Merdeka & Malaysia Day 2017 Message
Merdeka & Malaysia Day 2017 Messagefrom Bro. Tan Leng HuatPresident, Theravada Buddhist Council of Malaysia
Dear Sisters and Brothers in the Dhamma,We are celebrating our 60th Merdeka and 54th Malaysia Day this year on 31 August and 16 September 2017, respectively. I remember the events leading up to Merdeka very clearly.The way the people banded together, in harmony, for a cause higher than themselves, it was a life changing moment. I was only a young boy at that time, but it made an impression on me, how everyone - our friends, our neighbours, and my family placed great importance on this event.The adults at that time had the right view of what Merdeka was meant to be. The resolve and the effort was a united one. Words were chosen carefully and mindfully to achieve this pinnacle in our nation’s history.Now, six decades onwards, we have made great progress. We would not be here today without the untiring efforts of our parents and grandparents. Not everyone was well educated then. In terms of education many were simple folk comprising farmers, clerks, housewives and in the case of my own beloved father, a rickshaw puller. However they had a vision. Just as important, they had the resolve, and they put in the effort.Merdeka did not happen in a moment, it took years of vision, effort, and collaboration. Similarly, life did not change overnight. Our forefathers worked tirelessly on, day after day to give us a good education, to give us lives that would be less difficult than what they experienced. Our parents, grandparents and the nation’s leaders worked hard and worked together, to give us a better future.In 2017, as we remember their vision and determination that laid the foundations of Malaysia, we too must strengthen our own resolve to do right by the next generation. How do we measure our success? It is simple, when we can provide our children and grandchildren a future that is better than the one that we have enjoyed. We must continue the legacy left by our own parents and grandparents.How do we do this? With right view, right resolve, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration, as advised by the Buddha.On behalf of the Theravada Buddhist Council of Malaysia, I wish everyone a very Happy Merdeka and Malaysia Day 2017.Bro. Tan Leng HuatPresident, Theravada Buddhist Council of Malaysia