April 3, 2025
KUALA LUMPUR – IT’S been almost 10 years since I wrote a column urging the government to empower our symbols of unity, as the column was headlined.
I was motivated to write that Aug 26, 2015, column after my intention to fly the Jalur Gemilang for Merdeka that year at my house was met with angry sarcasm from a young relative who asked why I was supporting the government.
It seemed to me then that she was yet another misguided citizen who thought the national flag was a propaganda tool of the ruling party. She did not see it as a national symbol of our sovereign state belonging to all citizens that can instil a sense of patriotism and unity among them.
A decade on, it seems there is still an urgent need to instil patriotism among young Malaysians. And the strategy is to make it mandatory for all public school students to wear a national flag badge on their school uniforms starting April 21.
For the record, I love the Jalur Gemilang. I sincerely believe it’s a very good-looking national emblem that was well designed with meaningful colours and symbols.
Every Merdeka month, I would hoist it on the balcony of my house. And when it was time to take it down, I would fold it, put it in a plastic bag and store it carefully.
When the flags got faded and a bit tatty, I could not bring myself to throw them out, so they remained in the cupboard. That is how much I respect my national flag.
That respect for symbols representing our nation was imbued by my father who was a Special Branch Officer and served during the communist insurgency in the 1950s.
In the old days, I think the 1960s and early 70s, the national anthem was played in cinemas before the start of a movie, and Dad would make us all stand up. We kids used to feel rather embarrassed as we would be the few doing so.
My respect for the flag was instilled largely at secondary school when it was raised at morning assembly, and we would sing Negara-ku, followed by the state anthem of Selangor where I lived and studied.
But in all honesty, I learned little about the Constitution, values and principles upon which the nation was founded in the subject called civics that was taught in school back then.
Civics was taught in secondary schools in the 1970s and 1980s before it was removed from the curriculum in the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025.
Its contents were then incorporated into subjects like Islamic history for Muslim students and moral studies for the rest.
In August last year, actor Zulkifli Ismail, best known for his role as ASP Razlan in the Gerak Khas television series, uploaded an image of an old civics textbook called Tatara’yat adalah kera’ayatan yang baik (Civic responsibility is good citizenship), which was published in 1966, on his Facebook account and suggested that the subject be reintroduced in schools to nurture courteous and well-mannered citizens.
Several netizens responded to say that they remembered civics as a subject that was not taken seriously by the students and teachers, possibly because it was not a compulsory subject that students must pass in their exams. That’s my recollection, too.
Civics was taught badly and was so boring that most of us slept through it or surreptitiously read storybooks at our desks.
Its successor, moral studies, didn’t seem to do much better and was quite a hated subject among students, my now grown-up children included. They remember being forced to memorise a list of values and definitions and regurgitate them word for word in their exams instead of being taught any real understanding or meaningful applications of the said values.
So, if a full subject taught in schools did not help create generations of young people to become responsible decision makers, nor instil noble values, promote national unity and, by extension, patriotism and love for the nation, would making our schoolchildren wear the 5cm x 2.5cm badge have any meaningful effect on them?
Last year marked the 50th anniversary of the Rukun Negara, the charter enshrining our country’s national principles. It was introduced in 1970 and those principles were printed on the back cover of every exercise book used in government schools.
As students, we were made to recite these principles till we knew them by heart:
> Kepercayaan kepada Tuhan (Belief in God);
> Kesetiaan kepada raja and negara (Loyalty to king and country);
> Keluhuran Perlembagaan (Supremacy of the Constitution);
> Kedaulatan undang-undang (Sovereignty of the law); and
> Kesopanan dan kesusilaan (Courtesy and morality).
I believe my generation did understand and appreciate the importance of those principles that made perfect sense.
Yet, over the years, the Rukun Negara has become somewhat of a blind spot and perhaps even sidelined because there are certain quarters who question whether the Constitution should be the supreme document governing the land.
And there is the strong perception that courtesy and morality are in short supply, and civic consciousness seems to be waning among the public.
We need to go beyond just pinning Jalur Gemilang badges on school uniforms. It should be more than a nice accessory for the kids.
That’s why I agree with primary school teacher Syafiq Nasir who was quoted by the South China Morning Post as saying the badge could end up being an ineffective cosmetic change because “schoolchildren generally do not care about such things”.
What’s more, while the Education Ministry announced the badges were mandatory, it also said students who did not wear it would not be punished. So how do we expect the kids to take it seriously, unless the enforcement is left to the schools in the same way prefects will catch students who do not wear the school tie or violate other aspects of the dress code?
That’s why apart from making children wear the badges, the government must deep dive into what ails the nation, hindering unity, sense of belonging, patriotism, pride in the nation and civic-consciousness.
Actually, we already know what divides us and causes estrangement among us. But we need, by both citizens and government, to openly acknowledge and accept the causes. Only then can we find lasting solutions that will require political determination and sincerity to implement. Will we ever see that happening?
As for our flag, I would like to see the public educated on how to treat the national flag with respect and reverence.
The authorities should enforce the removal of torn and tattered flags from buildings and vehicles. That way, the Jalur Gemilang will always flutter proudly and regally in the wind in public places.
The views expressed here are the writer’s own.