Celebrating 50 Years Merdeka
By Sandra Chin

50 years of independence, 10 ways to live as better Malaysians

Wow, Malaysia is 50 years today! We’ve certainly progressed a lot and come a long way. There were various history makers that paid the price to bring Malaysia where it is today. My thoughts are how can we make an even better Malaysia as the years go by. Here are some top 10 things we can do to make it work or further progress as Malaysians:

1. How about every person exercising their right to vote when election time comes. Stop making excuses and vote so that when you are not happy with something you don’t just blame the government.
2. Speak up for righteousness; speak up for those who have no voice. Find solutions and not grumble against the system of the country.
3. Make your stand against bribery and corruption. If you did not abide by the rules, then submit to the authority and take up the summons. Even if it is inconvenient, take responsibility but not the shortcut. If you did not break the law, then speak uprightly and stand for what is right. 
4. Don’t always say the grass is greener on the other side, do something about the quality of life here. Sow into the nation; use your skills and training to make a better quality of life.
5. For a cleaner Malaysia, maybe we should try throwing litter into the garbage bins instead of just littering the grounds! Or better still pick up litter that happens to be in your way and dump it in. And start recycling today!
6. To help with the environment, maybe we could start with something simple. Smokers should consider cutting down on their habit and finally give it up. More secondary smokers are dying from their smoking than from the haze!
7. How about celebrating the fact that the different races and different cultures in our nation add such colour to our beautiful Malaysia! 
8. Develop a more disabled friendly country and care for them by giving them opportunity to live as the rest because they can input significantly to the rest of the able-bodied community.
9. While we are known for our “rubber time” perhaps it’s time Malaysians start keeping to time so that wedding ceremonies and dinners can start on time as stated in the invitation card! But, seriously we should work on our punctuality and stop making other people wait for us, even though we are very forgiving!
10. Crime-free nation—where every citizen plays a role for a safer Malaysia and don’t just depend on the police. We need a revival of brave men (and women) that will start caring!