KUCHING: Not everyone is able to celebrate a day of great significance to every Malaysian on Friday, Sept 16 – Malaysia Day.
One notable reason is that many are either working or living abroad. However, this does not mean that they don’t love the country or think of it warmly.
New Sarawak Tribune spoke to some of these Malaysians, who are living abroad, about what they love and miss the most about Malaysia and what they wish and hope for.
ALEXANDRA KUCHA MAYER, 28, CUSTOMER SOLUTION MANAGER (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA)
“I love how diverse our country is. Not only in terms of ethnicity, religion and others, but we are all diverse in thought and accept one another despite our differences. At the end of the day, no matter which political side we’re on, we always choose to see the best in each other. I also love how family-oriented Malaysians are and how much we love interpersonal relationship. We would hang out at the kopitiam or mamak stall just to chit-chat.”
MELVIN WONG HONG WEI, 27, STAFF NURSE (SINGAPORE)
“What I miss the most about Malaysia is of course the food. The many choices available, from roti canai, char kueh teow to nasi lemak. Of course, my friends as I’m living abroad. Nothing comes close than being around friends and family you’ve grown up with. Let’s not forget about the racial harmony that comes with it. You can see how people with different ethnicity come together under the same roof dining and mingling together.”
BRENDA KUCHA GANENG, 25, ASSOCIATE INSTRUCTOR (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA)
“I always promote Malaysia to my friends abroad, not just because it’s my home, but because of the food, biodiversity, and most of all, her beautiful and warm people. There’s nothing like coming home during academic breaks and experiencing the simple, quintessentially Malaysian things, waking up early to have kolo mee for breakfast with my family, or staying up late and having conversations with my friends over drinks. My hope for Malaysians is that she continues to radiate love and joy in simplicity and our leaders will continue to invest in her gifted people through education.”
TATIANA SKYE SHEPERDSON, 27, ENTREPRENEUR (AUSTRALIA)
“There are two things that I miss the most about Malaysia – my friends and food. I still call my closest friends every now and then when both sides have the time since we are all adults now and have different lives or jobs. It’s tough to get real authentic Malaysian food here due to the fact that trying to find proper ingredients here for the dishes is very hard to find. The more I stay in Australia, the more I realised how much I have taken for granted things. For instance, some of the touristy place in Malaysia like Batu Caves – I didn’t really explore much when I was there. That’s when I realised how beautiful Malaysia can be.”
