Malaysia, Mardeka are proud of their unique names

Tun Mardeka Victoria Zaman Riera, 13, stands proud with Malaysians from all walks of life to celebrate the country's Independence Day at Dataran Merdeka.

Her name was inspired by the very same shout of victory, 57 years ago, at the same venue that holds the ultimate history of Malaysia.

In fact, Mardeka got her name when her mother, Victoria Margarita, a Venezuelan who saw a documentary of Malaysia's first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman proclaiming Independence at the National Museum.

Her husband Tun Kamalul Zaman, IT consultant from Perak said his wife was pregnant at the time when she first heard the proclaimation.

"My wife was thinking about naming the baby Libertad which means freedom in Spanish. She asked me the meaning of Merdeka and I told her it meant freedom. So we decided to name our child, Mardeka." said Kamalul who met and married Victoria when he was working in South America.

However his love for the country made him decide to name their second child, Tun Malaysia Venecia.

Although she admits to being teased in school especially when she was younger, Malaysia, 17, does not mind it one bit as she began to appreciate the uniqueness of her name. She holds a special name in the hearts of all Malaysian.

"At first when I tell people my name they felt it was strange as they have never met someone with such name. I was teased a lot In kindergarten and primary school. Whenever I passed by, the other students would shout out 'Malaysia Boleh!'. But it doesn't bother me now. I'm happy with the name given to me.

"In fact, I feel patriotic and passionate about the country that I am named after," Malaysia said. The name Malaysia was also inspired by her mother who saw a beautiful poster of Malaysia featuring the Blue Mosque while she was pregnant. She then decided to name her daughter after the country.

Malaysia's middle name, Venecia also means Little Venezuela, her mother's birth country.

Like Malaysia, Mardeka was often teased in school because of her name but it did not bother her much.

"When people ask me my name, I tell them it's Mardeka. I'm really proud of this name because it means independence. I can do anything I want," said Mardeka who loves singing.

"Malaysia had long been conquered by other countries. We have to appreciate what we have since gaining indepencence. It has changed Malaysia a lot and we are now free," she added.

As a family tradition of naming the children with names beginning with the letters "Ma" the third in the family, Mayday Esmeralda, 15, was named after May-Day, a book about the Cold War.

Only the eldest in the family, Maria Cristina, 24, who was named after her grandmother, is the only one among four siblings with a common name.

This Malaysian-Venezuelan mixed family looks forward to the music and colourful parade every year during Merdeka Day. They also celebrate Venezuela's Independence Day every July 5.

Tun Kamalul, who also speaks fluent Spanish, has always instilled a sense of patriotism among his children by teaching them to be proud of who they are, reminding them of their roots.

"We must be independent, sovereign and proud people. We have to be proud of who we are. Let the whole world know who we are. There was once when nobody ever heard about Malaysia but now people are saying 'Wow, Malaysia is very impressive!' and that is something we all should be proud of," he said.

Interestingly, this partiotic family who are also ardent fans of the Perak football team, are the 18th direct descendants of Megat Terawis, the Chieftain of the Perak Sultanate.

Malaysia, who also pratices Silat Gayung Fatani together with her sister Mardeka, aspires to be a doctor someday.

"At first I wanted to be a doctor when I grow up, but in school my teacher said if we are good in Geopraphy and Bahasa Malaysia we can be an ambassador. So I thought after a few years of being a doctor, I would like to then be an ambassador for the country," said Malaysia who speaks fluent English, Bahasa Malaysia and Spanish.