pretty much the same, and so does the appearance. But something here has changed; the atmosphere. It is toxic, full of bigotry and tension, as ideologies clash and personalities fight for air to breathe.

-But it is all not so surprising to me; this is, after all, the long-term results of both the globalization coming from the outside and the conservatism from the inside. What can you expect? It just had to happen. As one of my friends once said, every single hidden thing is coming up. And people find that unpleasant.

-Is it suffice to say that our country has turned a bit Hell-ish? Well, maybe it is not an appropriate term to use here to describe the situation; a revolutionary period would be a better, though still inaccurate, term. This is the time of change.

-We will see massive changes in the society, as tensions go up and hushed up issues got uncovered. Malaysia as we know it is over. But it is not necessarily a bad thing; things change, and change is natural for any single existing being. The problem is whether we have the right attitude and the right reaction to this change. We can choose to adapt or react; but we have to be responsible and respectful of human rights. Think about the future generation. Do we want them burdened with issues regarding human rights, or do we want them free? It is a fairly easy question. Of course, most of the people who are reasonable in their thoughts will want their children free and unburdened with unnecessary issues. That is the struggle we are currently having; seeking freedom not just for ourselves, but for the next generation as well.

-But this struggle means that one has to face a wall that has been there for ages. It is a wall called the insecurity. People are afraid of change. What would change bring; Heaven or Hell? The question is there waiting to be answered. But it is not God who decides the outcome. It is us. We are the ones who have the final decision. Our insecurities, that take the form of institutionalized religion, ideology, racism and conservatism, are going to hold us back from the outcome. But we cannot stay the same. Staying the same would spell the doom for our society. Like it or not, we have to move forward. But some disagree on the direction. That's the reason for so many tensions inside the country.

-Tensions bubble up and might explode if left unchecked and not channeled. We can't expect the government to do this; the government is in itself one of the cause of the tension. The only way is for us to become truly independent of the government and handle this tension in a healthy way, lest our nation becomes a Hell.