Kuala Lampur, Aug. 27 -- AUG 27 - I was born on 31 August, exactly ten years after Merdeka.

Since I could remember, my late dad would tell me, "You must love Malaysia more than everyone else." I never questioned it. Somehow, those words sank deep into me. Malaysia was never just the country written on my birth certificate. Loving her became part of my darah daging.

I am Malaysian Tamil. I grew up in a Tamil-speaking home, although today I speak mostly Malay and English. My favourite food is Laksa Kedah, which I ate almost every day in school because my classmate Rozitah's father ran the laksa stall in our canteen.

Truth be told, I don't really know what "my culture" is.

My parents never raised us to be "Indian-Indian". We weren't forc...