Malaysia celebrates it’s 66th year of Independence as a nation. We have come a long way since August 31st 1957 when our first Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman declared, “Merdeka!”.

My days of celebrating Merdeka every year without fail, especially when we (my sister and brothers) were growing up was to get up early on Merdeka Day to watch the grand parade on t.v. with our dad and mum. We’d be up by 7.00am to make sure we did not miss anything.

Our initial years was watching these parades in black & white. Color televisions (tv) were not available back then, not until the early 1980s. Nonetheless; it did not diminish our excitement. We’d have our snacks and drinks by the side of us so that we didn’t miss anything.

My favourite part was when the military with their armored vehicles and long range guns on trailers went by. The icing on the cake was when aircraft from the air force flew by. One of the earliest aircraft in our air force was the F-86 Sabre and later on, the Northop F-5E Tiger. These were the defenders of the nation. I was more fascinated (more like in awe) with technology and aircraft on the whole.

These parades aired on tv.

As we progressed in years, we were watching these same annual parades on our color screen tv. The aircraft and military vehicles had progressed, too; more modernized; though not the latest of the latest available. Malaysia was a small and young, growing nation; limited in financial resources. Having said that, our armed forces did well in protection of our country.

The airing of these annual parades on tv was usually until 10.30am or 11.00am. The rest of the day, we’d do our own thing. Watching these annual parades were I suspect, highly influenced by my dad, who was a military officer in the Malayan army at first. The army became the Malaysian army when Malaysia was formed in September 1963.

The rest of the Merdeka Day was light and easy for us. Amongst the Atkinson (dad’s side) and Gomes (mum’s side) families, we were the only ones living in Klang; (1) away from everybody else living either in PJ (2) or KL (3). Klang was 30 minutes away from PJ and a further 15 minutes from KL, by road. That made our home a sort of a getaway for our uncles, aunts and cousins to come and visit. These visits were usually on holidays and weekends. So, Merdeka Day was no different.

Our Jalan Ladang (4) house had a large compound around the house. It had a badminton court on one side of the house. This house was a hive of activities with our uncles, aunties, cousins and schoolfriends. The main sport for the Atkinson family was “Rounders”, a modified version of baseball. It was a game we took seriously with loads of fun.

In front of our house, across the road (“street” if you are American), was vacant land, cleared for building houses. The usual players were Uncle Jeff, Aunty Val, Brendon, Shenton, Uncle Ronnie, Aunty Maryjane, dad, mum, Jennifer, Nigel Terence and myself. Duncan, Audra, Darren and Malcolm were too young to play. Whoever else visited us, were conscripted into either one of two teams that we formed. As for the youngsters, they had their own games among themselves.

This was the “World Series” every time we had a game going. Rules were fluid, meaning that they were constantly “improved” or “upgraded”. We’d use a palm oil branch as a bat, and tennis balls. We’d play on the badminton court, constantly aiming at hitting the ball over the fence, towards the open land. The World Series was so much fun.

Today, we celebrate Merdeka with a serious outlook towards nation building. That is on a bigger picture. Zooming in on our immediate families, friends, and our neighborhood; we are proud to be a nation rich in heritage and culture of great diversity. Wherever we go in Malaysia; we can experience this diverse heritage, this diverse culture, especially when it comes to food.

Wishing all Malaysians, “Happy Merdeka”!

P.S.: I had a couple of Starbucks coffee in the morning. then, I had a “XL” zinger burger from KFC for lunch. The XL size burger is what you’d get if you were in the U.S. – huge. Came with black buns (said to be more healthy for us), and a generous chicken patty offering. The sauces added the “zing” into the zinger.

We’ve (Jeannie, Laura and I) planned to have a nice Merdeka dinner, celebrating Merdeka this evening.

NOTES:
1. Klang, back in the 1970s and 1980s was a small, growing town in the state of Selangor, Malaysia. Now, it is a fast growing city.
2. Petaling Jaya (PJ) is a city in the state of Selangor, Malaysia.
3. KL or Kuala Lumpur, the federal capital of Malaysia; is a federal territory of Malaysia.
4. Jalan Ladang is Malay for “farm road” in English. However, there are no farms anywhere near this area.