Malaysia’s The Star reported that the country’s The Information Communication and Culture Ministry has proposed to designate a day as Tunku Abdul Rahman Day to commemorate the life and works of Malaysia’s first prime minister.

To remember and not forget is part and parcel of any community’s efforts in ensuring its continuity in times of change. Everyone wants to remember the good things, the good people – or to want to be remembered well. But to remember is also a double-edged sword – it does not merely bring the “good” memories to the fore. Take for instance, Racial Harmony Day (or any of its equivalent in the world). While it is a day to remember and celebrate harmonious living among different groups of people, it is also a stark reminder of the discords and hostility. To commemorate the life of a person is also to remember (from other points of view) his/her foes, enemies and perhaps the not-so-good things of the person.

Regardless of which, remember begets other remembering, which can only be for the better of the historians.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 8th, 2010 at 6:50 and is filed under History, Memory, Personality. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.