Hold Up, Wait a Minute - Were Malaysia's "Good Ol' Days" Really That Great?

Ever get that feeling when your parents talk about how amazing things were "back in the day"? You know, the good ol' days when teh tarik was 1 cents, and roti canai 5 cents came with endless gravy? They love to reminisce about those "simpler times" in Malaysia, right? Well, hold onto your Sunday's Teh Tarik or go back to weekend sleep sesh, because a recent article: ‘The good ol’ days’ – really? by Jayanath Appudurai on Aliran.com will got you thinking; were these "good ol' days" actually all sunshine and rainbows?

80s baby

I can’t agree more with Jayanath Appudurai’s thought-provoking article. It challenges the nostalgic view many of us hold about Malaysia’s past.

Jayanath throws some serious shade on this rosy-tinted view of Malaysia's past. Yes, he reminds us that this sunshine wasn't reaching everyone equally. He argues that this supposed harmony wasn't exactly a nationwide rave. Apparently, city folks who went to "English schools" might have had a melting pot of friends, but for those chilling in kampung (villages), life was more like staying in your own ethnic and language bubble. Talk about FOMO on all the cultural exchange.

Example: You're growing up in JB (Soooo- bando), rocking your baju seragam, berseluar Yankee, berkasut well you know what I'm talking about, in a school full of all kinds of people. Don't make me start with our prestige school like EC, MCKK, STAR, STF (Well, hello Srikandi!), and TKC; contohnya. Your best friend is Cina, India but your lab partner is Melayu. Sounds pretty sweet, right? Now picture this; you're in a kampung, everyone looks like you, speaks like you, and the closest you get to another culture is watching Wayang Pacak P. Ramlee movies on the weekend. Big difference, kan?

Education also played a big part in this whole divide. Those fancy English schools were like mini UNs, feel so "atas" with melting pot of friends (read: connection). But the vernacular and religious schools in rural areas were more like exclusive "clubs" - stick to their own crew.

Senang cerita, those fancy English schools in the city were like Nasi Kandar, a delicious mix of everything. But in the kampung, it was more like nasi lemak; tasty, but stays in its own lane, got it? Well, who can't forget the downside of "Dasar Pecah dan Perintah" which actually make existing lines thicker; building walls instead of bridges, not exactly the recipe for national unity, right?

Question everything; were our grandparents (or parents) just reminiscing about the good parts, forgetting the not-so-inclusive bits? And are they just airbrushing out the not-so-great parts? Maybe it's time to ditch the rose-tinted glasses and see things for what they really were. After all, not everyone's experience is the same. Because let's be honest, building a truly awesome Malaysia for everyone means understanding the past, warts and all.

Instead of getting stuck in nostalgia land, what if we used these lessons from the past to create a future that's even better? Imagine a Malaysia where everyone feels like they belong, regardless of where they live, what language they speak, or who their grandparents (again, parents) were from. We can't change the past, but we can definitely rewrite the ending, right?

Imagine a country that's like a giant char kuey teow - a delicious mix of flavors that comes together perfectly - Sorry, I can't think of other hiperbola. So hungry but too lazy to wake up but still rajin to write lengthy thought. I'm a millennial after all. 

Now, let's get back to the main story. Reminiscing is cool, but let's not get stuck in the past. Thanks to Jayanath's for his wake-up call article to acknowledge the complexities of Malaysia's history. 

So, what do you say?