By Azmi Anshar

FIRST, a once-over of the British Empire character: at the zenith of their domineering powers, from late 19th to mid-20th century, they imperiously colonised (more like amiably invaded) the Far East, ranging from gentlemanly deception to military might.

They devoured their possessions’ natural and primary resources, plantations and spices, with little inclination to sharing the plundering, except to grease grovelling but facilitating hands.

Yet, despite decades of griping about British rule of Malaysia as protectorate or colony, Malaysia has reconciled with the Empire’s divide-and-rule and pillaging. It was beyond us to resist.

In any case, as hindsight goes, we cannot demur their occupation when the British bequeathed us, perhaps condescendingly, a roll call of preciously useful and practical endowments.

Malaysia is what we are because of the peaceful and bloodless power handover that allowed us the right to self-governance and rule of law, and the burgeoning of democracy – elections and freedom of speech, association, religion and thought.

We embraced their efficient infrastructure, architecturally imposing buildings, competent civil service, instructive education system (and nursery rhymes) and introduction to newfound labourers-friends-family from China and India.

And yes, we also embraced their fanatical pastimes: of football, badminton, hockey, squash, netball, rugby and cricket, with their fastidious rules, and of course, Marmite and fish and chips, and the most treasured gift of all, the English language and their enlightened literature.

Emulating their sophistication and dynamism, Malaysia adept to the British development model – a persona of independence, confidence, self-reliance, pluralism of multiculturalism, multireligion and multiracialism, plus the savviness to embrace and participate in global pop culture, trade and industry.

Despite these British gifts, local embellishments of feudalism, authoritarianism and in later years, bilking and milking of the public kitty, drowned Malaysia. It was the inevitable when the robbery was committed by powerful hands in the highest authority.

After the British were gently negotiated to bugger off, British essence of authority were widely adopted by Malay aristocrats, who retained the same feudalistic template as the means to rule and control the proletariat.

But their influence was tempered by a British tool – democracy. It meant that elections where the working class can cooperate with or compete against the aristocrats to rise to the top and contain the elitism.

Now, Malaysia, like all Commonwealth nations, have consummated British culture and turned it into their own image.

Like spoken English: it is entirely no longer a British possession.

Witness the near wholesale pilferage of English words and stitched into a freakish Frankenstein-like Bahasa Melayu. The “pretensi” of it all.

Nevertheless, some of us could actually write and talk better than the beer swilling pub hoggers.

British English and pop culture, the gift bestowed not just to Malaysia but the world all over, America even so, makes the world revolves, love it or hate it.

The greatest songs and literary works are of English or English-based musicians (Beatles, Rolling Stones, Chuck Berry, Elvis, Jimi Hendrix) and the greatest, most influential literary titans are English – Shakespeare, Keats, Yeats, Woolf, Orwell and Amis, are just examples from hundreds.

Yet, spoken English, in its vast distribution, discourse and application, is no longer England’s possession.

The world has embraced and consummated it, played around with it, improvised and broke it into in their respective argot.

You get that feel of dispossession by just hanging out with non-white Commonwealth folks of India, Jamaica, Malaysia, Nigeria, South Africa, Hong Kong, even Australia and New Zealand.

They all own their distinct patois as unique as the origins of English were and their versions of spoken English may be alien to Londoners although Manglish and Singlish, while endearing and practical, is an embarrassing mess.

The Commonwealth brogue of these non-British folks’ Queen’s (now King’s) English is unrecognisable but even in its written form, the variables mutate if you jump across time zones.

England can choose to be proud of or flabbergasted at this civilisational language snatching, like the national football teams who beat the crap out of Harry Kane and Co while playing against the country that invented football/soccer but somehow, could never win the Fifa World Cup outside of Wembley Stadium. Ouch!

Of course, we have to defer to the Brits on several aspects that post-Merdeka Malaysians copy but can’t replicate – we are hopeless in world football and league, they have Fifa World Cup calibre players worth billions of Ringgit.

British pop culture of musicians, auteurs, authors, novelists, even celebrities dominate as global influencers. There’s no dearth there. We are still infants.

Here’s the biggest justification of why the British was good to us: they left us with a Federation of Malay States – one nation instead of many.

We don’t live under the yoke of tyranny, trembling at the sight of a hereditary chieftain whose word, mood, attitude or bias can mean the difference between life and death.

The British had the right idea when they liberated sovereign proletariats from the clutches of cruelty and bondage, even as they exercised the maligned divide-and-rule policy that destabilised Malaysia to preserve their economic and political interest.

Still, our freedom, which we take for granted and which many myopic tribes and sects often misunderstood, is itself a singular reason why we will always thank the British, the brutes…

Azmi Anshar is a semi-retired, award-winning, 40-year journalism veteran previously attached to three newspapers in various print and online designations