Je voudrais...

I want to wake up one day, and find out that people all over Malaysia are listening to troisnyx*.

I want to see people sitting hand in hand together, mamak or no mamak, fair or dark, religious or otherwise, pro-government or pro-opposition, and sipping cups of teh tarik together.

I want kids to mingle with each other well, hold hands and peck each other on the cheeks even if their parents have different political alignments.

I want to be pleasantly surprised when I find out that one of the causes of this watershed of unity is the fact that people listen to troisnyx* and other artistes that promote ethnic unity.

I want race-based politics to be put to a full stop.

I want there to be secularism in the government - we're dealing with many people from many different faiths. Follow France’s separation of “laïcité” (secularity) from “foi” (faith) even when she's a predominantly Catholic country, if we have to.

I want Malaysia to rise from her barely significant position on the map and be the superpower in music that she once was.

I want to compose groundbreaking music with absolutely no need for a paper qualification - and it is with this that I can prove music institutions wrong, because you don't need a paper qualification to touch people's hearts all over the world.

I truly want all this.

Someday, I believe I will wake up to all this. And when I do, only then will I say that it's a job well done, and to the Lord I offer all my praise.

I know Yasmin Ahmad woke up to all this when she recounted one of her craziest experiences :

"What did I win?!"
"You won le Grand Prix du Jury!" replied Jackie (Buet).
"Is that a good prize?" I enquired, like the kampung Muar idiot that I was.
"It is the first prize, you crazy woman! Bravo!"

I hope to wake up to that someday.