On this day, albeit eight months hence and in:
1888 |
Mary Ann 'Polly' Nichols, the first victim of Jack the Ripper, was found mutilated in Buck's Row in the East End, London. |
1897 |
Thomas Edison patents his movie camera (Kinetograph). |
1900 |
a new drink, Coca Cola first goes on sale in Britain. |
1908 |
at the age of 60, and after a career spanning 43 years , the legendary English cricketer W.G. Grace retires from first class cricket. He had scored a total of 54,896 runs (including 126 centuries), taken 2,879 wickets and held 871 catches |
1913 |
soccer club PSV Eindhoven forms in Eindhoven, Netherlands i.e. the very same club where players like Ruud Gullit, Ronald Koeman, Ronaldo (the gap toothed wonder), Arjen Robben and Park Ji–Sung plied their trade and talents |
1936 |
Elizabeth Cowell, Britain's first female television announcer, makes her debut at the BBC studios at Alexandra Palace in north London |
1950 |
the chart toppers were Mona Lisa (Nat King Cole), Play a Simple Melody (Bing Crosby) and Sam’s Song (Bing & Gary Crosby). |
1962 |
Trinidad & Tobago finally gains independence after having been in the British possession since 1802. |
1968 |
West Indian cricketer Gary Sobers becomes the first batsman to score six 'sixes' in one over while playing for Nottinghamshire against Glamorgan at Swansea. The unfortunate bowler: Malcolm Nash. |
1969 |
Rocky Marciano, the former heavyweight champion boxer, and two others died in the crash of a Cessna 172H airplane near Newton, Iowa. It had been ‘a dark and stormy night’. He was one day short of celebrating his 46th birthday. |
1972 |
American Jewish swimmer Mark Spitz wins his fifth gold medal of the Munich Olympics. By the end of the Games, he won a record 7 gold medals; a feat all the more memorable given the concerns Jewish sportsmen might have had given the occurrence of the Munich massacre. |
1974 |
the chart topper was (You’re) Having My Baby by Paul Anka. |
1982 |
the chart topper was Eye of the Tiger by Survivor. |
1983 |
a Russian SU–15 air force jet shot down a Korean Airlines Boeing 747 which drifted off course. The passengers included U.S. Representative Lawrence McDonald (48) of Georgia and head of the John Birch Society, Tae Kwon Do master Hyong Ung Hong, as well as 267 others; all of whom were killed. |
1987 |
2.25 million copies of Michael Jackson’s "Bad" album were shipped to record stores i.e. the largest preorder of albums in CBS Records’ history. The LP followed in the tracks of the Jackson album, "Thriller" which was the biggest Jackson–seller of all time (35 million copies sold). For the record, pun not intended, the "Bad" album was successful but sold only 13 million copies. |
1989 |
Buckingham Palace announces the separation of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips |
1990 |
East and West Germany sign a treaty to join legal and political systems. |
1997 |
Diana, Britain’s Princess of Wales, was killed in an early–morning car crash in Paris, France. Also killed was her millionaire companion, Harrods department store heir, Dodi Fayed. The couple were being chased by aggressive paparazzi (photographers) on motorcycles at the time of the crash. (Their driver Henry Paul was also killed in the crash). |
2005 |
English F.A. Cup (the oldest football competition in the world) record was made with the longest penalty shootout occurring on this day – 20 penalties each in the match between Tunbridge Wells v. Littlehampton Town (Preliminary Round Replay, August 31, 2005; Tunbridge Wells won 16–15) (reword so that FA Cup appears first) |
2007 |
A memorial service is planned for the 10th anniversary of Princess Diana’s death. |
Similarly, on that very same date, a number of celebrities and personalities celebrate their birthday:
Actors | Fredric March (1897), James Coburn (1928), Richard Gere (1949), Chris Tucker (1972) |
Astronomer | Sir Alfred Lovel (1913) |
Athlete | Frank Robinson i.e. the first black player/manager to manage a major league baseball team (1935), Edwin Moses (1955) an American track and field athlete who won gold medals in the 400–meter hurdles at the 1976 and 1984 Summer Olympics and first athlete to use 13 strides between hurdles |
Comedian | Buddy Hackett (1924) |
Educator | Italian educator Maria Montessori (1870) [educator: first woman to attend medical school, first female Doctor of Medicine in Italy, worked with handicapped and socially deprived children, developed unique educational method known as the Montessori method; Montessori Schools named for her] |
Entertainer | Arthur Godfrey (1903) |
Footballers | Ian Harte (1972), Roque Junior (1976) and Philippe Christanval (1978) |
Journalist | Daniel Schorr (1916) |
Lawyer | Jaspal Singh Gill (1969) |
Lyricist | Alan Jay Lerner (1918) |
Militant | Eldridge Cleaver (1935) |
Pop/Rock Stars/ Musicians |
Violinist Itzhak Perlman and rock singer Van Morrison (both in 1945), Rudolf Schenker of Scorpions (1952), Glenn Tilbrook of the Squeeze and Gina Schock of The Go–Go’s (1957), Deborah “Debbie” Gibson (1970) |
Royalty | Queen Rania of Jordan (1970) |
Writer | William Saroyan (1908) |
All of the preceding milestones may seem like banalities save and except when coupled with one other “participant” to the above list.
On that particular day, i.e. the 31st. of August but the year being 1957, Malaysia gained Her independence. It was a Saturday, the 5th day in the month of Safar, 1377 A.H and it was the year of the Rooster.
In Kuala Lumpur, there were heavy rains before dawn and which kept up until approximately 9.00 am. Only after the rain had stopped, could the arm chairs for the Yang di–Pertuan Agong and nine Rulers, for the Duke of Gloucester (representative of Queen Elizabeth), for the High Commissioner, and for Malaya’s first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, be arranged on the carpeted dais near the centre of Stadium Merdeka field.
Somewhat further afield from Kuala Lumpur, Cathay Theatre opened in Ipoh, Perak and screened “The King and I”, an Asian–themed film starring Yul Brynner as the King of Siam. Even further removed from Kuala Lumpur or Ipoh, events of a similar nature occurred in Scotland and Canada respectively. Scottish Television opened to service Central Scotland and Elvis “The King” Presley performs for the last time in concert outside the United States i.e. in Vancouver.
As a matter of fact, those with a penchant for songs from yesteryears may recollect that on that day in 1957 the number 1 song was Tammy by Debbie Reynolds (US), Diana by Paul Anka (UK) and A White Sport Coat by Marty Robbins (Australia). Conversely, in the relatively more mundane field of literary works however, Michael Moorcock (of Elric of Melnibone fame) had his first publication of Sojan the Swordsman.
Reverting closer back to home, the most used word on that day in Malaya was Merdeka. As far as the origins of the word was concerned, this particular version seemed highly probable although most assuredly made tongue in cheek by a gentleman known only as Derumo:
“… the word “Merdeka” was alien to Malaya before 1957. The old folks in the Malayan Film Units pronounced it “mengdeka” or “mendeka” or “merdeheka” and among the children, who were so happy to get the free cinema tickets, they shouted mentega (butter) not to make fun of it but that’s the nearest words they knew (butter). Those from East Coast pronounced it with a slight twist as Man Deko – referring [to] Mat Deraman Bin Umor whose hand is slightly bent and legs slightly limping (Deko) after his unfortunate accident on his old Honda Cub 50 trying to cross the wooden kampong bridge.”
Still, cheeky and humorous origins of Merdeka aside, Malaysia is undoubtedly crossing a significant milestone. After all, it is the 50th anniversary of Her independence.
This alone may warrant an assessment of the nation’s past; and while it may be tempting to quote the sagely words of Almustafa from Kahlil Gibran’s The Garden of the Prophet, where he said:
“... pity the nation that is full of beliefs and empty of religion.
Pity the nation that wears a cloth it does not weave, eats a bread it does not harvest, and drinks a wine that flows not from its own winepress.
Pity the nation that acclaims the bully as hero, and that deems the glittering conqueror bountiful.
Pity the nation that despises a passion in its dream, yet submits in its awakening.
Pity the nation that raises not its voice save when it walks in a funeral, boasts not except when its neck is laid between the sword and the block.
Pity the nation whose statesman is a fox, whose philosopher is a juggle, and whose art is the art of patching and mimicking.
Pity the nation that welcomes its new ruler with trumpetings, and farewells him with hootings, only to welcome another with trumpetings again.
Pity the nation whose sages are dumb with years and whose strong men are yet in the cradle.
Pity the nation divided into fragments, each fragment deeming itself a nation.”
that temptation can and will be resisted as it will unnecessarily cloud the relatively simple purport of this article.
Simply put, the 50th Independence Day is eight months away but the relevance of that milestone is not to be found in its concurrence with other events. It is relevant simply because, like the significance of the New Year to an individual, it serves as an opportune time for reflection and identifying Malaysia’s aspirations for the years to come. If indulged, perhaps a hint of its conclusion may reside in Dato’ Sir Onn Ja’afar’s eloquent speech of August, 1951 where he said as follows:
“Let us [now] look at the third objective [spelled out] in UMNO’s Constitution, namely, for UMNO members in particular, to advance [and develop] political, social, cultural and economical benefits for the welfare of the Malays.
…
Let us be aware that times [and conditions] have changed. Malay thinking has [also] changed. Let us be aware that there those who are not of Malay descent, but whose love for this Malay homeland is perhaps stronger than the Malays [themselves]. Let us be aware that it was the Malays themselves who demanded that [efforts to attain] independence be conducted in a democratic manner, and who demanded that a democratic system of government be introduced. Let us be aware, that such a form of rule, or such a country whose government is based on democracy, cannot preserve the rights of [only] one State, or for the sole benefit of [only] one segment of its population.”
In short, preservation of the rights of only one segment of Malaysia’s population is inimical to democracy. As a matter of fact, it is similarly inimical to the other cornerstone of the nation’s Constitution, i.e. Islam. For that reason, if we truly wish to aspire towards and conform to either of the ideals, the present reality must be rectified.
In any event, the relevance of Independence Day is relatively more superficial for this writer. It is a day out in Malacca with as many of his kids as he dares bring to Dataran Pahlawan/Ayer Keroh (as the case may be) to witness the festivities lined up for that momentous occasion. This, he hopes, will form a new tradition to be observed for the other Independence Days to come.
Still, the writer suspects that whatever little joy that may be derived from that occasion will not adequately assuage the hurt of discovering that Manchester United was League Champions for the 1956/1957 season with Tottenham Hotspurs as Runners–Up. Thankfully, one can always look to the future and hope that things can change for the better. Football or otherwise.