I committed a sin today. I betrayed my country Malaysia for all the things it has taught, shaped and represented me. I am a traitor.
Today I applied for the Australian citizenship, having been a permanent resident for close to 2.5 years and having been in Australia for over 7 years. During these years I could not help but compare the two countries I associate myself with.
Malaysia has been the country that taught me how to read and write, form my childhood and teenage memories, and all the other things that would make a working person quit his job and go back to his/her younger days. Australia on the other hand, briefly put, opened my eyes. I saw what governance was, I saw how a working system should be, I saw how content life should be, and I started appreciating the littlest things in life, for example the person walking in front of you through a door holds it open for you and how you need to dispose food and fruits if you pass through a state border.
The idea of even applying for citizenship didn't strike me till last month. I hesitated and delayed the application. I was aware that with my Australian citizenship I am closing the door on Malaysia and will not be going back as a Malaysian. I am also aware of how I will spawning an entire generation in this country which will speak, think and react differently to me, which of course means parenting friction for me.
But today I decided to become an Australian citizen. I realise I may not be able to condemn Malaysia from now on, but hopefully I will still be allowed to condemn the Malaysian government. I hoped at the start of this post of not going too negative of the country but I guess it is easier hoped than done. Already there were few sighs of relief around Canberra and on Facebook that I will be speaking/posting less of gutter politics, but then again only time will tell. ;)
This blog may not even be alive if and when I get my citizenship, and oh trust me there is absolutely nothing to write on Australian politics. So whether this blog outlives gutter Malaysian politics, only time will tell.
Today I applied for the Australian citizenship, having been a permanent resident for close to 2.5 years and having been in Australia for over 7 years. During these years I could not help but compare the two countries I associate myself with.
Malaysia has been the country that taught me how to read and write, form my childhood and teenage memories, and all the other things that would make a working person quit his job and go back to his/her younger days. Australia on the other hand, briefly put, opened my eyes. I saw what governance was, I saw how a working system should be, I saw how content life should be, and I started appreciating the littlest things in life, for example the person walking in front of you through a door holds it open for you and how you need to dispose food and fruits if you pass through a state border.
The idea of even applying for citizenship didn't strike me till last month. I hesitated and delayed the application. I was aware that with my Australian citizenship I am closing the door on Malaysia and will not be going back as a Malaysian. I am also aware of how I will spawning an entire generation in this country which will speak, think and react differently to me, which of course means parenting friction for me.
But today I decided to become an Australian citizen. I realise I may not be able to condemn Malaysia from now on, but hopefully I will still be allowed to condemn the Malaysian government. I hoped at the start of this post of not going too negative of the country but I guess it is easier hoped than done. Already there were few sighs of relief around Canberra and on Facebook that I will be speaking/posting less of gutter politics, but then again only time will tell. ;)
This blog may not even be alive if and when I get my citizenship, and oh trust me there is absolutely nothing to write on Australian politics. So whether this blog outlives gutter Malaysian politics, only time will tell.
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