This yearning for...........

Reminiscences of the days in the sixties, when I was only 12, full of naivety with carefree thoughts, ..flashes of the good times I had with fellow classmates Aziz and the lovely Asmah ( of with I had a crush on) and it all happened way back in good old Penang

I remembered vividly the day Aziz invited me to go over to his kampong for a spot of fishing, catching kingcrabs and frolicking all day long on the beach. We had such a good time. Ahh... those days "race" was never on our mind.......... we were just classmates!!
Through our eyes we saw each other....... as just another person although we knew that we were from different faiths. It was of secondary importance.

Well, as for pretty Asmah, her demure smile (when our eyes met) in class, made me fell head over heels for her. There was a time when she invited a few of her classmates (me included ) to her place for a gathering and it was a unique opportunity for me to strike up a conversation with her. Oh! those lovely times....

My, my, my....... there was also naughty bala ( always the cheeky one ), Min Sin ( he is the so called.. the snorbbish one ) , and Rashid , he is always top in class !! never had a chance to beat his standing.

We had a good mixture in our class consisting of malays, chinese , indians and also some, what we termed as " eurasians" too!

All these were just only good distant memories .........

Fast forward, after the unfortunate incident of May '69 , things have changed, and the way I see it , it's definitely not for the better.

We are poles apart in the ways we think and interact now then before, and for us to foster good relations amongst ethnic groups and as a united, truly cosmopolitan entity, sacrifices have to be made for the good of the homeland.

I, fervently wish that championing of race, faith and intolerances do not play a primary role to the detriment of a united, strong and cohesive society, instead , the government of the day has the moral obligation to come out with pragmatic, well- thought out but not superficial policies, that will unite the people rather than divide them.......

I pray for the day to come that we all can live as ONE........ it might not happen in my life time, God willing, for the sake of the future generations...... a white knight will come along (so to speak ).....