MERDEKA

I am not going to give
mushy declarations
About how I love my country
How I love my homeland
Cannot be gauged by words alone

I'm not going to live
in a fools paradise
By thinking everything is fine and dandy
There's still more to be done
There's still more to be improved
We talk about independence
But we must also ask ourselves
Are our own souls really free
Of indifference, of bigotry, of cruelty?

What I do know
Is that if I say "I love my country"
The best way for me
To fulfil my love
Is to give nothing less
Than the utmost best
In my aspirations
And pray to God Almighty
To give us the strength
To carry the nation to great heights
But still supported and woven
With elements of the heart
Elements of compassion
And humanitarian values

For let us not become a mechanical nation
Without a soul......

AJR - 31/8/96