It started with Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, as usual, and then followed — and extolled — by his cabinet ministers and ruling politicians. In almost a jiffy, the nation was told that we're going to have compulsory national service.

For what? Well, say, the politicians and mainstream newspapers like the pro-government New Straits Times , to instil the spirit of patriotism especially among the young. In addition, they say that it will inculcate the importance of discipline as it also involves some form of military training.

Before we go on, let us be clear about one thing: Patriotism is about loving one's own country, and this shouldn't be confused with undying and blind loyalty to the government. In many cases, these two sentiments do not, and should not, necessarily coincide with each other.

Patriotism, as recognised by an NST editorial last week, cannot be enforced by anyone, least of all the authorities. It can only grow on many of us if we are made to feel in various ways that we have a considerable stake in the overall development of our society. Patriotism is very much intertwined with a sense of belonging. One cannot be patriotic if one does not feel wanted or appreciated.

What does this mean? Among other things, this may entail a citizen giving support to a certain policy of the government of the day that is envisaged to benefit a majority of people. Conversely, it may also involve the citizen having to criticise the government in the larger interest of the nation.

Patriotism could be enhanced if citizens are given their due. For instance, students irrespective of their ethnic origins are rewarded, say in the form of scholarships, for their relentless efforts in achieving high academic standards and results. Discriminatory rewards not only divide a nation, but also encourage a citizen to feel unwanted and unappreciated in his or her country.

Given the recent history of the government facing some degree of hegemonic crisis, I have this nagging suspicion that the national service proposal is essentially meant to provide the ruling party a platform to 'brainwash' the young into supporting the ruling party and the present federal government. Bear in mind, these young people are at an age when they're about to cast their votes.

The ruling party has tried all kinds of things since the reformasi days, one of which is the creation of Puteri Umno. The idea is to woo young Malay women into the Umno fold after realising that the young, especially the Malay men, seem to have the tendency to veer towards the Malay-based opposition parties.

To the government and the self-serving media, serving the ruling party is not the same as serving the nation.