Makna Merdeka 50
Merdeka negara! Merdeka bercita!
Bebas negara! Bebas bersuara!
Merdeka bukan hadiah penjajah
Kebebasan insan hasrat Allah.
Alam ku luas, borkat Illahi
Rezki ku Tuhan yang mengsukati.
Laut, gunung, sempadan tanpa ku segani
Gelombang dunia berani ku layari!
Kampong halaman bukan nya sauh
Ingin ku menghilir merantau jauh.
Di mana bumi ku pijak, di sana langit ku junjong
Selagi hati berhajat, cita ku jangan di kandong.
Hidup, bebas, bahagia, hasrat Allah
Pantang celaka lah jika di ubah.
Raja dan menteri mesti mempatuhi
Jangan kau mungkir perentah Illahi.
Rakyat negeri bukan nya kuli
Untok di kerah ka sana sini.
Zaman purba tak akan kembali
Mungkin menteri yang di buang negri!
Renungkan nasib si Idi Amin
Yang Shah Pahlavi pun tak terjamin.
Pemimpim negri mesti menginggati
Rakyat — bukan raja — yang di daulati.
Tidak ku sangka songsang
Anak dagang di negri orang.
Orang kita/orang sana, tidak bermakna.
Takkan Melayu hilang di dunia
Bukan kah itu gesa Laksmana?
Urat ku mendalam di bumi asing
Loghat ku pun ikut sama mengiring
Sambal belacan dah berasa lain
Teras ku tetap Melayu tulin!
Kampong ku jauh beribu batu
Begitu juga kaum sa suku
Kalau di renung hati ku rindu
Mengenang cerita moyang ku dulu.
Anak merantua jangan diigaui
Sepi perpisahan boleh dibatasi.
Bebas! Merdeka! Alangkah murni!
Ku peluk penuh cinta berahi!
M. Bakri Musa
Morgan Hill, California
2007
My translation:
Meaning of Merdeka (Independence) 50
Merdeka to the nation! Merdeka for my ambition!
Freedom of speech! Freedom of thought!
The benevolence of colonials, merdeka is not
Free! Unshackled! That’s the command of the Lord.
My universe is broad, the blessing of God.
I strive, but only He knows my fate and lot.
Oceans, mountains, and boundaries faze me not
The global waves a match for my surfing board.
My village abode is not my tether
The yonder wide world beckons me thither.
Firm on ground, the heavens above I praise
And pray my dream will find its rightful place.
Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
That is Allah’s command; His measured kindness.
It is not for kings and rulers to alter
Nor put boundaries to God’s desire.
Blessed with freedom and reason are God’s children
To lords and kings we are never beholden.
The feudal order had long been toppled
Let’s be clear, the sovereign is the people.
Ponder the fate of one Idi Amin
That of Shah Pahlavi was equally grim!
These realities our leaders must heed
“Power to the People!” is the new creed.
Praise the wandering son, our true hero
Heeding the call when the distant wind blows.
This “us” versus “them” makes little sense
True to yourself, that is the essence.
Blessed our forefathers for that lesson.
My roots have deepened in this foreign soil
Affected or not, so too my Western drawl.
The spicy taste of yore has lost its punch
Still, the old Malay can, … lah! In a crunch!
Far across the ocean the old abode beckons
My kith and kind, Oh! They readily come to mind!
As I ponder, the heart grows fonder
Reliving stories of days yonder.
The young has flown, the empty nest silent
Sadness yes, but memories remain vibrant.
Freedom! Merdeka! Such intoxicating beauty!
With fondness and passion, I readily embrace thee.
M. Bakri Mua
Morgan Hill, California
August 2007