When time, space, and political maturity combine within lunar time and modern calculations of solar time, at a selected period within man’s chronological time, that opportunity may overlap with kairos time, or what can also be called God’s timing.

This modern calendar year of 2011 appears to be one of those opportunistic times within the geography we call Malaysia.

This year appears to the only time in my lifetime when National Day and the end of Bulan Ramadan overlapped and therefore that the government was willing to switch our so-called “Independence Day” celebrations to coincide with our Malaysia Day celebrations.

All three originating states, if I am not mistaken, Malaya, Sarawak and Sabah, have factually different independence days. All three also achieved their independence at different times but from the same British colonial jurisdiction.

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Therefore, as we seek to celebrate this truly national event of Malaysia Day soon, allow me to ask a critical but important question: Was it true, honest, and realistic for the federal government to have claimed in the past that Aug 31 is the Independence Day for what we all call Malaysia? Was it not factually only the Independence Day for Persekutuan Tanah-Tanah Melayu or the Federation of Malay States?

Even more important for our consideration and reflection, as the debate between 46 and 54 years of age rages, is: what really then is this ideal called Malaysia? Is she just merely another potentially failing state? Or, is she one of the more modern and successful multicultural multiethnic nation-states?

Consequently also, who then is the Anak Bangsa Malaysia, or who are the citizens of Malaysia? Are not all, every citizen born in Malaysia after Sept 16, 1963, considered Malaysians and nothing else? To me these can also include all Singaporeans who were born within the two years when Singapore was also part of Malaysia. Most countries recognise such a birthright.

Can or should we ever therefore ever raise a debate about Ketuanan A or B or C, which is always an argument about ethnic superiority? Or, is even the variant question of ‘who came first’ ever of serious relevance? If we were in fact the first; why then were we not clever enough to dominate the entire geography and keep all outsiders out?