Malaysia Part II

Being home has been GREAT. It's great having Mummy's home cooked food, and listening to Daddy's dinner table stories and I'm surprised (once again) at how much my brother, Keith has grown both physically and in personality.

I've been meeting up with my friends one by one, I love knowing that I am starting full time work soon, so it means steady income coming in very soon. ;) It's been great seeing all of them again, and catching up with each other's lives, and finally feeling like my own life can now get under way, rather than be put on hold while I finish my studies.

And, of course, one of the awesomest things about being back at home, gastronomy haven aside, is the hi speed unlimited broadband, which means I get to follow all my favourite TV series again! I've been going on a Gleeathon and I am BLOWN away! *Heart* Glee!! ♥

One episode in particular, was talking about acceptance. How we should accept our imperfections and wear it on our chests with pride.

This touched me a lot, especially with what has been going on in my country. The Bersih rally that was held on July 9th, the night I flew back here, is still splashed across news feeds everywhere. A lot of touching stories have surfaced from different angles, contributed by people who were either at the demonstration itself, or was married to one of them, or was barred from going to the rally...the stories make me want even more to be back home here.

I love Malaysia. I will always be proud to be Malaysian. People still ask me, "Why don't you get yourself a permanent residency in New Zealand? Such a waste, you already study there for 3 years, stay a little longer and you can get your PR already." I don't quite understand why.

I don't understand why we as children of Malaysia are asked to run away to a foreign country. Why complain about life in Malaysia, and then escape and never return? Why not do something about it? A lot of us are blessed to be given the opportunity to study abroad, why not bring what we learn back home to Malaysia to better our own home country? The country we grew up in, where we were shaped and moulded?

"But you study Sport Science! How to survive in Malaysia? No market for you la, stay in NZ better!". Wrong. I studied Sport Science to help better peoples' lives. And it would be plain silly if I run along and helped foreigners in a land where the industry is already well developed, while I can easily do the same for my fellow Malaysians who are in greater need of such knowledge than the white men.

Same reason why we cheer for Harimau Malaya (Malayan Tigers), our national football team, when they go against world renown Arsenal, even though our players are no match for them. The world of sport is highly patriotic. People will cheer for their own home teams no matter what the odds. It feels good cheering for something you belong to.

I don't know if the Glee episode is really related, but it touched me and it made me think of how we shouldn't be ashamed of the imperfections of Malaysia. We should be proud of it, and we should want to better it. Home is where the heart is. My heart belongs to Malaysia. =)