Why I’m still In Malaysia?

You know, it’s pretty hard to explain why I’m still here in Malaysia when I could be anywhere in the world. I could have migrated to Australia, could find sponsors there easily. I could have followed my dad where he works and lived there(although that would be very suicidal). I could have done so many things in so many other places but why do I remain in this country that I on a daily basis critic? Some might say “LEAVE THEN CHER!”, if you don’t like it why don’t you just pack your bags and leave no one is putting a gun to your head and asking you to stay….

But still I do stay. It’s not that I do not love Malaysia….I love it with all my heart. It’s just sits right with me despite what’s going on, it’s something that is extremely hard to explain but I shall try to explain it….The first time I realized my immense love for Malaysia was when I left Malaysia for a couple of months. I had just finished my SPM(years ago of course!) and my dad had sponsored my flight there to see my aunts in Sydney. I was all by myself and it was pretty scary-first time on a plane so far away(4-5 hours only but still…) As I the plane flew over the soils of Malaysia I felt so relieved, finally to be out of this rut. I thought to myself that things would be so much better over there! So once I reached Sydney, my aunt and uncle picked me up and we headed to see my other aunts. It was freezing cold, it had just been minutes since I reached but I already hated the weather. I had lots of fun while in Sydney, the people there were quite nice. But you’d be surprised at how excited I got if I spotted a Chinese, Indian or Malay even if there were not from home(Msia) it just gave me a sense of belonging!Eheheh..When they took me to the markets, there were loads of Asians there…Hheheh you could imagine my excitement. Although I loved traveling around Sydney within a few days I was home-sick not just for my mum, my family or my mum’s great cooking (hehehehe) but more so Malaysia…for her soil, for her greenery and for her people. So when I took the flight back to Malaysia, not a wink I slept throughout those 4-5 hours instead I chatted with my co-passenger a very nice elderly man who apparently knew our former PM, he had very interesting stories to tell, a businessmen he said. As we approached Malaysian soil, I was amazed at her beauty….Everything was so green…so rich…..I felt right at home once again but as we were landing I clutched on anything I could find, a little fear I would say….of landing and taking-off. I just stood there in amazement of what Malaysia was…..Walking off the plane, I felt like a new person…there was like a different smell to the air in Sydney and in Malaysia (weird eh?) As I collected my bags and stuff and headed out I saw more Malaysians, boy was I have to see all these faces. Of course when I saw my family (needless to say) I lost control.hehehe like a mad cap…It was so good to be home. I’ve always thought of staying anywhere else but Malaysia. But my first trip away proved to me that I was as Malaysian as could be there was no way I could leave despite my complaints/critique on Malaysia.

So since then I’ve vowed that I’d try to change things little at a time of course and hopefully other Malaysian would feel the same and maybe in time things would change. I could of course take the easier option and leave. But how could I AND why should I? I couldn’t leave as it was my home and I shan’t leave cause I was born and bred here just like every Malaysian ..it is my birth right to claim my rights as a citizen of this country and that I shall! Some might say its wishful thinking hoping to change things in Malaysia, the dominant culture has always existed and people have always just succumbed and accepted things the way that they are..but I got something to tell you my friends..things are definitely changing for the better. People are coming together. I’m not saying things will change in the next year or so but I’m saying it will slowly but surely. I’d like to be around the experience it. The blogging community, the NGOs, the alternative media like <“Malaysiakini”> has showed me that it is all possible!!! That’s why I love in Malaysia and will remain here..:)