August is nigh, and so it’s high time people heard these two cents.
31st of August comes and goes every year. Flags, national symbols, articles about the country’s history, patriotic songs, etc. are among the many things that distinguish the Independence season from every other time of the year. The red, white, blue and yellow paraphernalia return just for the month-long celebration which begins on the 16th of August and ends on the 16th of September (Malaysia Day). In schools, competitions are held to see whose sajak (poem) is the best, whose class is the best decorated, the like. Not to say that these things are bad; they should go on, but from what I have seen, many seem to be on an emotional high thinking that they may do just about anything to show love for the country. Last year, on the occasion of our 50th Independence Day, there was a geezer who went hungry for several weeks for the sake of patriotism. Honestly, I wonder if that actually took a toll on his health.
Friends, is all this necessary?
There are just about many reasons for us not to show external signs of loving the country. Take the flag for example: I remember writing on YouthMalaysia.com (the old site, of course) when one user criticised the youth for not sticking the Jalur Gemilang on their vehicles, alleging that they thought the flag stuck on the car looks “uncool”. What he said was plain bull. Probably an acceptable reason would be that these flags and other paraphernalia easily get damaged and dirty, and the hard effort to actually put them up would be wasted. I, for one, have not put up the flag on the car throughout this season; for fear that it would get blown away! Tsk, tsk, tsk. And then again, I broke several flag stands over the years, came across wrongly-printed flags, defective flags… and the list goes on. Ah, that doesn’t matter.
Rather, this is my reason for not showing external signs:
I don’t depend on external signs to actually show that I love the country. To know the country is to love the country, and to love the country is to help the people of this land to live better lives, to help the nation and its youth achieve positive goals. Loving the country involves heart and soul, and not lip service. Think about it: such love for the country is permanent, and it definitely lasts longer than those external signs. So, it doesn’t mean that people who do not put the flag on their cars do not know the true meaning of Merdeka.
As writer Lydia Teh says in her bestseller Honk if You’re Malaysian, “Though I don’t wear patriotism on my sleeve or my car, it doesn’t mean I love my country less.”
No one should ever assume that our youth do not know the meaning of our country’s independence, because we actually do, and we take delight in it, despite the pressure and the cynical looks we get from everyone around us. We have been taught, we have been instilled with the spirit of Merdeka, and when we grow up, it’ll be our turn to spread it to the rest of the people and share it with them. We may have been innocent enough to get caught up in the atmosphere of colouring or making flags way back when we were in school; but just because we don’t show these “signs of love to our country” today doesn’t mean we are indifferent to the Merdeka spirit. There’s more to our Independence Day than those external signs.
Think about this: a simple act of charity like helping the poor can help the nation go a long way in eradicating poverty. A simple act of support like visiting Malaysian destinations can help the country thrive economically and as a tourist destination. A simple act of submission, as in abiding by the rules and doing our little part to develop this land, can make Malaysia achieve her Vision 2020 goals. A simple act of mixing with friends from many different ethnics at school, instead of being cooped up in one’s single-race clique can help achieve Malaysia’s ultimate goal - the unity of all races in the country, and among nations. A simple gesture of stopping the use of the racial card altogether can bring Malaysians together – that, too, at no cost.
While everyone is so gung-ho about Merdeka day every year while forgetting to do their little bit, it comes to nothing, in the end. If everyone just aims for an emotional high, singing the patriotic songs without actually cherishing and understanding them, buying flags just for the sake of buying them, attending the National Day parade without actually wanting to go, everything would just go to waste. True patriotism lies in a heart that is true to the country. True independence comes into existence when the people of our motherland are freed from their woes, and when the people of this land work together to help Malaysia make all her visions reality.
We seem to be calm with more than fifty years of independence, but deep down, there are so many problems waiting to be solved. These shackles need to be broken for true independence to prevail. I get turned off everytime I peruse the papers and read about corruption, poverty, oppression, defamation, cases of investors fleeing the country, lack of values…… and sometimes, I want to cry out, “Lord, save us from ourselves !!!” when at the end of the day, it boils down to whether we can do something, as patriotic people.
So, everytime the Independence season (16th August – 16th September) approaches, let us keep the country in mind. Former United States president Abraham Lincoln once said, “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” What can we do for our people, if we really love the country?
After all, we are the faces; we are the souls of independence. And today, we continue to taste independence. Let us keep the spirit of Merdeka lingering on. Let true independence prevail in our nation. We should not limit the spirit of Merdeka to the Independence season alone, but let it linger on throughout the year and in the years to come.
Meanwhile, don’t hesitate to raise the flag. Oh, and perhaps, if everyone heeds this piece of advice, we might soon be able to proclaim to the whole world over, “The Jalur Gemilang is the #1 flag today.”
Happy Merdeka.
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