Thomas Cup and the woes

this year's Thomas Cup reminds me of patriosim, strangely enough.




actually, it's a book i read a few months ago, dear andreas. the writer was a german, and he talked about how people in Germany do not embrace patriotism, it just isn't something that they are proud of, and this has to do with the black tragedy of the wipe-out under Adolf Hitler's vision. therefore, he expressed his rare dose of the taste of patriotism during the World Cup in which so many German gathered in a field and cheered for Germany, as if forgetting that they are not prompt to do something like that, to openly acknowledge that they are proud to be Germans.

i was taken aback, actually. who would come to think of something like this? to not be able to root for your own team and be proud of your origins.

but, when i think deeper into the issue, i realized that we are not so far from that too. from what i can see, it is difficult to find a non-bumiputera teenager or even adult to proclaim that they are proud to be malaysian. my brother talked non-stop about migrating. my physics tuition teacher complained about the education system. some don't like the transportation means, some hated the politics. we speak more of our mother-tongue and english. we seek chances to leave, because there's nothing much to take from here.

i was in the cafeteria last week when the thomas cup was on and the students were packed there, catching the drama of the game. when the malaysian player missed a shot or scored a point, they moaned and cheered in unison.

that was my rare dose of patriotism too i guess. that's patriotism. that's how it feels like. that is when i see that, we are actually together even though we are apart. we are one even though we tried to be different. we are malaysian, good and bad, we take them all in.

i used to ponder upon leaving because i don't like it here. in fact, there are so so many unruly issues that we have to face here, and some are nonsense. but, where am i to go? i am a chinese, but i am not a china citizen. i am a malaysian. i am born here, and this is my home, like it or not, and i grow up here. this is where my memories lie. where on earth is there somewhere like here? my root. my shelter. my home.

i think those who find faults with their country are actually visionaries. you see the problem then you have the responsibility to fix it. it's that simple. just don't leave like that. that's cowardly and plain selfish.

by the way, malaysia lost the thomas cup this time again. we'll do better next time. sorry for the fans though.