Sunday, August 12, 2007

I read this article in The Star today

Sunday August 12, 2007
Malaysians are patriotic but some just don't show it
SEREMBAN: Malaysians should not question their fellow countrymen’s patriotism level, said MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting.
He said people who did not openly display their patriotism should not be judged as being less patriotic.
“Accusing one another of being unpatriotic will not do us any good. Some may not be good at showing this but their love for the country has no bounds,” he said.
Without referring to any episode, Ong said compelling communities to accept changes against their beliefs and principles was also wrong.
It was important that Malaysians continued to be progressive in their thoughts and actions, for the benefit of all communities.
Ong said this when launching the 50th Merdeka Carnival celebrations at the SJKC Ma Hwa at the Rasah New Village here Sunday.
Ong, who was greeted by lion dancers, Indian classical musicians and a kompang troupe upon his arrival, said Malaysians should not only cherish but also be proud of their uniqueness.
“We still have very strong bonds now. This unity in diversity has been a beacon of our friendship for the past 50 years,” he said.
Ong said Malaysians should always treasure the spirit of independence.
“We cannot be shallow in our thinking or be swayed by political rhetoric.
“We should abide by the provisions in the Federal Constitution which is the supreme law of this land whose foundation stone was laid together by us,” he said.
Ong said Malaysians should also not be suspicious of one another because of the actions of one or two individuals.
“Don’t judge a community due to the wrongdoing of one or two individuals.
“We have had our fair share of differences in the past but this had always been solved amicably,” he said.
Asked on the Negaraku rap video posted by a Malaysian student Wee Meng Chee on Youtube, Ong said the matter could also be easily resolved.
“We will help resolve this. As some issues can be sensitive, we would rather solve it than bring it in the open as it may cause unnecessary tension,” he said, adding that although this was not a party problem, the MCA was already working on it.
Wee, a mass communications undergraduate at Ming Chuan University in Taipei, posted a six-minute video of himself singing the national anthem interspersed with rap on the popular video site.
The Merdeka carnival was organised jointly by Petronas Gas, Rompin Enterprise and Success Care Enterprise in collaboration with several government agencies.


Hehe... that's how I feel about patriotism. I don't like flying the flag on my car. The reason being, I think it's really disrespectful to the Jalur Gemilang. Why do I say that? Well, first of all the flags that they sell to stick on your car is of low quality. After a few days flapping in the wind, it starts to tear. Soon, you get a Jalur Gemilang that is greyish and tattered. How degrading.

For my, I rather fly a large Jalur Gemilang at my house that someone gave me a few years ago. It's larger that the normal sized flag. To me patriotism can be shown in many ways... it's not wears the most red, blue, and yellow or sing Negaraku the loudest. Patriotism to me is doing service to your countrymen. Making their lives better is much more fulfilling.

Negaraku!

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