A flag, which is usually made from an ordinary piece of cloth, evokes pride and reverence, and even commands rapt attention, among a certain group of people because its peculiar colours and designs have special meanings that are primarily shared by the people concerned.

Jalur Gemilang , as Malaysia's national flag is now called, contains 14 stripes of red and white, a crescent and a 14-pointed star, and a yellow colour superimposed upon the crescent and the star. These distinct characteristics of the Malaysian flag respectively represent the 14 states in the Federation of Malaysia, Islam as the country's official religion, and the status of the Malay rulers to whom Malaysians owe their allegiance.

In addition, the blue background to the crescent and the star symbolises the unity and harmony ofthe Malaysian people.

So to speak, these dominant meanings, shared and appreciated by the people, have been ideologically stitched on the flag.

In other words, the flag acts as a constant reminder that we're part of what Benedict Anderson calls an "imagined community", a nation to which we belong, and one that we are proud of, and willing to fight for. The flag manifests a sense of patriotism that we are expected to show.

Hence, it is apt that the flying of Jalur Gemilang takes centre stage when the country celebrates its 43rd National or Independence Day on August 31 this year. In fact, a few days before the auspicious day, the mainstream media had already reported a flurry ofactivities which had, for instance, certain ministers flaunting miniature flags that were planted on to their big cars as well as some captains of industry flashing their flags with pride.

Certain people had also attempted to make the largest Malaysian flag, presumably to show the whole world just how big their love for Malaysia could be.

The New Straits Times editorial of 29 August was insistent that Malaysians have a duty to display their patriotism, at the very least by flying the miniature flags at home as a way to show their love for the country and and to cherish our "united nation". The NST took a swipe at those Malaysians, "especially the well-ensconced urbanmiddle-class" and "the literate, highly literate", for having "disdained" to honour the flag.

One can have no quarrel with well intentioned people flying Jalur Gemilang on August 31 as a symbolic act of patriotism.

But surely it doesn't take an urban middle class or "highly literate" types to know that there can be otherways of displaying patriotism, and other, and not just symbolic, acts of patriotism. Shouldn't these other ways and other acts, equally if not more meaningful, have been properly captured by the mainstream media?

Let us first distinguish patriotism, which is essentially "love of one's country", from the "love for the government of the day". Too often some people blur this critical distinction to manipulate public sentiment in the name of "the country". The result is to damage the social fabric and justify the violation of the rights of certain people by other people "in the national interest".

We should recognize that many kinds of acts of patriotism are committed by ordinary Malaysians on "ordinary" days. Sometimes these acts draw the attention of the mainstream media, but for the wrong reasons, especially if the powers that be want to condemn those acts as being "unpatriotic" and inimical to "national interest" and "national security".

If it's true that the love of one's country should tower over sectarian or ethnic attachment, thenwe should regard someone's struggle for justice and freedom for all Malaysians as an eminently patriotic deed.

From this perspective, shouldn't we recognize as patriotic those multi-ethnic demonstrators who took to the streets of Kuala Lumpur to press for social reform, justice and political freedom? Shouldn't we applaud as patriotic other groups of people who peacefully protested the retention and use of undemocratic laws that restrict the rights of the people who make up independent Malaysia?

On the other hand, should we call some consummate 'white and west bashers' patriotic even if they insist on retaining laws such as the Internal Security Act or the Sedition Act which, among others, are relics from our colonial, pre-Merdeka, past?

If we are guided by a proper sense of what patriotism should mean - and what it's been manipulated to mean - we wouldn't be so quick to condemn as unpatriotic a group of Malaysians who call for a rational reassessment of certain national policies and of their implementation. Like it or not, some national policies can be socially divisive and counter-productive to conscious efforts to create a true Bangsa Malaysia.

We should accept calls for sober debates on the future of our nation as acts that are aimed at promoting a vital sense of belonging among Malaysians of diverse ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds - an essential ingredient of a genuine patriotism.

If we are instead guided by views promoted by the mainstream media, as any scrutiny of pre-August 31 media coverage will show, we will only think of patriotism as an indulgence of flag-waving combined with an orgy of materialistic consumption, mega shopping extravaganza, and 'Merdeka Day sales'.

Patriotism, too, is not without its dangers. It is fine when it helps to promote national harmony and "unity in diversity". It becomes dangerous if it takes on extreme forms and promotes jingoism. Don't forget either that the flag that symbolizes our nationalist spirit can be limited in its political significance especially when it leaves the Malaysian shores. People outside the Malaysian nation cannot relate to or identify with all things Malaysian that are found in the flag. If anything, a Malaysian flag in a foreign soil performs the sole function of signaling to the "Others" that we're a different community of people in a vast sea of humanity.

While one can be nationalistic, one has no need to undervalue the appeal of universalism or internationalism. In international commerce and trade, for example, even Proton, the maker of our "national car", has decided that it can no longer stick to its corporate emblem of the crescent and the 14-pointed star.

The "nationalist" emblem, so long synonymous with the Proton cars has been replaced by a stylised head of a tiger - apparently to signify universal features of speed, strength, robustness and versatility, not necessarily to represent the qualities of a Malaysian tiger. Would anyone be so unreasonably "patriotic" as to criticise Proton's corporate or marketing decision as an "unpatriotic" act?

In this era of globalisation and growth of information communication technology, perhaps more than ever before, nationalist sentiments must be informed by an understanding that Malaysians, like people of other nationalities, must hold to qualities of 'humanity' that transcend national borders, flags and sovereignty. People of one nationality living in one country should empathise with people of other nationalities who suffer from, say, undemocratic rule and exploitation.

In the name of (universal) justice, freedom and democracy, we should be prepared to express our disgust at the injustice and political suppression that befall upon citizens of another country whose rulers will surely use "patriotism" to reject "foreign interference". There should be no"selective patriotism" that can't see that humanity must prevail over national borders, emblems and flags.