SFA/FCKL Inaugural "Way Forward" Workshop 2010

Time waits for no man.

It wasn't so long ago that plans were made within the St .Francis Association,Melaka- to create a mode of communication between the various support groups of the Alma Mater,the lasalle brothers; the old boys networks, the primary and secondary  PTA's and various other networking groups professing love and hope for the school.After 93 years of operation, the formerly inwardly looking association has enacted an outreach programme that hopefully will preserve the spirit of the founding father's ethos (on sacrifice for the public good of others).

A workshop had been planned earlier amongst the dual committees of SFA/FCKL to enumerate the various designs and plans the executive committees' had enacted for the coming together of all these support groups and factions for the benefit of future social (sports and other athletic endeavors), public and individual care (scholastic & other networking assistance) and assimilation without fear or favor as Franciscans; and La Sallian Malaysians .

This corporate re branding and outreach programme beginning with this one day workshop at the Seri Malaysia hotel on 16th September 2010 (also Malaysia Day) bodes well for the alumni's and its plans as the passion, endorsement and input of all concerned parties visible during that day was beyond our expectation !

With the vital component parties and support groups now endorsing the alumni's movement, we, in the SFA and FCKL see great expectations of all the hopes and dreams of a unified Old Boy Franciscan Movement becoming true day by day.

God is Truly Great. With patience, faith and hope all things good will bloom and prosper and with that in our heart and mind we begin our baby attempts to carry the torch of service and humility for the greater good of all La Sallians & Franciscans for hopefully another millenia, first amongst our own brethren and eventually out reaching towards all.

What Gunabalan did recently:

Current Project : Re branding Alumni (SFA);

Last Saturday, on the second day of the 2010 Hari Raya celebration, several of Melaka and KL's leading individuals,professionals, Franciscans and concerned parties of the La Salle education ethos and culture held a discussion on the 24^th floor of the Rennaissance Hotel - private penthouse to set in motion the beginning of the re branding of the Old Boys association into a focal point that will provide a foundation for the associated good will and themed clubs that support the school (St. Francis Association) through out the country and beyond .

The clarion call to meet and discuss the future path way of the Association of Old Boys and the satellite chapters in KL and else where was initiated by the Melaka old boys association -SFA.

Some of the items discussed were:

“Revitalizing SFA – The New Beginning Advance Workshop” 

Attended by :     Ong Eng Khiam (SFA President),Tan Chin Shu (FCKL President); Gan Khong Hoe (SFA)

                        Yeo Kian Huat (SFA), Gunabalan (SFA Building Chairman), Phillip Tay (SFA Secretary)

                        Vincent Low, Bro.Ambrose,Dr. Wilson Tay; Mahendran Kutty (FCKL), Michael Cho (FCKL)

    AGENDA:

·         agree on vision and mission statements;

·         agree to change of direction;

·         agree to adopt changes;

·         establish broad priciples;

·         establish policies (followed up with procedures);

·         establish working groups and committees;

·         agree on timeframe to effect the changes

·         appoint a Forum panel of Senior Franciscans and a Chair Person;

·         divide the attendees into groups (depending on numbers attending and/or topics);

·         elect a chair person to represent each group;

·         allow the chair person to recommend to the panel the thoughts of the group; and

·         the panel will deliberate and recommend a "White Paper" for adoption.

Vision & Mission statement – collection from earlier discussion which will help to throw out some  current worries and  fears of the participants.

Briefly the   *** Vision of the Alumni *****

1.    Fellowship

2.    To foster the bonding to the Alma Mater.  

 a)   Financial aid to the school needs and to support to the activities organized by the school

 b)   Share experience with the boys

3.    Interaction with other La Sallian Alumni 

                        

Many other general topics which are important to touch on were also discussed i.e:

1.    To allocate a Budget for the Alumni to carry out the set of activites to fulfill the Vision & Mission statment
2.    Consolidate the database for existing and available Franciscan between SFA & FCKL and G&W
3.    Both SFA & FCKL to play the role of "Big Brother"
4.    To reach out like the tentacles of the octopus to as many of Franciscans as possible
5.    Organize seminar to involve members & Franciscans how to get them to become members of the Aumni.  

      To find out from them what the Alumni is not doing right.  Establish a feedback loop on a yearly basis.                   
6.    Organise motivation talks by prominent and successful Franciscans for the school going boys in Form 5 & Upper 6.

The number of participants in this coming workshop would be limited as this is our Inaugural workshop which we
have much to learn and improve on.  Suggestive no's of participants from the various section of the  school and community.

·         SFA open to all committee members but participation is voluntary and has to pay their share in the cost of hosting the workshop.  Estimate approx 7 to 8
·         FCKL Committee members – similar treatment as SFA committee members.  
·         SFI School authority namely teachers who can see the same vision and support the cause of SFA.
·         SFI Primary Headmaster  - 1pax
·         SFI Secondary – 3pax nominated teachers by Bro. Ambrose (eg Mr. YongKhengKwang – Diary man, Puan Vivenne Chong)
·         Bro. Director – 1pax (Bro. Ambrose)
·         Green & White editor – 2pax (Mr. ChoeSC & WeeMinYong)
·         PIBG Chairman Primary & Secondary – 2pax (Dr. Eugene Nicholas)
·         Invited Senior Franciscan & Guests – 4 to 6 pax (Hiliary D’Cruz, Sim Beck Choo, Molly Toh, Tan Hoon Keong, Michelle Wong)
·         Moderator – Dr. Wilson Tay

Gunabalan & YeoKH gave an explanation on the Corporate Governance and why there is a necessity to bring up in the workshop and make full awareness to the participants on the needs to implement the Board of Directors (BOD) in the Alumni following the proposal as highlighted by YeoKH who is driving the point to make SFA which is a non profit organization to be self sustaining and has the capacity to raise the fund in order to assist the Alma Mater when the needs arise. With this set-up, SFA basically can be “Self Perpetuation” after the current group of zealous members are no longer around, the Alumni will continue to fulfill the original Vision & Mission statement.

With the set-up of Corporate Governance, we will have to review the compliance to our existing  Constitutions and amendment will be necessary and subsequently submit to ROS for approval.  

Guna make it specifically clear the BOD must basically have expertise in the 4Ms ie

1.       Management (with power and influence)

2.       Money (Philantrophist)

3.       Manpower

4.       Missionary ie connection to Civil and Government Department and decision makers.

All agreed that the establishment of a DATABASE is of great importance to get in touch with the Franciscans young and old, near and far.

As such to achieve this task, we agreed there is an URGENT need to set up a Secretariat to ease up the workload on the committee members as many of us still have our own activities to oversee and manage our time for the business, work commitment and family.  The cost to set up and maintaining the Secretariat will be on the sharing basis between SFA and FCKL. 

 Employ a person to do this job.  Set up an annual budget approx RM 26K allocated for this purpose.

Cost of perfection

Picasso was in a park when a woman approached him and asked him to draw a portrait of her.

Picasso agreed and quickly sketches her.

After handing the sketch to her, she is pleased with the likeness and asks how much she owed to him.

Picasso replies: "$5,000."

The woman screamed, "But it took you only five minutes."

"No, madam, it took me all my life" replied Picasso.



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[class84_sfi] Revitalizing SFA - The New Beginning (a joint workshop by SFA & FCKL)

From:	Vincent Low  View Contact
To:

---

Hiya all,

I'm proud to announce that ... SFA (St. Francis Association), established since 1917 and most probably the oldest alumni association in the country, will be moving forward to a 'new beginning' ... and, I would like to share with all of you this eventful moment, so that you too can be witness to the evolution that will be taking place.

After several meetings and many many many brainstorming sessions within the current SFA committee members ... and also sharing of ideas with our KL chapter (the FCKL committee members), ... we had decided to kickoff with a joint workshop/seminar (on 16th September at Hotel Seri Malaysia, Melaka) to communicate to various parties and invited guests of our plans to 're-brand' and 'revitalize' SFA.

The list of parties and invited guests consist of ...
i) Bro. Ambrose Loke,
ii) SFI Secondary's Principal & SFI Primary's Headmaster with a few key teachers,
iii) key persons from SFI's PIBG (Secondary & Primary),
iv) Mr. Choe Sim Chye & Mr. Wee Min Yong from the Green & White,
v) a few key old boys and old teachers,
vi) SFA & FCKL committee members,
vii) Dr. Wilson Tay (an old boy & Facilitator/Moderator for the workshop/seminar)

Being our first workshop/seminar (possibly the first of many more to come), we had decided not to make it too big. Thus, the headcount were limited to around 30 ~ 40 people. We had also initially planned to make it a 2D/1N stay-in workshop/seminar (cum get-together and fellowship) but later decided on a one full-day event instead for this first time round.

Some highlights for this workshop/seminar would be ...
* Looking into SFA - Past, Present and Future
* The new Vision & Mission of SFA
* Setting up a Business Model (Corporate Governance & Secretariat)
* Franciscan Home (the new building)
* Outreach ('Big Brother') program

Now, the core idea of this 're-branding' or 'revitalizing' is to ...
1. Maintain & preserve the La Sallian culture.
2. Keep the La Sallian ethos alive thru ...
   a) the continuance of old boys networking.
   b) funding scholastic awards.
   c) providing financial assistance to the Alma Mater.
   d) providing leadership and career guidance thru the outreach program (Big Brother).
All the above is to ensure within SFA the continuity of the La Sallian and School agenda/essence.

Let us be proud of our Alma Mater and strive to keep its essence !! LONG LIVE THE FRANCISCAN AND LA SALLIAN SPIRIT !!!

Regards,
Vincent Low

Morning Glory

Awakened fresh and feeling frivolous this mid morning Thursday, the simple smells and pleasures of a home cooked breakfast by mum and an apparent unhurried sense of mid morning pleasure greeted me lazily, spurring the stomach to gurgle deliriously her contempt to me for keeping it empty since late last evening.

 

The daylight outside my windows looks mellow and yellow today. There might be rain later on. The chirping sounds, noises from the invisible birds & insects & the smell of the morning dew on the wet earth slowly evaporating & giving way to the rising heat of the sun is quaintly relaxing and heartening as I throw open the french windows on my bedroom but in a good way as it reminds one of the promising bounties that are awaiting for us outside.

 

It is almost natures ‘mid morning promise of a brand new day to all its tenants.

Inside the house, mum is busy with the afternoon meal as she grinds; pounds; and spices her love into the food that is being prepared for all of us all the time casting a wary eye on the sky as the promise of a full day of sunlight might still be offset by the occasional sudden down pour that is quite the norm in these parts. As the winds blows away and the still of the birds and insects quiet down, that will be the signal that it’s time to bring down the clothes and laundry that has been put up to dry.

It is approximately 11 am and the warm winds of the morning are wafting slowly up, giving off the much needed warmth of the earth that was lost in the night. The shimmering shiny lights of the sun playfully bounce off the curvy metal in the parked car’s bonnet as the swaying boughs and leaves of the large overshadowing trees are blowing mysterious whispers into the winds.

Inside the kitchen, the open back doors of my house invite the lilting Tamil songs of the neighbors radio combined with the mesmerizing pounding noises of the pestle & grinders from their nearby kitchens. These are the familiar sounds that bring comfort to my ears as the day grows longer and the sun climbs to its apex position into the sultry afternoon sky.

The hand phone bellows suddenly, part of a song track from the Black Eyed Peas and this puts the neighboring cat on the alert as she surveys the direction the offending noise is coming from, safe from her perch on the window sill. It was a call from the client’s staff requesting for my attendance in their sudden meeting called for security company changes and barrier gate repairs. After checking with my calendar, the time and date of the meeting seem not to clash with my other duties and appointments currently and so was given the a-okay. As this is part of the duties that is offered to all clients as their management consultant, it would be necessary to keep abreast with the problems surrounding each corporation and committee councils. Not many are aware that this is a good industry for those with the necessary experiences as the elected committee members of the properties (condo, medium cost flats, etc) are almost always owners of almost no experience in property management and the preceding strata title laws governing them. The problem is to get them to buy your service as most times these councils hardly ever broadcast nor advertise their requirements due to budget and cost factors, and even when they do , it is  almost always only in the vernacular papers. Word of mouth is used  often 90 percent of the time for offers to help them run their properties  and though this is not the formula for a thriving consultancy but then , where there’s a will there will be a way, ya ?

Coming back to the present, my morning rituals had hardly been started when another ring from the hand phone signaled the call from an alumni member (St.Francis Alumni) who called with regards to the coming workshop and retreat that has been planned and prepared 10 days from now.  We made plans to meet up in the late afternoon to thrash out some foreseeable problems and incidentals.

These preparations are part and parcel of the new management by leadership amongst the young members of the alumni who were selected and shanghaied by the old committee 3-4 years ago in a plan to revamp and reinvigorate the almost 97 year school alumni.

Part of the plans made initially was:

• to increased the activities and membership;
• shore up the financial baskets and income derivatives of the Alumni;
• leading to the purchase of its own building.

All of the above & more have been proposed, pushed and implemented within these past 3-4 years and we now stand at the cusp of owning our own building after 97 years in the waiting! What is even more gratifying is the knowledge that within a short time span, we have managed to reduce and convert the Nay -Sayers into supporters of team SFA (the Alumni); and even the legacy of the la salle spirit of brotherhood & sacrifice seems to be revived with the new inflow of good will combined with managemental methodologies; proper visualized plans and impacted implementation.

As usual, this type of revival is never accomplished alone and is always a team work proposition. Identifying the nucleus and it’s orbiting support channels were imperative in the initial stages and  now, at our current stage the understanding that amidst all our different ways and ideologies;  the  success this team has been able to accomplish was  inevitable through their acceptance that we all agree to disagree respectfully inside the stratum of conviviality and mutual respect  which is edging this new committee into different yet  generally mapped out directions  away from the past and historical legacies in anticipation and realization of a better future.

Moving forward, within the next few years, with our building acting as a foundation upon which the Alumni ‘S plans stands on, the current management teams hope to visualize and materialize a new rebirth of a phoenix. Arising out of the ashes almost 100 years from the date of inception; this rebirth will bring forth hope of a new promise and revival of the lost spirit of the La Salle and Franciscan way of life & brethren in the Malaysian peninsula. { AGE QUOD AGIS}.

Laugh out loud !

Women the Unanswered Question !

A man on his Harley was riding along a California beach when suddenly the sky clouded above his head and, in a booming voice, God said, 'because you have tried to be faithful to me in all ways, I will grant you one wish.' The biker pulled over and said, 'Build a bridge to  Hawaii  so I can ride over anytime I want.' God replied, 'Your request is materialistic; think of the enormous challenges for that kind of undertaking; the supports required reaching the bottom of the Pacific and the concrete and steel it would take!  I can do it, but it is hard for me to justify your desire for worldly things.  Take a little more time and think of something that could possibly help mankind.' The biker thought about it for a long time. Finally, he said, 'God, I wish that I , and all men,  could understand women; I want to know how she feels inside, what she's thinking when she gives me the silent treatment, why she cries, what she means when she says nothing's wrong, why she snaps and complains when I try to help, and how I can make a woman truly happy.                                                                    God replied: "You want two lanes or four on that bridge” =================================================================== Banned from the co-op!  Yesterday I was at my local Co-operative buying a large bag of Purina dog food for my loyal pet and was in the checkout queue when a woman behind me asked if I had a dog.    What did she think I had an elephant? So, since I'm retired and have little to do, on impulse I told her that no, I didn't have a dog, I was starting the Purina Diet again.   I added that I probably shouldn’t, because I ended up in hospital last time, but that I'd lost 2 stones before I woke up in intensive care with tubes coming out of most of my orifices and IVs in both arms. I told her that it was essentially a perfect diet and that the way that it works is to load your pockets with Purina nuggets and simply eat one or two every time you feel hungry. The food is nutritionally complete so it works well and I was going to try it again.  (I have to mention here that practically everyone in queue was now enthralled with my story.)  Horrified, she asked me if I ended up in intensive care because the dog food poisoned me.   I told her no, I stepped off a curb to sniff an Irish Setter's arse and a car hit us both. I thought the guy behind her was going to have a heart attack he was laughing so hard. For causing public nuisance,I'm now banned from the Co-op. Better watch what you ask retired people. They have all the time in the world to think of daft things to say. Hope this helps you laugh for the day.

Happy 53rd Merdeka Malaysia !

  

Lets relive the spirit of Merdeka,

Malaysia !

Language is a funny thing. It allows you the privilege to consider and administer new ideas based upon the structural formulations of that languages' grammar and word construction but at the same time it also allows (some) individuals minds to be limited - or expanded, by the very words and language within which the concept resides and is used.

It is worth noting that at this point most normal readers would lose interest in reading further given the type of words used!

Many men and women of note (or those who wants to be noted) with great ideas often tabulate and present their ideas upon the unsuspecting masses as a new ideology using the gift of language and explain it away using the emotional attachments/ linkage words and structure to give the ideas and concepts weight and gravity.

In my life and experiences, the dreams I have are in this language you are now reading although my mother tongue should be Chinese and Tamil (Father's side); and ideally the 13 years of National School tutelage should nominally make it be Malay, but somehow or rather it stuck on me that I should find expression best in this language.

How that differentiates me in thinking and thus manner from the usual brethren of my social circle is often a predicament that over the years has crossed both sides of the emotive chart as people I encounter often peg me in their respective minds as either one of them or not one of them which often results in ridiculous situations arising out of these assumptions.

But coming back to the gist of this writing, the area where the most striking evidence for the influence of language on patterns of thought is the language of describing space to another person — how we describe the orientation of the world around us. Suppose you want to give someone directions to get to your house.

You might say: “After the traffic light, take the first left, then the second right, and then you’ll see a white house in front of you. Our door is on the right.” But in theory, you could also say: “After the traffic lights, drive north, and then on the second crossing drive east and you’ll see a white house directly to the east.

Ours is the southern door.”

These two sets of directions may describe the same route, but they rely on different systems of coordinates. The first uses egocentric coordinates, which depend on our own bodies: a left-right axis and a front-back axis relative to it.  

The second system uses fixed geographic directions, which do not rotate with us wherever we turn.

Now imagine if you will, in a country of 27 million different people of myriad beliefs with different levels of language usage and understanding how certain simple requests or reactions can/would inflame the fragile egos of the other various individuals and communities; that is ill equipped / prepared to tolerate such remarks or requests; if  it is not peppered with the correct social decorum / platform.

Though harm or insult is never intended, but nonetheless some styles of a person’s request can be deemed infringing on another’s life choice although mind you,on a different outlook, given how over the last 54 years our elders and even theirs before them, have lived amicably with even lesser knowledge and intimations; this represents (to me at least) the remarkable adaptability and forgiving nature of our sociological make up and national social structure whereby the not familiar is still accepted and allowed to grow & prosper in peace !

It would appear, to me at least that the greatest foe to our national strength and solidarity nowadays seems to be fear.

Fear of being maligned, fear of losing out .

Left unchecked though, once these fears are entertained, and is normally fueled by the various egregious actions and reactions of a certain political sorts, over time, the subliminal parochial language patterns (name calling, racial slurs,etc) and it's connotations of these various communities fears would have imposed on impressionable young minds, either by society or parents; an unreasonable view of their own individual & immediate woes and problems which would be later tinged with a racial platform.

Eventually these little observed intolerances would lead those with a different mother tongue to see their animated world through lenses tinted with associations and emotional responses that are always racially conceived. 

These would gradually grow into differences of opinion when the two separated worlds of either Tamil,Chinese,Malay & English language speaker later meet and engage with each other.

Which makes the current peace and stability this country has preserved, practiced and makes customary amongst its people of all races, customs and religion; all the more precious, remarkable and worthwhile to cherish ever after.

Even though our country’s individual; cultural and ideological stances are many and could often grate the others in ways we cannot always identify; Malaysians as a whole have accept this difference as part and parcel of our culture within this country.

This heritage of our fore fathers are the cultural and sociological treasures that we must never unlearn nor choose to disregard, for we do it at the peril of ourselves and of our loved ones future.

                                                 

                                        Happy  53rd Merdeka Malaysia !

====++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++==

Umno menentang Malayan Union memberi kerakyatan kepada kaum minoriti Columnists WRITTEN BY ZAKI SAMSUDIN    Pepatah Cina ada menyebut: 'Yang menang jadi raja, yang kalah jadi penjahat' (chengzhe wei wang, baizhe wei kou). Pepatah ini sering digunakan dalam konteks penulisan sejarah. Sejarah sering ditulis pihak yang menang dalam perang merebut kuasa. Maka, yang menang itu diagung-agungkan dan yang kalah dicerca semahunya.  Lihat sahaja bagaimana Hang Tuah dan Hang Jebat digambarkan dalam 'Sejarah Melayu'. Hang Tuah diagung-agungkan sebagai wira menyelematkan Melaka dan Hang Jebat dicerca sebagai penderhaka yang kejam dan hina. Hang Jebat digambarkan seorang yang mabuk kuasa mengamuk menuntut bela atas kematian sahabat karibnya. Beliau dikatakan kebal kerana keris Taming Sari berada ditangannya. Maka Hang Jebat seorang sahaja sudah cukup untuk mengambil-alih istana Sultan Melaka.  Hakikatnya, 'Sejarah Melayu' ditulis oleh penulis-penulis yang diupah pihak istana. Mana mungkin huraiannya adil dan saksama menggambarkan setiap tokoh dan peristiwa di Melaka. Hang Jebat misalnya dikatakan bertindak sendirian. Tidak ada yang lain yang menyokongnya. Namun bila direnung secara rasional, adakah mungkin benar Jebat seorang mampu menundukkan semua hulubalang raja? Bala tentera kerajaan Melaka bukan hanya seorang dua. Malah dikatakan mencecah puluhan ribu jumlahnya. Takkan Hang Jebat begitu hebat sehingga mampu menewaskan kesemuanya? Mungkinkah apa yang berlaku sebenarnya adalah perang saudara? Hang Jebat adalah ketua pihak pemberontak dan beliau disokong ribuan rakyat yang simpati dengan perjuangannya. Kumpulannya tewas maka Hang Jebat sebagai ketua dicerca dan dihina seolah-olah tidak ada seorang rakyat pun yang menyokongnya.  Tidak cukup dengan itu, Hang Jebat dituduh pula mengamuk setelah ditikam Hang Tuah membunuh ramai rakyat Melaka yang tidak berdosa. Sehebat manapun seorang pahlawan itu, mana mungkin setelah parah tertusuk keris di badan mengamuk tujuh hari tujuh malam membunuh ribuan manusia? Mustahil pada saat ini untuk kita mengetahui apakah sebenarnya yang terjadi. Kisah Hang Tuah dan Hang Jebat berlaku sudah sekian lama. Tidak ada sumber bukti yang sahih yang dapat memisahkan yang mana fakta dan yang mana rekaan semata-mata.  Tokoh-tokoh lain tak disebut  Namun dalam pengkajian sejarah kemerdekaan negara yang hanya separuh abad usianya, banyak sumber boleh diselidiki untuk menghasikan ulasan yang adil dan saksama. Misalnya, dalam mengkaji persoalan siapakah pejuang kemerdekaan negara, tidak mungkin hasilnya akan menjurus hanya pada Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Abdul Razak dan pemimipin Parti Perikatan yang lain? Nama-nama seperti Burhanuddin Al-Helmy (kiri), Ahmad Boestamam, Mustapha Hussain dan ramai lagi, kenapa lenyap begitu sahaja dalam buku-buku teks sejarah rasmi negara?  Yang pasti, yang terawal berjuang ke arah kemerdekaan bukanlah golongan elit dan bangsawan Melayu yang menubuhkan Umno pada tahun 1946. Yang terlebih dahulu menyemai semangat merdeka adalah orang-orang kebanyakan seperti Ibrahim Yaakub, Ishak Haji Muhammad, Burhanuddian Al-Helmy dan Mustapha Hussain. Malangnya, kerana mereka bukanlah daripada golongan elit masyarakat Melayu yang berdamping dengan penjajah British, usaha mereka tidak berhasil. Namun perjuangan dan pengorbanan mereka tidak sia-sia. Walaupun telah sekian lama tidak diberi penghormatan, kisah perjuangan mereka kini mula terserlah melalui buku-buku yang tersadur dengan interpretasi sejarah yang berbeza daripada apa yang sering dihidangkan dalam buku-buku sejarah rasmi negara.  Peranan dan sumbangan Umno ke arah kemerdekaan memang tidak dinafikan. Namun hakikatnya, ketika Umno ditubuhkan pada tahun 1946, kemerdekaan Tanah Melayu bukan matlamat perjuangannya. Umno ditubuhkan asalnya untuk menentang penubuhan Malayan Union. Yang ditentang adalah perlucutan kuasa raja-raja Melayu dan undang-undang yang memberikan hak kewargenegaraan kepada semua golongan imigran yang termaktub dalam gagasan Malayan Union yang dicadangkan. Malah Umno dalam tempoh lima tahun sejak penubuhannya begitu berkeras tidak mahu membuka taraf kerakyatan kepada orang-orang Cina, India dan orang-orang bukan Melayu yang lain di Malaya.  Pengasas dan Presiden Umno ketika itu, Dato' Onn Jaafar mulai sedar kemerdekaan akan hanya tercapai jika masyarakat berbilang kaum dan agama di Malaya dapat bersatu dan bekerjasama. Namun usahanya untuk membuka keahlian Umno kepada kaum yang lain ditentang hebat, memaksa beliau meletakkan jawatan dan mengasaskan parti politik yang lain. Fahaman kiri dituduh komunis Dalam keadaan Umno yang masih terkial-kial dengan isu kerakyatan, sudah ada sebenarnya usaha untuk menyatupadukan masyarakat berbilang kaum di Malaya di bawah satu suara untuk menuntut kemerdekaan. Usaha ini dipelopori pertubuhan-pertubuhan di bawah naungan Putera (Pusat Tenaga Rakyat) dan AMCJA (All-Malaya Council of Joint Action). Putera dipelopori Parti Kebangsaan Melayu Malaya (PKMM) yang diketuai Burhanuddin Al-Helmy dan disokong hebat masyarakat Melayu di luar bandar. AMCJA pula didokong kesatuan-kesatuan pekerja dan beberapa pertubuhan bukan Melayu yang lain.  Malangnya semua pertubuhan ini tidak mendapat restu pihak British. Alasan utamanya ialah semua pertubuhan ini berfahaman kiri dan dituduh bersekongkol dengan pihak komunis.  Maka kewujudan dan pengaruh mereka menjadi ancaman besar kepada pihak British yang mahu memelihara kepentingan mereka sendiri. Semua pertubuhan haluan kiri ini diharamkan dan ramai pemimpin-pemimpin mereka ditahan. Penahanan mereka ini membuka laluan untuk Umno memimpin perjuangan ke arah kemerdekaan yang sebelum itu bukan merupakan matlamat yang diperjuangkan. Buku-buku teks sejarah sekarang tidak banyak mengulas tentang kisah-kisah ini. Sejarah kemerdekaan negara dirumuskan dalam fakta-fakta ringkas yang disusun dalam bentuk carta dan gambarajah. Mana mungkin pelajar-pelajar sekarang mampu menyelami dan menghayati sejarah negara dengan kaedah pembelajaran seperti ini?  Namun inilah realitinya sekarang. Sejarah hanyalah satu matapelajaran yang memerlukan penghafalan 'fakta' sepertimana yang termaktub dalam buku-buku teks dan rujukan.  Saya berpendapat semua rakyat Malaysia perlu didedahkan dengan penulisan-penulisan sejarah yang berbeza. Bermula daripada sekolah menengah, golongan muda perlu didedahkan dengan kisah-kisah perjuangan semua golongan dan kumpulan pejuang kemerdekaan termasuklah kisah perjuangan Kesatuan Melayu Malaya, PKMM, Putera, AMCJA, Umno dan Parti Komunis Malaya. Semua pertubuhan-pertubuhan ini telah menyumbang ke arah kemerdekaan. Kemerdekaan diperolehi secara aman Maka, selain daripada membaca kisah perjuangan tokoh-tokoh seperti Onn Jaafar, Tunku Abdul Rahman dan Tan Cheng Lock, semua rakyat Malaysia perlu digalakkan juga memahami perjuangaan tokoh-tokoh lain seperti Burhanuddin Al-Helmy, Ahmad Boestamam (kiri), Mustapha Hussain, Rashid Maidin, Shamsiah Fakeh, Chin Peng dan lain-lain.  Antara tokoh-tokoh ini memang terdapat tokoh-tokoh komunis yang terlibat dalam pembunuhan dan keganasan. Namun keganasan sebenarnya tidak berlaku hanya di sebelah pihak. Dan pihak komunis tidak juga mengganas membabi buta tanpa sebab.  Ada sejarahnya dan ada kisah di sebaliknya. Fakta sejarah itu tidak semuanya hitam dan putih. Terdapat kisah dan interpretasi yang berbeza. Tidak salah bagi kita untuk memihak kepada sesuatu interpretasi yang tertentu, namun salah rasanya jika kita tidak mengambil tahu akan interpretasi-interpretasi lain yang wujud. Secara peribadi saya percaya tatkala segala kisah perjuangan ini dirungkai dan dibahas, ramai yang akan bersetuju dengan kesimpulan bahawa kaedah perjuangan yang diambil Tunku Abdul Rahman merupakan jalan terbaik untuk mencapai kemerdekaan.  Tunku menuntut kemerdekaan daripada pihak British secara aman dan teratur. Kebijaksaan Tunku berunding memastikan Persekutuan Tanah Melayu mencapai kemerdekaan pada tahun 1957 dengan mewarisi sistem dan prasarana pentadbiran yang licin dan berkesan. Ini banyak menyumbang kepada kemajuan negara yang lebih pesat berbanding dengan bekas tanah jajahan British yang lain seperti Ghana, Nigeria, India dan Pakistan. Namun dalam keghairahan kita memperingati jasa dan pengorbanan Tunku dan rakan-rakannya yang lain, janganlah diabaikan pengorbanan tokoh-tokoh negara yang lain. Janganlah dinafikan kemerdekaan yang kita nikmati hari ini sedikit sebanyak adalah hasil perjuangan mereka juga.