Australia

This month I would have lived in Australia for five full years. It has been that long, since I moved from Malaysia.

Five years ago when I decided it was time to move here to be with my family, the only worry I had was to leave my mum alone in Johor Bahru. Mum being mum, she said nothing about her own arrangement without me by her side. She assured me everything would be alright for her. I knew at that time she did not really have a concrete plan on how she would cope after I left. To her, whatever problems without me by her side was not going to be a show stopper preventing me from re-uniting with my family in Perth. Mum had never allowed herself to be a problem for us. She was always a solution never a problem. She was a truly selfless person.

I love Australia in almost every way except one, the food. No doubt all kinds of cuisines are supposedly available here, they just lack that punch, depth, authenticity compared to what we have in Malaysia.

In every other way, Australia is a world beating and leading nation. Its environment, its infrastructure and planning, its living cost and standard, its climate, its nature, its heritage, its culture, its people, its compassion, its freedom, its belief, its confidence, its commitment, its democracy, and many others that I may have missed, are simply as good as it gets.

My Malaysian born children are as proudly Australian as anyone else who was born and bred here. We have never experienced anything here to suggest that we are less equal or less welcome than any other Australians. The spirit of fair dinkum lives on.

Australia, our new adopted country. We are proud to be a member.