Perhaps the other side of the cable bridge might just be offering him a better life. He might even be having a little Merdeka celebration of his own with other migrant bugs.
So here we are celebrating 52 years of that independence.
Though the foundation of our Merdeka celebration is a political independence from a “big bully”, have we really reached political independence or are we still being governed by a big bully with a different façade?
Sometimes we ourselves can be our own worst enemy. To each ethnic group Merdeka carries a different meaning and I wonder what Merdeka means to the original people or directly translated orang asli of this land we call home and what Merdeka means to the rest of us migrants.
If we are to remain migrants the rest of our lives, would that mean we are to apologise for our talents, abilities and capabilities that were nurtured by the land we now live in?
If we love the country enough to succeed, does that make us any less Malaysian because generations before us migrated to the land for a better life?
Where do we fare?
Are we shooing our talent to these lands because of colour bias and losing our investments because of a lack of fairness, shooting ourselves in the foot.
Perhaps not.
Or Fareed Zakaria an India-born Muslim who went to university in America and now has a long impressive list of positions including editor of Newsweek International.
Let’s not forget the Austrian, Arnold Schwarzenegger, now governor of California, all contributing to the betterment of the foreign land that welcomed them.
My next question is would Jimmy Choo have been taken seriously and become a world famous designer if he stayed in Malaysia?
Perhaps not.
Where talent supersedes racial profiling and my ethnic background adds texture to the colour of the nation.
A conversation with a Malaysian who has been living in a foreign land for almost 20 years ended like this – “At the end of the day, I would rather be a second class citizen in a foreign land because of a decision I made, than to be a third class citizen in the place I call home.”
Surely something can be done about losing talent, so that when we think about Malaysia and what Merdeka means to us, it will also mean a land where all are embraced, equal and a one nation.
Natalie has been watching too many animation movies to think that bugs have thoughts and feelings.. Happy Merdeka Malaysia!
Comments: letters@thesundaily.com