We still love Malaysia ... right?

The room was not the most comfortable of waiting rooms I've seen, with dirty white walls and a bare plastic playground occupying one section of it. With a runny nose and irritable throat, I lumbered across the room with my laptop bag (stuffed with magazines, 2 seasons of Prison Break and a bottle water) to find an empty spot on the sagging moldy green coloured couch.

I was here waiting for my MyVi to be serviced, but this place could well be a hospital waiting room. Everyone else waiting had either the papers in hand or a magazine and I decided I would spend the next hour gleefully catching up on Prison Break-haven't watched it so long I can't even recall the characters' names. But that was before I caught sight of the TV at the end of my couch, showing none other than Embun, the 2002 Malay movie depicting a love story in the midst of the struggle against the Japanese Occupation. I immediately forgot my Prison Break plans and got caught up in the movie, (despite having watched it before). One quick glance around the room, I noticed noone bothered besides me. Just me-watching a Malay movie.

Was it the love story? Unlikely since there are better love stories. Was it the ironic and discreet relationship between the Malay girl and Japanese soldier? Maybe. Was it because it was a story set during hardship and war? More likely because of this- I'm a sucker for this genre (think The Pianist and As Far as My Feet Will Carry Me). But maybe just maybe because it was a story about Malaysians, and not a bad crafting of the subject too. And I have my patriotic moments like on the eve of Merdeka when I'm sitting in this dingy waiting room I feel a sense of pride watching Embun.

But why does noone else bother? That thought irritates me slightly.. Perhaps it was just early in the morning and the papers were more important to read since it details 2009's Budget and I'm a naive idealist having romantic ideas about patriotism. Who knows- perhaps back home all those people in the waiting room could be flying ten Malaysian flags from their balcony and even one of those mini ones at the top of their cars (though I highly doubt this theory).

Later that night, as I sit in my living room in my flagless house flipping channels just before midnight to see if there's any live broadcast on the Merdeka celebrations- there were none except of course the mandatory ones on the ever dreary RTM channels. Hmm looks like this sombre Merdeka mood extends even to the media.

Whatever the reason may be- an uncertain political future for the country, the lack of stability at the current moment, the unforgiving hike in prices, there's still something to love about Malaysia for me- something way more intangible than all those- otherwise how do you explain people from war torn countries like Iraq who even after escaping dream of going home? I clearly remember some articles I read a while back about refugees who despite living comfortably in a new host country- still feel the yearning of their motherland.

So no different here - I have not flown a flag this year, neither do I love the politicians or the inconsistency of government service or the biasness of privileges but there is something about Malaysia, tanah tumpah darahku.