inferiority complex thy suffer…

Only now i can fully comprehend our forefathers’ gripe regarding the post independence generation. Obviously,there has been continous whining how we, the young generation take the freedom we currently enjoy for granted.One prominent accusation is how the values that our ancestors cultivated relentlessly over the years;the essence of neighbourhood,brotherhood, unity, good camaraderie,strong partnership is now sadly fragile.

No offence intended, but once my carefree mind thought that this was a thought from a delusional old man.One must understand before judging my naiveness, that i was "diasramakan" ( conditioned in a boarding school system) for 5 years. Thus, i could count myself as lucky for given the chance to practice brotherhood on a daily basis. When 350 bright-eyed students was condemned to live in box roughly the size of a classroom, ( our dormitories), it was perfectly natural to develope into a tight knit family. Both sufferings and joy paid a visit, but i never recalled an occasion they were confronted alone, always as a unit.Hence, for me to think that our forefathers’ claims were invalid was understandable.

Originally, how we came to adopt the aforementioned values is when Malaya was under colonial oppression.To overcome struggles,community oriented living was the key of survival.It was beknowned that our grandfathers once knew the whole kampong and its family members, true like a one big family.If one misfortune befalls a family, the whole village will mourn as well, just to illustrate how great the extent of dependence of one another back then.As one Malay saying goes,

" cubit peha kanan, peha kiri juga terasa sakit"  .

That is, if any attempt to metaphorise the act of that stature was to be done.

We’ve all heard stories from the good old days.One can always count on the neighbour next door to do any favours; even taking care of the family.Nowadays,it is unheard of such trust placed upon a non- relative, particularly the neighbours.

Some might blast me as unfair, as i was comparing two blatantly different situation.The argument often was that today,the environment is neither full of hardships nor we are forced to live within the constrains of a box so the probability to form such lifestyle is miniscule. Besides, remembering the names of your whole block seems irrelevant when all your needs are well catered.This is the modern-age.Help is just 911 away.

However, i continue to wonder wether this is a good excuse? I thought the practice of such values should be passed on regardless of the setting. If not, how are we to defend our sovereignity from future threats if we do not even know each other.I guess being chucked into an environment that epitomise the hip and urban did put everything to perspective.

I could dish one tip to one who wish to recognise this worrrying trend.

Go live in a condo, an apartment or anything as such.

Rest assured one could witness the alarming rate of individualism. Take me for example, i do not even know my housemates’ name, what more step a foot in their rooms.I was so used to barge into anyone’s private space anytime i felt like it in previous living, it was hard now to accept that contact between my housemate was limited to glances of ignorance in the bathroom.Not even a word of utterance, save for a few rare smiles if i’m lucky.

Dont say that i havent tried, but all efforts proved futile. I clearly recalled an incident of exchanging pleasantries followed by minutes of hanged silence. It just felt too awkward to query wether i could join them for dinner.

Now i just dont bother.Neither do them.

Which i would helplessly point out that it wasnt healthy at all if you live in the same house.One should remind each other to switch off the lights, to lock the door, to keep the house tidy and it would not work if contact was non-existent.

To think that living under one roof would generate a lot of late-night gossip sessions in the living room between fixes of caffeine.

Therein lies the tyranny of development. Pursuits of material progression overstripped even the essentials of a conducive living environment. What kind of a creature have we become ?

My advice? Go back to the basics. Hectic globalization tend to make people confused. Whatever our elders instructed us to embrace, observe them. After all, there is every ounce of truth in what they said.   

P/s :The writer knows that this might be out of topic but she was apalled why noone ever complained about the ridiculous high price of Crocs when it was just a stupid piece of coloured rubber.

Especially when she badly wants to be the proud owner of one.

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