Merdeka from whom — If we cannot Merdeka ourselves?
LETTERS: The morning after Merdeka.
After the 69th Hari Kebangsaan celebration, the author went for a walk in Taman Tasik Metropolitan Kepong and was dismayed by the littered environment. The abundance of rubbish and discarded items raised the question of whether Malaysia has truly achieved Merdeka. Merdeka is not just about political independence from colonial rule, but also about freeing ourselves from a mentality that someone else will clean up after us.
The author argues that citizens must take responsibility for maintaining public spaces, as infrastructure cannot be built fast enough to replace personal responsibility. The writer suggests that true nation-building happens in the small moments of everyday life, and that Malaysia will need to focus on building a strong civic consciousness to truly be Merdeka.
Written by urgent.news from New Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
