COMMENT | Growing up, Merdeka always seemed to be a celebration of our country obtaining freedom from the clutches of the colonial powers.

From watching videos of the first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, declaring independence to the rakyat gathered at Dataran Merdeka in 1957 to visiting historic landmarks on weekends, it would not be a stretch to say that the idea of Merdeka really inspired me.

This, tied in with Hari Merdeka being a celebration of our country’s diversity, had led me to always believe that we as a country would move forward into the future together as a developed and first-world country.

However, as I grew older...