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Malaysia is going to celebrate for the “Malaya gaining independent from British” on this 31 August 2007.

Since 1957, the people are suppose be entered “post-colonization” era. Because Malaysia education and the society NEVER teach the substance of Colonialism, few people know the real meaning of “national independence”.

Why our forefather of the country so eager to fight for the independent? Because

Colonial administration will never consult the colonial. Their administration are mean to support economy exploitation. The local social development and cultures progress are little concern to the colonial master.

The English school setup during British colonisation period are mean to educate group of people to work for the colonial master. So the history book in those day are about Britain, nothing more.

A colonial administrative will not hesitate to carry out suppression practice on the society should the culture become a “nuisance” for them to carried out their works by ease.

The reason are obvious : because the land is not the colonial master home. The exploration and exploitation are mean to enrich their home country, their true home. Thus profiteering are reasonable and obvious choice to them.

It is obvious that the struggle for the independent are mean for the people to write restore their culture, to recover their own history from the colonial master and to determine their own society direction.

Alas, it seems history has it own track, as human society must go through similar struggle and stupidity to learn the mistake. The early Malaya government going through the nationalism building era. However, the whole society has pay a hefty price until today since the nationalism way has overwrite the original objective of the independent. The ruling political parties take the excuses of the “national building” and bring back the identical mindset of British colonial administration.

And the so called “development” has overwrite most of the culture in this country.

• Historical buildings destroy by the name of redevelopment. In Kuala Lumpur, we saw the 50 years old Bok house being destroyed. If not because of the economic crisis, the historical Pudu Jails, a big part of Malaysia history, will become rubbles.; Stadium Merdeka will become lot for shopping mall.


• The native cultures are never being pay respect to. All cultures are just a “performing arts” during national day or tourism promotion. But little substance are able to enter into Malaysia education text book. Malaysia school NEVER teach about the land surrounding us. The Sarawak school will never teach a Iban/Dayak/Dusun/etc student about their town. I have living in Petaling Jaya for more than 30 years, and I the school still never teach me the rivers and historical street around Petaling Jaya.
  


• The text book Malay history can NEVER go beyond 15th century. And the history of Hindu, Java, Siams and Chinese influence on the cultures become a taboo to the Malay administrative. I know the “generic” Malay cultures, but I have no idea what is the different between MinangKabau Malay, Kelantanese Malay,etc


• The language issue in the education keep swinging from Malays language versus English language. The argument never break away from the quarrel of “nationalism” vs “economic”. And English educated Malaysian has little idea about mother tongue language. So when the “English” win, Malay and non-Malays mother tongue teaching will be suppressed. But when the “nationalist” win, non-Malays and substantial number of “bumiputra” like Kadazan/Iban/Dayak/Dusun, their mother tongue language teaching are also suppressed.
  


• Yes, until today, Malaysian know little about the native “Orang Asli” cultures. What the “Orang Asli development department” did was moving them out from their native land and “modernise” them. The department never do a study on the indigenous tribe cultures and experience. To them, assimilation is the “right thing” to do.

If a historian leave Penisular Malaya in 1957 and come back to the modern day Malaysia, he will be surprised that the so called “independent” nation are almost bankrupt their cultures after 50 years. The multi-cultural society has failed to spark new idea. Worst, to ease the job of “nationalism”, the country has going through a silent cultural revolution. As mentioned above, Langkasuka and Srivijaya history has been taken out from the educational text book; the history of Borneo is almost non-existent; the uniqueness of different Malays group are being wipe off; different ethnics mother tongue language keep being suppressed, etc.

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殖民: 没有停止过。
五十年的独立， 只是换了形式的殖民。

　　除了戴望舒之外，還有多少可歌可泣的歷史深埋在域多利監獄裡？牢房裡頭若是江洋大盜，他可能突顯了香港的治安史；若是因貧困而犯罪的升斗小民，他就呈現了香港的底層庶民生活史；若是飢寒交迫的非法移民，他就刻劃了香港顛沛流離的遷徙史；若是屈打成招的政治犯，他就為帝國主義的殖民史押上了筆錄。

　　每一個牢房、每一面牆，都是香港史的證物。我敢說，域多利監獄裡的每一塊磚都是濕的，因為它滲透了香港人的母輩祖輩的淚水和歎息、香港人集體的創傷和榮耀。政府哪裏有權利把它交給地產商去「處理」掉？你會把祖母手寫的日記本拿去招標出售嗎？


　　監獄是要保留的，政府說，但是環繞監獄的很多其它老建築，不是太珍貴。或許，但是，請問，做過完整的歷史調查嗎？認真問過市民的想法嗎？歷史建築的文化價值若是真正被重視，為甚麼我們只聽見「經濟效益」四個字？監獄的歷史意義若是真正被珍惜，你可能把它和周邊環境截斷，讓它孤伶伶地站著，被高聳逼人的酒店和商廈包圍？

香港，你往哪裏去？—龍應台