IN yesterday’s Friday prayer sermon, the imam reminded us that independence is a gift bestowed by God. We enjoyed peace and harmony living in a society of many religions, races and cultures within this great nation of ours and the benefit of independence should not be taken for granted.

“Malaysia Cares” is this year’s theme for the National Day celebration.

Normally, there would be parades involving a multitude of contingents but due to Covid-19, there will no parades this year. This is the new norm. The current resolve is for everybody to combat the pandemic.

The resolve before Merdeka was the struggle to free our nation from subjugation. We are grateful for all the sacrifices made by our forefathers. They also had to contend with the communist and Indonesian Confrontation.

Marching towards the future, we must be united and working together for a better Malaysia. We must learn from the unity of the Muhajirin and Ansar during Prophet Muhammad’s time, so that peace and harmony can continue to be preserved and enhanced.

Regretfully, we still hear voices of division, trying to split us as a united people. Messages of hate, such as rekindling the communist issue, are becoming popular on social media. My suggestion is for these prophets of doom and rumour mongers to approach the authorities with proof so that appropriate action can be taken.

I would recommend for them to watch the American sitcom All in the Family. Ranked number one on Nielsen ratings for five years, it discusses topical controversial themes, such as race relations, religion, homosexuality, infidelity, anti-Semitism, feminism, Vietnam war and others. It brings to light the kind of ordinary, working people who have not been represented on screen thus far.

The sitcom presents the race and culture wars of the ’70s in a more complex and layered way, and I am sure we don’t embody the “dingbat” in All in the Family.

Our beloved country is rich in resources. Let us share the benefits but is sharing it equally, fair?

Consider a situation in which one sibling has devoted his or her career to the family business and shown an aptitude for it, while another has chosen a different path. Is it fair to either of them to take equal parts in running the family business when parents are gone?

But parents, before they are gone, should take every possible step to train their children and inculcate the spirit of helping and caring for each other.

Just like we must ensure that we observe all regulations and standard operating procedure (SOP) during this time of the Covid-19 pandemic, we must observe the Federal Constitution and Rukunegara religiously. Incidentally, this year marks the 50th anniversary of our Rukunegara. – August 29, 2020.

Selamat Hari Merdeka to all Malaysians.

* Saleh Mohammed reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight.