August for Malaysia is always a season of ostentatious nationalistic display. This year, the celebration is particularly hysterical as the country celebrates the 50th anniversary of independence from British rule.

(No matter what the national narrative may say till kingdom come, my lived experience tells me that independence for my home state of Sarawak happened on 16th September, 1963, and Malaysia is merely two weeks short of 44 years old. That it has been thrust down my throat that National Day falls on August 31, and that my country has been independent for 50 years, is but another exercise of muscle flexing from post-colonial colonialism. Bearing testimony to history, I still insist there was no Malaysia before 1963.)

Despite the orgy of superficial joy and self-congratulatory back-patting as portrayed in the media, as extolled by many government ministers almost everyday now, Malaysians by and large seem less than impressed.