HAPPY BIRTHDAY MALAYSIA - ON THIS DAY I SOLD KACANG PUTIH SHIRTLESS

Happy 48th Malaya and Happy 43rd Malaysia!

I wish my beloved country continual harmony and prosperity - the only land that I've always yearned to return to whenever I had been away.

On this day, I was without a shirt outside the main entrance of the Merdeka Stadium selling kacang putih (dry fried peanuts) for 10 Malaysian cents (approximately one quarter of an american dime) a pack - normal price then was half what I charged. I thought these nuts being "goreng-ed" (dry fried) by meself had to command a better price as they tasted so good.

I was shoo-ed away a couple of times by the police before I decided to settle at the scoreboard entrance for the day. Since that day, I had been unfailingly conducting my peanuts business every Merdeka Football tournament season but selling inside the stadium at the VI stands...until I was roped into joining the Royal Military College by my fellow Methodist Boys' School senior OP Ronald Tan.

From the outside I still heard Tunku Abdul Rahman proclaiming Merdeka proudly seven times.

MERDEKA! MERDEKA! MERDEKA! MERDEKA! MERDEKA! MERDEKA! MERDEKA!