Never ever forget that we the people make a nation

THE National Archives website has brief descriptions of the Aug 31 celebrations in certain years from 1958 to 2003. These have been extracted from newspaper reports and the idea for doing so is “to remind us all to always appreciate and be grateful for our independence”.

However, they are sedate and sterile accounts that do little to convey the sentiments of the day, which is a pity because how we feel about Merdeka today is built on the hopes and fears of the past.