Looking back at 2014, it was really a terrible year for us Malaysians. With the missing flight MH370, MH17 shot down, up until the very end of year with the major flood hitting the country and Air Asia’s QZ 8501 crash in Indonesia, it was a series of dark times for the nation.




But looking at it from a different view, I found a silver lining to all these tragedies that occurred. In a nation constantly divided by issues such as racism and politics, at times like these we can see our people uniting as one regardless of ideologies, race or religion. I suppose sometimes we are all so engorged in our own ideals and beliefs that we forget we all are the same, human beings. Perhaps through this calamity we are finally able to put our differences aside and unite for once, through compassion and empathy, regardless or our individual differences.




And seeing our response to these tragedies, like seeing the emotional support shown by not only Malaysians but people all around the world towards the victims, my faith in humanity is restored. In a world full of evil and conspiracies, it’s heartwarming to see that so many people actually care, and many others willing to put in a helping hand, like when so many countries joined in the search to find the missing airplanes, or the donations and volunteers that came to assist the flood victims in Kelantan, Pahang, and the other states that were affected by the flood.




Furthermore, Malaysia had always been a peaceful developing country on the rise, and with these incidents that catapulted our nation to the eye of the world, perhaps this would be the time for people to actually know about our country. From my travels I find that a lot of people are still oblivious of the whereabouts of our country. If we could show them that we can handle the situation with pride and dignity, I believe that our countries reputation would soar to a greater level in the long run, as shown by how Mr. Tony Fernandez, the CEO of Airasia handles the crash of the flight in such a professional and empathetic manner which has brought praises from all over the world.




From a religious view, some said that the floods that occured were a sign of God’s wrath towards our sins. Perhaps that is true, but I choose to believe that it was a sign of His mercy instead, simply because of the fact that He let us live through it. If we looked into the Quran, of the previous ummat, God only left those who were pious to live and destroyed the rest, as in the story of Pompeii. But we the ummat of Muhammad were given a privilege of our judgement being the delayed till the Judgement Day. Perhaps our material things were the very things that distanced ourselves from Him. Perhaps this was a wakeup call not only for the victims, but for us as the whole ummah to rise from our slumber. Only when we are tested do we return to Him. Know that perhaps with the sabr that we learn through this calamity could be the very stairway that leads us to His heaven.






InsyaAllah, InsyaAllah,