Oh Malaysia, What Happened to Us?

Oh Malaysia, What Happened to Us?

🇲🇾 Oh Malaysia, What Happened to Us?
A Reflection We Can No Longer Run From

By Amarjeet Singh @ AJ

There was a time when Malaya was not just land.
It was a sacred promise.

A promise that people of different colours, languages, and faiths could come together to build a nation worthy of being called home.

From the Indians who built the estates, roads and railways…
To the Sikh regiments who guarded our towns as police and soldiers…
To the Malays who fed the nation through agriculture and governance…
To the Chinese who drove commerce, trade and growth…

These were not just contributions.
These were the bones, muscles, and heartbeat of a nation being born.
This was the backbone that carried Malaya into Malaysia.

So what happened to that backbone?
What happened to the unity that once held us upright?

We lived as one.
We ate at the same kedai kopi.
We visited each other’s houses without thinking twice.
We sat together on the same wooden chairs watching black-and-white TV during P. Ramlee movies.

We used to know what respect meant — without laws, without signs, without fear.

During the Japanese Occupation, we shared food to survive.
During the Emergency, we sheltered each other.
During Konfrontasi, we stood shoulder to shoulder.
When Malaysia beat Korea in the Merdeka Cup, the whole country celebrated like family.
When we played India in the Hockey World Cup at Merdeka Stadium, every cheer shook the ground as if the entire stadium was one heartbeat.
When we lifted the Thomas Cup, we did not see Chinese, Malay, Indian —
we saw Malaysians.

We didn’t need to ask if something was halal —
we already understood, respected, adjusted.
We didn’t need to pretend about tolerance —
we lived authentically, comfortably, naturally.
We didn’t need politicians to preach unity —
we showed it every single day.

But somewhere along the way, something broke.

1963 brought us together.
1969 shook us.
But what followed was worse —
year by year, layer by layer, poison seeped into the cracks.

Religion weaponised.
Race politicised.
Fear fertilised.
Corruption normalised.
Ignorance magnified.
And slowly, the backbone of our nation — the same backbone built by sweat, sacrifice, and unity — began to bend.

Today, we watch a 20-second viral video of an Indian uncle on the ground…
A Malay man kicking him…
A Malay woman spraying water on him…
And finally, a Chinese man lifting him, feeding him, restoring his dignity…

And a terrifying question rises:

What happened to Malaysia?
Where did our humanity disappear to?

We once saved each other without hesitation.
Now we record videos instead of intervening.

We once protected each other without asking race.
Now we attack each other without shame.

We once stood united even in the worst moments of history —
now we crack over the weakest provocations.

If this is who we have become, then something has gone terribly wrong.

And we cannot pretend anymore.

🇲🇾 So How Do We Fix This?
How Do We Restore What Our Ancestors Built With Blood, Sweat and Love?

1. Stop swallowing race politics

We are not enemies.
We are not competitors.
We are not threats to each other.
We share the same tanah, the same air, the same future.

2. Learn from Sabah & Sarawak

No obsession with racial segregation.
No competition of who is holier.
Just pure respect, pure family spirit.
Unity is lived, not advertised.

3. Bring back compassion

If someone falls — HELP.
If someone is hungry — FEED.
If someone struggles — LISTEN.
Basic humanity is not a race issue. It is a soul issue.

4. Reject leaders who divide us

Unity should not depend on political season.
Our dignity is not a bargaining chip.

5. Remember our Malaysian DNA

We don’t need to create harmony.
We only need to return to what we once were.
Our grandparents proved unity is possible.
Our generation must prove it can survive.

6. Come out of the cocoon

Stop living in bubbles of fear and misinformation.
Stop assuming the worst about your neighbour.
Stop letting others define what Malaysia should be.

🇲🇾 A Final Message for Every Malaysian

The Indian who built the roads…
The Sikh who guarded the borders…
The Malay who nourished the land…
The Chinese who grew the economy…

They didn’t build this nation to watch us destroy it.
They didn’t sacrifice so we could hate each other.
They didn’t bleed so we could break.

Malaysia is not just a country.
Malaysia is a responsibility.

Don’t let us become the next broken state ruled by hatred.
Don’t let one generation erase 70 years of unity.

Let us rebuild the Malaysia that once stood stronger than politics, stronger than fear, and stronger than division.

Let us rise again — not as different colours,
but as one unshakeable nation.

— Amarjeet Singh @ AJ

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