By Brian Yip

People are always so focused on the latecomers.

It’s a matter of appearances, I suppose. Being late is disrespectful to your host - the one that remembered and thought highly of you. With how much effort they have put into just making their event an enjoyable one, the least you can do is show up on time and acknowledge their work.

Fair enough. But what happens when you’re early to the party? I’m not saying just five or ten minutes early (that’s good courtesy). If you show up a few hours early before it all starts, wouldn’t it be awkward to just stand there with nothing to do?

Huh.

Today is the 31st of August, 2026. I’m writing this at about midnight local time. It’s 10:00 p.m. in Malaysia, and Merdeka won’t start for another two hours there. I feel that difference, but I also know that it isn’t a physical object (this is just a time zone, after all). Some sort of ghost time.

Whatever it is, I guess I’m the early one for once.

I think back home, one doesn’t pay much mind to this. This is our Independence, after all - something that will forever be important to our national identity. The whole country moves as one, preparing for its grand birthday. Life in August seems to shift equally in loud and quiet measures. Banners are placed, flags are hoisted and Merdeka discounts go live.

No one back home is too early or late to the party. Not when the collective ambition is that strong in spirit.

That’s not the case here. Everything is smaller. Oversight and community - while present - is not a constant. It is spread across as dots on the Australian map. You’d expect that to mean that we are small. Our voices soft, our presence not felt. To the outside world, that’s true. But not us.

Birds of a feather flock together. If nothing else, I think we tend to pay a lot more attention in finding our compatriots here.

It makes things far more scrutinised. More noticeable too. Yet it makes me appreciate all the effort around me to celebrate something this precious.

Maybe back home, arriving too early can be a hindrance to the party. Some think that it interrupts the planning process. Others think that you’re hovering too much. They aren’t completely wrong. Again, we have the numbers over there. A good party doesn’t simply rely on planning, but people playing the audience as well.

It’s not really the same here, however. Everything is way more quiet.

Being this early, within that ghost time…I see it better now. Every little bit of effort counts when we work towards such an important celebration. That scrutiny persists, but it also means that every Malaysian here is accounted for. We are celebrated and loved. It is this feeling and hope that we strive to place when planning this grand little party out.

Merdeka has always been a celebration of Malaysia. In a place where most of us are seemingly isolated and apart, this celebration also reminds each of us that we exist. We are real, tangible people united under one flag. Much like how a country defines our nationality, we too define our country.

Getting here early isn’t such a bad thing, the more I think about it.

What can I do with two hours of ghost time?

Maybe I’ll be the first one to wish people Selamat Hari Merdeka back home. Or read a cerpen or two. Have a Malaysian midnight snack, maybe? I would say visit my Malaysian friends right now but alas, it is once again, midnight. Later bah.

Insignificant acts for sure, but give it time - even if it’s just for a day. Let them pile up as we walk with those close to us, Malaysian or not. Our community may just be limited to a few dots of ink on that map. Don’t forget that these dots can spread, and the more we try…well.

With a bit of hope and a lot of strength, we will celebrate Merdeka the best way we can. Not just in honour of our home, but also for us. The people that represent Malaysia in this place. We will make an indelible mark that says “We’re here!”.

When these two hours are up, Malaysia will begin celebrating its 69th Independence Day. Australia, for its part, will still go on like normal.

But in those two hours, both worlds collide briefly, spectacularly. And it gives me reason to celebrate this day the best I can.
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