We are Malaysian!

by Tasha Thomas, Teoh Kai Ning and Aminah Yahya, Junior 1 Berners-Lee, Class of 2015

Saya anak Malaysia.

There are 30 million of us - one in every 24 people. I may be Indian, she may be Chinese and you may be Malay, but at the end of the day, we all live together in this beautiful land. We do not need a cardinal direction - it wasn't our fault that Christopher Columbus lost his way. 

Stop dividing us; The British already did that once. Quit trying to define our identity based on where our fathers and mothers were from - we grew up singing the Negaraku! Just because we all come from different roots doesn't make any one of us less Malaysian than the rest. Afterall, our hearts are one and the same.

 

Wo Shi Ma Lai Xi Ya Ren.

We are thinkers, nourishers of the mind. Great at math, science, spelling - you name it! We mean business - doctors, engineers and techies. Our thinkers constructed the tallest tower in Asia, showing what we can achieve, when we put our minds to it.

We are do-ers, who push our bodies to its absolute limit and somehow, beyond that. We have turned badminton as well as sepak takraw, into multibillion dollar sports - not forgetting the numerous contributions to the world of Squash.

We are feelers, feeders of the soul. We shared with the world the romance of 
P. Ramlee films and the music of Siti Nurhaliza, and of course, the KRU brothers, Fauziah Latiff, Uji Rashid as well as the late Sudirman.

Naan Malaysia irundhu varéan.

We are unique. Malaysia's time zone is unlike any other; it is on a whole different level! Unlike many countries, our 13 states and 4 federal territories run on the same clock - yet amazingly, no one is ever on time! We're all used to it though -Everyone is late, but we are late together. 

Our food is sedap. 
Nasi Lemak, Roti Canai, Mee Goreng, Thosai, Char Kuey Teow, Yong Tau Fu. I'm already drooling just looking at those pictures above! Then again, you can't find people traveling just to get a taste of some extraordinary cuisine at just anywhere.

Our country is panas.
Surely our sweat-drenched shirts are enough evidence for that. Going through weeks of blazing hot days is nothing strange to us, but that doesn't keep us from complaining about it anyway. It's often followed by weeks of pouring rain, keeping us in from sports and making us wish we didn't say anything. And of course, we couldn't possibly forget the much dreaded haze that has come to be an annual visitor, giving students an excuse to 'ponteng sekolah'. (Being Malaysians, we naturally find ways to find something positive out of everything) 

Our men are pedas and our women are Beautiful (yes, with a capital B). 
Don't believe us? Take a look for yourself! 

 

It doesn't matter who you are or where you're from - you can bet on fitting right in! Where we live, there is peace and unity. We are the best of all possible worlds; Malaysia, truly Asia.

Saya anak Malaysia. Wo Shi Ma Lai Xi Ya Ren. Naan Malaysia irundhu varéan. They may all sound different, but they all mean the same thing - that we are Malaysian, and more importantly, we are proud to be one. 

Selamat Hari Merdeka!