Merdeka 50th Anniversary, art thou in celebratory mood?

YL Chong , the newshound in me, is in a pensive mood.
(The journalist by definition is rooted in harsh reality and must deal with facts and reasons, and rationales, mousey also can, though some dis-membered ones choose to do PR and spinning -- Contrast with Desi in me, often in optimistic vibration out of a creative writer's bent, also often high on drugs iunduced by an vivid mind on overdrive and an inflamed heart, not in danger as long as it's oxygenated with my soulmate's vibes ringing in tandem.)

I feel so much negativity in the Malaysian airspace -- reinforced by my outing to Putrajaya a few days back to hear the former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad speak at length -- and things aren't that lifting to prod the "creative"-in-Desi to join the much-touted high-budget Government-funded celebrations.

Indicators like the well-propped Bursa Malaysia (former Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange) and Bank Negara's gross domestic product forecast of 6% being sustainable were sudenly handed a rude awakening last week when the US sub-prime rates turmoil triggered by rising mortgage defaults sent shock-waves across the seven seas. No, Bursa Malaysia could not exclude itself from the international fallout, and our nation's leaders'd better open up their sleepy eyes that all's not honky-dory in the borderless trading place. When the United States or China farts, the totten smell affects all the rest of the marts.

And what is Desi's heading towards just 10 days before the Big Day?

And this relates to a question posed by Y&A blogger conversationist-host @kyels.com -- another Poet-ass-pirant like Desi -- what's in store this time around. At my post of August 16, she queried:

"Off topic, Desi are you doing any Merdeka writing project this year?";)

By kyels, at 11:26 AM


The University student enjoying a final year of wayward wind at Nottingham Forest campus nestled safe and sane off Kuala Lumpur wolfish limits still remembers Desi's tradition of marking the nation's milestones with an ESSAY SERIES, encompassing contributiions from fellow Bloggers (yes, undegraduate Kye Koi Lee took part in the past two ESSAY SERIES consecutively:).

My INTRO to the post today prefaces the decision, that it won't be a celebaratory outing with optimism and dancing in the air. It's a sobering and reflective review period of NegaraKu -- and unfortunately, I seem to agree with most of my fellow writers in Blogosphere that the nation as it approaches 50 is in a state of much disrepair.

When Pak Lah, a fatherly term of endearment as the Tun Dr Mahathir-successor would like Malaysians to call him, took over the reins of government in November 2003, there was indeed a palpable air of optimism among the citizenry with the new Prime Minister's "Walk With Me" exhortations as he pronounced commitments to fight corruption, promote an open and accountable government, build trust and confidence amog the Rakyat as each and every individual is called on to foster a "caring" society.

But nearing four years later, Desi in all honesty could not give the Government of the day a "performing" or even "passeable" grade in an accountable administration and governance. It is a "Fail" grading, and signs are that it will continue to slide with the same "weak", often clueless leadership. When Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi sounded his clarion call to work with him, not for him, I -- and many fellow Malaysians IU believe -- initially took him at his word responded cooperatively,and sincerely gave him a chance to prove his worth.

But like the facade of the "everything's fine in the economy" was cracked last week by the "happening" in the United States, some states of euphoria are fragile and a fiction created by marketeers not much different from the sidewalk medsin pedlars. "Yes, give me your millions, and I have a cure for your wracking stomach cancer!" Solutions to the nation's ills all neatly wrapped up in small, magic bottles, packaged in Jinjang New Village or Kg Dengkil or Porta de Pandamaran.

But the Age of the Internet and Information Technology is a merciless, fast-changing environment where a product or service earning US Dollars like agolden goose soon becomes a lame duck if the product inventor does not tune his/her ears to the ground and keeps up with quantume-leap changes at the marketplace. The controversial Proton national car project, the rape of the hills and tmbler in several states, and the several Port fiascos in the making -- like the Port Klang Free Zone white elephant ocsting RM4.6billion now, still rising! -- have not yet seen the closing chapters.

No, there is not much to celebrate about come August 31, 2007 because if we join in the Government's huigh-budget festivities, we might becoime accompices to an undeserving outing. Desi is reluctant to become an accessory or bit-actor; aweays, he aspires to be his own role-player. Never join the herd in follow-the-leader mode, as many retail investors burnt at the Bursa Malaysia stakes the previous few days would tell you if they were honest -- many parted with their pants, if not the under-wear. The international marketplace does not heed the wise words of the PM, or the wisecracks, of his Cabinet members like ... (No-lah, let's not name names to craete another NameWee diversion, to let them contoniue with their shortterm euphoric outings. Come September, Rip van Winkles would wake up to new realities, icluding some bllion-ringgit bills and IOUs waiting on the horizon.)

In place of the ESSAY SERIES, to my dear EsteemedReaders hear, I will give thee some thing else to chew on. In Thinking Mode.
And Chow.
we can still adjourn with our buddies for a roast lamb outing, beef Satay plus my Haridas' tehtarik ta-pau-ed from Furong, or chilled C&W Rut Bir. Are we rendezwoo-ing at Centrail Market, Kuala Lumpur, or Seremban? The former is wolfish, and the latter is as placid as a lamb. Or Li'l Red Riding Hood, out for a cool excursion to mark 50th Merdeka coming-and-going from out of Sherwood Forest. I still prefer the innocent euphoria of Robin Hood ala Howsy, Maverick, AnakMerdeka, and his Merry Men; johnleemk, sabrina tan, theels and kyels, and like-minded dancing Maids Marian, Mime, Nicole, and mayhaps, Jeanne.