5 Patriotic Malaysian Poems In English To Inspire You
Photo by mkjr_
Malaysia is home to some of the world’s best food, the most unique culture, and breathtaking natural beauty. Our land is so rich in arts and crafts, but our poetry is often forgotten – especially our patriotic poems in English about Malaysia.
As students, we read and write a lot about patriotism; however, we rarely read or express our patriotism in poetry. This is unfortunate as patriotic poetry is a huge part of life in Malaysia. Traditional Malay poetry – like pantun or syair – was once used for entertainment and to record our history and laws.
Reading poetry can help you discover amazing hidden treasures that weren't passed on from generation to generation. We just have to play an active role in trying to understand poems to appreciate this form of literature.
Join us in reading five of our favourite patriotic poems in English about Malaysia to learn all about our beautiful home country through words!
Patriotic Malaysian Poem In English #1: Happy Independence Day, Malaysia.
We love this poem written by L.N. because it talks about something so unique to Malaysia – our multiculturalism. This is a raw, honest poem about Malaysian culture that incorporates a bit of the Malay language to make us feel proud to be from such a diverse country.
Maybe it's the way the national flag flies so high
Despite the country's imperfections
Maybe it's the way we're united
Not separated, despite the difference in cultures,
Beliefs, traditions, languages
Maybe it's the way you see Indians eating with chopsticks,
The way you see Malays in a saree,
The way you see the Chinese making ketupats for Hari Raya.
Maybe it's the unity you see,
Maybe it's the goosebumps you feel when you say Merdeka,
Maybe despite the hate you have towards history,
Deep down, you know how grateful you are to be Malaysian.
Maybe it's the way you walk into a Mamak,
And say
" tauke tapau roti canai 1 milo ais 99 "
And maybe,
It lies in diversity,
Beyond everything else.
Malaysia, tanah tumpahnya darahku.
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Patriotic Malaysian Poem In English #2: Malaysia
The next poem on our list was written seven years ago by a poet named Masz.
This poem personifies Malaysia beautifully. Personification is a tool that poets use to give human characteristics and qualities to describe something non-human – in this case, it’s Malaysia. This poem makes Malaysia truly feel like our motherland.
Malaysia,
She is the essence of Asia
A haven of colourful cultures
And heavenly food, too
Malaysia,
Her lands are vast
A blanket of greens and rushing waters
Hear the folks of the forest
They sing so harmoniously
Lies deeply are the words of peace and brotherhood
Malaysia,
A beauty portrays a thousand words
Five decades of independence
She still stands strong and proud
Embraced by the strings of unity
That were once borne
By the people who believed
Blood is thicker than thy
Malaysia
Her soul is ours, too
If she falls, we fall
But angels pray us well
She shall be under the wings of God.
Malaysia,
Our dearest motherland
And we are her faithful children.
Patriotic Malaysian Poem In English #3: My Malaysia
The next patriotic Malaysian poem in English that makes our list is My Malaysia by Daya Nandan.
There is so much to love about this poem. It is extremely descriptive, which helps to paint pictures in your mind; a method of writing that can also be used when writing essays! Beyond this, she also used a literary device called couplets. A couplet is a pair of lines in a verse that typically rhyme and are a complete thought.
Try reading this to check if every two lines make up a complete sentence or idea!
My land of birth, this land I love,
Malaysia, the blessed land from God above,
Many have given their lives for this land in which I lived and grew,
To protect its courage within and weapons our soldiers drew,
Many have shed blood for our beloved land,
Died in battle and fought hand in hand,
Regardless of our religion, skin colour or race,
We must protect Malaysia, our birth-marked place,
My beautiful home since I was born,
My country that my love has been sworn,
My motherland of all its beauty and greatness,
The home of mine by act of fate,
For you Malaysia, great patriotism lies in my heart,
It flows in my veins, a countryman's greatest art,
And as long as our people love and fight for you,
The skies of our freedom will always remain blue,
The word 'Merdeka' is far more than just a public holiday,
Our day of liberty when freedom was restored to stay,
In honour of brave men that fought for it with their lives,
Dodging lethal bullets and fighting against knives,
Leaving their families behind while fighting for our motherland,
Taking wounds in many battles just to make our country's flag stand,
Malaysians, appreciate this day and hold your flags high,
Let our 'Jalur Gemilang' wave in our eyes,
Forgo all we can like our forefathers we must fight for our country with no regret or sorrow,
Stay united and strong for a better tomorrow,
Keep our land safe like our fathers that have fought brave,
Never let go of our burning patriotism and make it follow us to our grave,
Let our unity be the pillar of our love and Malaysia's success,
For our country is safe from many natural disasters, a country God decided to bless,
And when people ask you 'where are you from' be it from Europe or Asia,
Look at them with a smile and proudly and say ''Aku Anak Malaysia!”
Photo by Thilipen Rave Kumar
Patriotic Malaysian Poem In English #4: A Piece Of Paper
A Piece of Paper is a poem written by a former English teacher, Sui Tua Pui.
We chose this inspirational poem as the poet has found a way to creatively express his love for our nation through our flag – the Jalur Gemilang.
I took a piece of paper
It was white…..
White – reflecting the purity
Deep within our hearts,
The heart of each and every Malaysian
In one corner, I drew a rectangle
And then, I coloured it blue
‘Cause blue symbolises dignity
And it was with dignity that Malaysia broke away
From the clutches of colonialism
Next, in the rectangle, I included a new moon
A crescent representing the National Religion, Islam
And also to signify light and hope
Light for all Malaysians, whatever colour or creed
Hope that peace and harmony may forever prevail.
Beside the crescent is a star
A star with fourteen points
Representing the different states, and their people
Converging in the middle
Reflecting the bond, the unity in our nation
The crescent and the star are coloured yellow
Yellow – the colour of royalty
Pledging my unfailing loyalty to King and country
The symbol of the sovereignty
of this my homeland, the land that I live in and love
Finally, I added the horizontal stripes
Again, fourteen – for the fourteen states
I painted seven of them red
And left the other seven white
Different, divergent but united we stand,
side by side.
Red is the colour of love
The love I have for my country
The love I have for my fellowmen
Together let us stand hand in hand
United and strong, as one people, one nation,
one Malaysia.
Patriotic Malaysian Poem In English #5: A Merdeka Poem
The final poem on our list of patriotic poems in English is one by a Malaysian poet, Mangot Para Prabhakar.
MP Prabhakar is a talented poet who often writes about themes like peace, love and harmony. However, he insists he doesn’t have a message in his poems and says: “[People] must draw their own conclusions, whatever that might be. [It’s] never meant to control people’s reactions. That is their beauty. Isn’t this what makes all this fun?”
Fun fact: MP Prabhakar was actually on holiday in Austria when news of Malaysia’s independence broke, and he’s found a way to work this story into this inspirational poem 59 years later.
1957, 31st August
Remembered as the greatest
Our destiny for us cast
Nationhood gained at last.
With friends in Austria on a holiday
News of independence made our day
Tears of joy from us streaming
Happy but not fully understanding.
With full impact dawning
Woke us up to its full meaning
Tireless efforts of founding fathers
Tunku, step by step, did not falter.
Merdeka, seven times resounding
Malaya to this call awakening
Malays, Chinese, Indians all rejoicing
A new star in the eastern sky
A star of freedom rising high.
When all this happened, a long way away
Wished we were in Malaya that day
The National Anthem and Rukunegara
Binding us under God and a shining star.
Every sentiment having meaning
In all times sustaining
We are alive and well today
Because in harmony we live every day.
Best place in the world for unity
For our continued wellbeing and harmony
A beautiful land for all to see
With forests, rivers, beaches and seas.