opinion

One's patriotism towards the nation should not be measured by a willingness or unwillingness to fly the national flag.

Patriotism, defined in the Webster dictionary as 'love for or devotion to one's country', is not a showpiece item that can be openly displayed, especially in the manner that politicians seem to like imposing on the people just to score some sort of political point.

As such, it will be very wrong for the Selangor state government to even consider the possibility of introducing a law to punish those who do not raise the Jalur Gemilang for the coming Merdeka Day.

In a small column hidden in the inner pages of a Sunday newspaper, Selangor Mentri Besar Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo was reported to have said that the state will look into legislation to force the raising of national flag.

He said that his state government will look into the existing laws or introduce a new law to penalise those who do not raise the flag.

Mohamad Khir was provoked into taking action due to the cool response, especially from the private sector, to the current campaign to raise the Jalur Gemilang for the coming 44th National Day.

According to the man behind the campaign, Culture, Arts and Tourism Minister Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir, the move is aimed at remembering the sacrifices and achievements of the country. In fact, the minister is making his rounds around the country, asking everyone to fly the national flag at least until Merdeka Day is over.

While the minister is trying to cajole everyone into showing their patriotism by 'voluntarily' flying the flag, the attempt to force patriotism by his counterpart in Selangor brings to mind the thoughts of Dr Johnson Leo Tolstoy who said, 'Patriotism, sir, is the last resort of scoundrels.'

Heroes alienated

Politicians only talk about patriotism to complain that the generation today is totally devoid of any understanding of the struggles of the nation's freedom fathers.

Time and time again we have seen leaders suggesting that today's youth are unpatriotic for various reasons, ranging from their involvement in the Black Metal 'cult' to taking part in peaceful gatherings.

Anyone who sings a different tune to the official one is thus labelled a traitor and now, going by standards to be set by Selangor, law will be used to show patriotism.

The problem in Malaysia is that politicians seek to instill patriotism as a means of showing support for the government of the day rather than to the nation.

What is lacking here is a nationalist spirit akin to the Indian call of Vande Mataram (Hail Motherland).

There, despite divided political ideologies, languages and cultures, the people stand as one when it comes to national pride. Their patriotic spirit has nothing to do with flying flags or any other stunt.

Instead, they have other reasons to be proud of the many eminent scientists, scholars (including a few Nobel prize winners), world-renowned writers and other notables who have proven themselves in the international arena.

Compared to that, in Malaysia all our achievements are only politically related.

All individual citizens' projects that put us on the world map were inevitably hijacked by politicians, via 'official government backing', resulting in these projects becoming government propaganda.

How many times have we heard these politicians say that Malaysians are capable of doing it all let it be scaling Everest, solo sailing trips and other world records but later taking credit for providing the 'right atmosphere and development' for these projects.

This has resulted in all these ventures becoming high-profile projects that come with the backing of the government and major sponsors. In turn, those taking part in these venture are made into celebrities, feted by the government, backed personally by top leaders and kept away from the man on the street.

Trivial record breakers

In the end, the public has got nothing to be proud of over these achievements because of the prevailing resentment and the feeling that these 'heroes' are far away from them. And more annoyance is in store for them when they have to stomach other heroics done by locals who are only interested in gaining an entry into the Malaysia Book of Records.

How else can we explain local records for frying the largest keropok lekor , making the longest popiah , baking the tallest cake and all other trivial achievements?

The end result? Achievements for the purpose of self-promotion and nothing at all to do with the spirit of patriotism.

Only when the people are made part of a truly Malaysian achievement can their patriotism be visible. Success in sports is a clear example of this.

For evidence, one need only look back at the 1989 Sea Games hosted in KL and the 1992 Thomas Cup badminton champs. The super-strong local support was part of the reason for the successes and at the end of the day everyone took credit for these victories. Local heroes were part of the people during and after those events.

But then again, the standard of local sports today leaves a lot to be desired, and the people are drifting away from this arena.

Thus, who can blame the people for not being openly patriotic as there appears to be no reason to do so. But just because they do not show their patriotism, does not mean they are unpatriotic.

One is sure that when the need arises, every one of our 22 million citizens will surge out with their patriotic spirit bursting forth for all to see.

Until then, forcing them to fly the national flag to show patriotism is definitely not the answer.

K KABILAN is malaysiakini 's chief reporter.