916 - The Birth of a New Malaysia

There was something very different at tonight’s celebration of Malaysia Day Kelana Jaya Stadium. It was much more than a political rally. Something very significant was hatching. It was thick in the air. It was magical. It was infectious. I wish everybody were there to share those magical moments with me.

I arrived at Kalana Jaya Stadium seething with anger over the totally unreasonable and utterly idiotic detention of our fearless hero RPK and our respected YB Teresa Kok under the draconian Internal Security Act. The first sight that greeted me the moment I entered the stadium was the Ramadan prayer. The sight of hundreds of people worshiping the Divine with the serene voice of the Imam drew me into another space immediately. My heart followed the prayer although my mind did not know the language. I silently offered my prayer for RPK and Teresa, and I prayed for peace and unity in our beloved homeland.

I like to offer my highest praise to the Imam who conducted the prayer. I really appreciated his devotion to God and his peaceful voice that permeates the whole stadium with serenity. I was really grateful to be reminded of my connection to the Divine, which set the tone for my perception and participation for the rest of the night.

Religion has always been a big part of my life. It was never in doubt that our moral strength lies in our adherence to the Divine. My true wish is that one day we will not need to shunt each other because of the superficial differences in how we relate to the Divine. I wish that one day we can all allow God Be, be the unknowable Mystery, be the uniting principle for humankind.

I have been to a few rallies by Pakatan Rakyat. But this one was different, very different. What made it different was the lacking in negative emotions. You don’t feel the hatred for Barisan Nasional government. You don’t even feel that the rally was about a tremendous struggle to topple a big bad evil empire. There was hardly any smearing of the Barisan Nasional government. It was as if everybody already KNEW and presumed that the falling of the Barisan Nasional Government is inevitable. The rally was about the celebration of unity and a better future for all. The amount of light and happiness in the atmosphere was truly infectious and uplifting.

As I told you, I walked into the stadium with seething anger, but half way through the prayer I was already seeing things in a different light. I begun to see that the behaviors of the BN government was so unbelievably ridiculous that it was almost comical. Moreover every evil deed that the government did backfired badly immediately, and the politicians and government organizations are behaving like the three stooges. It was Divine retributions in its most graphical form! I heard that there were meant to be 15 people on the ISA detention list. I am really curious to get hold of the list and see what sort of ridiculous reasons were given for the intended detention. I am sure it will beat the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not show.

Despite the anguish of the ISA detention and the thinly veiled threat of 513 repeating, something very significant happened in our collective psyche tonight. The messages delivered by our leaders were pristinely clear – of unity, of restoring justice and order, of equal participation of life opportunities. The voices of the people were equally resounding and unequivocal. The spirit of unity was overwhelming. It was a remarkable demonstration of people power. The veil of darkness has finally lifted. Malaysia has finally come of age.

When the national anthem was played I was moved to tears. I understood for the first time the meaning of the lyric, and saw it in action right in front of me. I felt for the first time a deep sense of purpose for this piece of land that we called home.

916 has already happened. The transformation has already happened in the collective consciousness of the people. The rest is only a matter of time. This is the birth of a new Malaysia. Of that I am certain.