Selamat Hari Merdeka, Malaysia!

On 31st August every year, Malaysians celebrate Hari Merdeka, or Independence Day.

In 1957, Tunku Abdul Rahman declared the country's independence from the British, and the cries Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka! became synonymous with the annual celebration.

But I'm only 2 and a half, so this is what I like most about merdeka - the flags!

Now let's learn a little more about the Jalur Gemilang (Stripes of Glory)

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Malaysia 

• It comprises a field of 14 alternating red and white stripes along the fly and a blue canton (top left quarter of the flag) bearing a crescent and a 14-point star known as the Bintang Persekutuan(Federal Star).
• The 14 stripes, of equal width, represent the equal status in the federation of the 13 member states and the federal government.
• The 14 points of the star represent the unity between these entities.
• The crescent represents Islam, the country's official religion.
• The blue canton symbolizes the unity of the Malaysian people.
• The yellow of the star and crescent is the royal colour of the Malaysian rulers.
• The Malayan flag was designed by Mohamed Hamzah, a 29-year-old architect working for the Public Works Department (JKR) in Johor Bahru, Johor.
• Following the formation of Malaysia on September 16, 1963, the design of the Malayan flag was modified to reflect and honour the new states in the federation.

If ever any TV reporter were to shove a mic at me and ask for the meaning of merdeka, I would probably reply, in my confused spattering of English and Malay, that Merdeka means: 

• No school tomorrow, yeay! 
• I get to wear baju kurung to kindy today, yeay! 
• I get to visit the other kindy and have a Merdeka party, yeay! 
• I get to hold flags all day, yeay! 

Happy 55th Merdeka, Malaysia!  

Eid is all about ...

 Balik kampung!

Rembau, Negeri Sembilan - Where one half of my Malay/ Minangkabau/ Javanese/ Bugis roots lay.
Hmm, I may be more Indonesian than an average Indonesian!

Looking good in traditional costumes

Yeay mommy, I hope you're happy that my baju kurung matches papa's tyres



Papa reluctantly ditched his shorts and t-shirt for the day in exchange for baju melayu :)

Funny expressions

I wonder why papa felt like this ... :-)

Discovering makeup 

Model is wearing Maybelline color-changing lip balm in Pink

Spending time with family and loved ones

Me and cousin Kak Betty



Me and mommy's papa, Atuk Kadir in Seremban



 Discovering traditional cakes, veggies and fruits 

Wow, real ketupats! But I thought they were supposed to light up? No?

That sure is one big candy!

Petai. They look like giant peas in pods.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is what we call eggplant/ brinjal/ aubergine or more fondly known as terung by the locals

Belimbing buluh ... the Negeri Sembilan universal garnishing to every masak lemak cili api dish. 
That, or  something to wash fish with.  

Living in and out of a suitcase

(For the record, this was by choice, there was ample space for me to run around hee hee)

Confusion

This is Mak Ngah ...

This is Pak Ngah.
They are totally not related.

Note: Apparently I have at least 4 sets of Pak Long/ Mak Long and Pak Ngah/ Mak Ngah. Which is why I think we should just stick to Uncle (name) and Auntie (name).

Cooking, washing and cleaning

Fly swatting - test of the reflexes

Mak Su never stopped cooking to feed us her hungry guests

 

Punctured tyres 

Mommy ran over a screw and drove without realizing the tyre had gone flat



Thanx to the local mechanic (NOT the car assist hotline!!!) we go it fixed in a few minutes.

Not compromising the usual quiet time

Still need my beauty sleep no matter how festive Raya is.

Reminiscing the past and contemplating the future

Oh no ... I have completely forgotten my phonics ...



On behalf of my family, I would like to wish everyone Selamat Hari Raya and Maaf Zahir Batin.

Hope that your Eid was a blast!

Child's Play

Taken from www.dictionary.com:

Toy: An object, often a small representation of something familiar, as an animal or person, for children or others to play with; plaything.

Doll: A small figure representing a baby or other human being, especially for use as a child's toy.

Teddy: A woman's one-piece undergarment combining a chemise and underpants, sometimes having a snap crotch.

Er, not quite what I had in mind...



Oh, maybe it's this one:

Teddy bear: Often shortened to: teddy. A stuffed toy bear made from soft or fluffy material.

Yeah, that sounds about right.

Some kids have a favourite dolly that they cling on to, until those poor things lose their original physical attributes.

Although I have preferences, I love all my toys/ dollies/ teddies for various reasons:

They do not talk back or give instructions.

Instead I can line them all up and tell them to be quiet

(in fact, they listen to me ALL the time hee hee)

They are durable and don't mind a little rough play as opposed to, say ... cakes?

They come with me everywhere I go

They come in all sizes for all occasions - small ones to carry around, big ones to hug in bed.

They also come from various backgrounds ...   

Supernatural/ paranormal

 



Cyberspace

Outerspace

Pre-historic era

They help me get through sad times ...

And never laugh at me, or my struggles while growing up.

But never complain when I ditch them during happy times

They keep me company when I have to wait ... and wait ...

And come with me should I choose to walk away.

 

To all my teddies and dollies, I love you.

And for the special few, I love you mostest!

You know you are special when I give you names :)

Bear gumuk and Tina Turner.  

Akhbar and Bariah 




Bella and Daphne

And of course my bestest mate of all, Soleha!  

xoxoxo

Your master