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MPSJ chief, you can’t legislate patriotism

YOURSAY | ‘Make Malaysians proud of Malaysia and the flag will be flown all-year round.’

MPSJ told to review ruling on flying the Jalur Gemilang

Abasir: Congratulations, Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) president Nor Hisham Ahmad Dahlan.

You have found a shortcut to become "the premier international standard local authority based on smart township, business city and ideal residence in 2030".

Encouraging "the spirit of patriotism among residents" by forcing businesses to fly the flag is so much easier than cleaning the drains and cutting the grass regularly... and definitely easier than removing the tens of thousands of ‘ah long’ and ‘ubat lelaki’ posters all over the township.

Anonymous 2362021442199789: Trying to instil patriotism through force and threats will only have the exact opposite result. 'Sayang' becomes 'benci' instead.

This is another example of a 'buat bodoh' type requirement by a ‘syiok sendiri’ little Napoleon. Patriotism has to come from the heart. It is not engendered by flying the Jalur Gemilang for a month.

Sabahan: Nor Hisham should be taught that patriotism is not determined by whether the person's business flies the national flag or not.

Here in my hometown in Sabah, we always note that those who fly the national flag are illegal immigrants running illegal businesses. They 'appear' more patriotic than the Malaysians themselves.

Of course, we all knew this was an attempt to be in the good books of the authorities and to escape being caught by the police.

Nor Hisham must know that citizens are patriotic based on their paying their taxes regularly, obeying the laws of the country, being loyal to the Agong and not stealing from the people and the land.

Anonymous_1371479577: Make Malaysians proud of Malaysia and the flag will be flown all-year round without any enforcement action required. Patriotism is how the citizens feels about their country and cannot be enforced.

Sherlock: This is nonsensical extra work that amounts to nothing beneficial. It is better for the council to spend more time to keep the township clean and healthy. Please do not waste time on superficial displays.

Anonymous S303: Now, these businesses will complain that it will increase their cost of business and will automatically raise their prices.

They will complain to Subang Jaya state assemblyperson Hannah Yeoh, who will waltz to the MB's office and seek a reversal. The MB will come out with some patriotic statement and excuse.

Insidiously the MPSJ president, whose achievements leave much to be desired, given the way they are handling traffic and perancangan in Puchong, will come out with a justification that it was only a ‘suggestion’ and all will be forgotten.

Traders would have bought the flags and not used them. In the end, all win and we consumers pay.

Mojo Jojo: Who needs fair and equitable policies when you can simply raise a flag and make your problems go away?

Ghostwhowalks: Is this the standard of ‘idiocy’ or patriotism, I wonder? How can one enforce patriotism?

Patriotism is a feeling in one's heart about fighting for the good things about Malaysia, and not about flying the flag. For example, fighting for good governance is all about patriotism, revealing corruption in high office.

Hmmmmmmmm: What about forcing all citizens to wear 'I love PM' shirts during National Day as a condition for staying in this country? This can be put in as a requirement when collecting national identity cards.

Dr M is welcome to speak at Bersih 5, but...

Ksn: Bersih 2.0 chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah, I fully support your views on institutional reforms.

But the person you talk about here is the person who allegedly destroyed all the institutions like the judiciary, the civil services, the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM), the Attorney-General's Chambers, etc, by allegedly abusing power, all the laws, public funds, you name it.

So such a person to talk at your rally about institutional reforms is not recommended, and is out of place.

Anonymous_40f4: Bersih 2.0 must stick to demanding that the Election Commission (EC) conduct clean and fair elections, no more alleged cheating and gerrymandering.

Once this is corrected, all else will fall into place for the country. Then the rakyat can kick out an allegedly corrupt government and choose a government of their choice.

Now, with the present system, there is no way the government can be changed and the alleged stealing of public funds is getting worse.

No-Brainer: Bersih 5 should come out with a manifesto or a list of resolutions on what its aims are and on its proposed actions to achieve its institutional reforms, clean and fair elections.

It should focus more on clean and fair elections first. The present national leadership needs to be uprooted before anything about institutional reforms can be done or carried out.

It should focus on the EC and PDRM, as these two agencies are directly involved in every election. This is to prevent any hanky-panky business, cheating, fraud and unjust or biased treatment of the opposition by election officers.

The lists of voters from the EC must be checked and confirmed. There are many possible and practical ways that certain agencies can allegedly help Umno-BN to win in the elections. Bersih should study and list them out one by one.

Cogito Ergo Sum: Without fundamental changes in the electoral process that is skewed, democracy will not function fairly. You can't bring down the ruling regime with feel-good rallies.

Bersih 5 must have a strategic long-term plan that is staggered and continuous, with clear goals and targets at every juncture. It must have a realistic final target that will change the game we are playing.

Anonymous 2137311447785763: Maria, I guess any crook who cries "institutional reforms" gets a platform to speak at your rally?


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