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Thursday, August 30, 2012

Malaysia's 55th Independence Day

I was very lucky being a student in a local primary school many years ago when called for "active duty" to partake in the Malaysia Merdeka Day procession at Dataran Merdeka.

Vivid memories of that day remain till this day...except for the theme we had for that year. Embarrassing as it was, I had even kept my "souvenir" T-Shirt for many years even after outgrowing it. This year's theme happens to be Janji Ditepati (Promises Fulfilled) and has proven to be quite controversial as many quarters has depicted it to be more political than patriotic and not in the spirit of independence. 

It, the theme has always if not mostly, reflected the aspirations and goals of the people. Positively I'm taking it as a reminder to be a citizen of Malaysia who shall uphold my promises to others and work towards fulfilling them. That's how I see it! Enough said!

Let us travel back in time to the eve of the first Merdeka, August 30th, 1957:

Kuala Lumpur - Crowds of people from all walks of life are starting to gather at the Royal Selangor Club Padang (later named Dataran Merdeka with a massive flagpole erected to hoist the Malaysia Flag and still manages to evoke strong feelings in me of Merdeka and it's meaning whenever I drive through).

The event? To witness the handover ceremony from the British to our beloved Bapa Kemerdekaan, Tunku Abdul Rahman. At the stroke of midnight, the Union Jack was lowered and the Flag of Malaysia was raised as our NegaraKu (national anthem) was played. This was followed by seven chants of 'Merdeka'.

On Merdeka Day morning, August 31st, 1957 at the just completed Merdeka Stadium over 20,000 people attended and witnessed the reading of the Proclamation of Independence by our Bapa Kemerdekaan. This was followed by the raising of the Flag of Malaysia accompanied by the NegaraKu and a 21-gun salute.

Back to this day (August 30th, 2012), I'm sitting at home merrily typing away and reminiscing about the good old days. Glad too that traffic on the way home wasn't too stressful despite it being the eve of such an important day for Malaysia and having had a wonderful dinner with the family.

Peace to you Malaysia!

P/S: Best thing about Merdeka? Waking up and turning on the telly for the live telecast.

How to lodge a complaint

First and foremost, decide if there is justifiable cause for you to complain and whether it will get you the result that you desire. 

In this wonderful country Malaysia, I find that many of the service and/or product providers are if I may dare say so lackadaisical in their approach in handling complains that there brought to their attention (most don't even bother to acknowledge the complaint, think KFC, PizzaHut, Harvey Norman etc).

Perhaps it's the pride factor (I'm never wrong?) or maybe it's how many complains are written or made verbally when the person complaining is not in the "right" frame of mind. Believe me...I know because I've handled many complaints before.

Whatever and however, the best method to make known your dissatisfaction is to do it face to face and in front of the right person. Got it? You should try to RESOLVE your issue with the respective person or company before making it known in writing. Besides, it will serve as a reference that you have already attempted to resolve the issue but couldn't and hence the written complaint.

Alright and enough said. Now that you fave miserably failed to get their attention and expected desired response, the following information is important when you write-in:

1. General information such as your name and other pertinent contact details; and
2. Complaint Information - indicate location, date, time, cause of complaint and person(s) involved.

Always be clear and concise. Provide relevant facts in an orderly manner and avoid unnecessary details or repetition. Attach supporting evidence (if available). Last but not least, indicate a time that you would like to receive a response.

There is never a right way or a wrong way but there is a good way about how you go about getting things done or your ideas across. So best of luck!