So what has happened to the Merdeka day spirit of our fellow Malaysians? Have we really lost the pride of calling ourselves Malaysians? Are we just too distracted with fending for ourselves and our livelihoods that we are unable to express or show the gratitude towards this country in which we call home? Or have we succumb ourselves to petty politics and allowed the differences in opinions and our political stance to divide us and dampen our patriotism and love for the country.

Iqbal Abd Ghaffar

I can still vividly recall back in August of 1997 of how almost every vehicle had stuck the Jalur Gemilang (Malaysian flag) onto their windscreen or the hood of their bike. I was only 15, staying in a boarding school. Access to outside of the school compound was only limited to weekends, and even that was limited on a fortnightly basis.

However, the site of my teacher’s and school staff’s vehicle be it a car, van, motorcycle flying the Jalur Gemilang  was a site to behold. TV news and the printed media reported the success of the “Raise The Flag” campaign that ran from the 15th of Aug – 15th Sept. Images of vehicles and homes proudly flying the flag was proudly showcased.

I was ecstatic! I was excited! My young-self then felt every vein in my body oozing with patriotism and love for the country.

The following year, the campaign changed its wording to “Kibarkan Jalur Gemilang”. Though many people did raise it, I could feel that the there was a slight reduction in participation from the public. The spirit was dampened as we were hit with the Asian financial crisis, and the Ringgit and stock market was plummeting to new lows.

The spirit of raising the flag dampened with the passing of the years. Today, finding a car flying the Jalur Gemilang is as rare as finding diamonds on the road.

The strong feeling of patriotism and love for the country that I had 12 years ago remains a distant memory.

People cite all sort of reasons for not raising the flag. Petty reasons such as, no one giving out free flags (cheap skate!) to safety reasons such as flags flying off the cars can become a missile (this argument does have merit).

Our closest neighbor (as much as we hate to admit it) by blood and history down south celebrates their independence day with vigor and pride. I haven’t experienced myself, but from what I read and gather, folks down there are patriotic about their Merdeka Day and its celebration. For every year without fail, they’ll raise their flag and fly it with pride and honor.

Citizens of the USA proudly raise the Star Spangled Banner in their homes as a display for the love of their country without fail on or before every July 4th. And they’ve been doing that since 1776!

So what has happened to the Merdeka day spirit of our fellow Malaysians? Have we really lost the pride of calling ourselves Malaysians? Are we just too distracted with fending for ourselves and our livelihoods that we are unable to express or show the gratitude towards this country in which we call home? Or have we succumb ourselves to petty politics and allowed the differences in opinions and our political stance to divide us and dampen our patriotism and love for the country.

I hate to shudder the thought of it, but the stark reality is that many Malaysians just have no clue on how to celebrate Merdeka day. They’re not sure of how to display their love for the country (even though they would like to). And a great many Malaysians are far too divided with their political stance or non-political stance that Merdeka day becomes a display of their utter disgust towards the government of the day (since the parade stand is always filled with government officials from the ruling coalition).

In my opinion, Malaysians of all creed from all walks of life should make this day a neutral day. It should be marked as a day where one remains apolitical and non-partisan. In all due respect, whatever opinions or stance you may have towards the ruling government towards the opposition, on this special day, all Malaysians should uphold the dignity and sovereignty of this land we call home.

Bask in her glory, and dignify her, and remember the struggles of our forefathers and generations that have passed of their plight to achieve independence and self rule. For since the fall of Malacca into the hands of the Portugese in 1511, this land has been under the control of foreign powers for 446 years.

Let us not allow narrow racial politics to control our emotions and thoughts. Disallow the chauvinists from every racial group who only form the minority from controlling the mainstream politics and majority of the rakyat who only want to see tolerance and harmony permeate and blossom. It serves no one any good to allow such groups to fester and penetrate into the thoughts and lives of peace-loving, multi-racial embracing, diversity-driven Malaysians of all walks of life.

In this time of confusion, let us uphold the sanctity of the constitution and look up to the Yang DiPertuan Agung for his leadership and his non-partisan stance on the politics of this country!

Selamat Menyambut Hari Kemerdekaan Yang ke-52.

-IAG-

ps: I too am guilty of not raising the Jalur Gemilang. I promise to that I will raise it next year and every year after that. Please join me and pledge to do the same.