BUANASENI

 

 PERJUANGAN

THE FIGHT

 Johan Ishak

 

PERJUANGAN is an expression of struggle and our fight for freedom, independence and sovereignty. Very much represented by the Malaysian national monument, Tugu Negara, the so called fight was apparent during the early days of the country's independence particularly in its battle against communism and external threats such as the Malaysian-Indonesian cold war in the 60's. This urge to fight must continue as the nation face other challenges that may come in the future. As it is today, we have our own struggle that requires courage - to name a few, MH370, MH17 and the MILF threats to Sabah. Our fight isn't over yet - or in Malay, "Perjuangan Belum Selesai Lagi" - 4 of the words in the word puzzle at the backdrop of the army monument piece. These 4 words do not only serve as a statement, they are also relevant when taken as a question in the context of continued struggle - hence the ? in one of the squares. There are in total 10 words. The remaining 6 are Yakin (Confidence), Insaf (Atonement), Makna (Meaning), Sedar (Realisation), Sabar (Patience) and Gah (Strength) - qualities that serve as ingredient to a successful fight going forward.