By S. Jayasankaran
In the 1960s, the thing was to show patriotism.
But it had to be carefully stage-managed. Which meant, whenever a Minister of Education visited Seremban, the schools could be relied on to have smiling pupils lining his route waving delighted flags.
The carrot: we were each rewarded with a paper cup of ice-cold Milo, sweet enough to render a troop of monkeys catatonic with diabetic shock.
Compulsion has its benefits. Had my school been more democratic, the practice would never have begun.
To a boy, we loathed it.
We had to wait at least half an hour before the worthy trundled past complete with sirens, outriders and the paraphernalia of power. We’d be sweating, sticky and hot at a time when air-conditioning, like colour television, was unheard of. It seemed pointless anyway – the car’s windows were usually tinted so you couldn’t see anybody.
I remember waving an unenthusiastic flag at someone in a big car, said to be Pak Khir, on at least three occasions.
Many years later, when I met Khir Johari, the amiable, former minister of education, I told him about those compulsory turnouts. To his credit, he looked mortified and apologised immediately. He did that so naturally, I melted.
Indeed, he turned out to be a very lovely fellow. Moreover, he had a fount of funny stories about Malaysian politics that kept his audience in stitches. He was that rare politician, a former teacher with a marvellous sense of humour.
Let’s face it, it’s more than I can say for the bunch we got saddled with in the 1980s onward.
The compulsory conscription of pupils no longer occurs but only because present-day parents no longer countenance its practice.
But give me the old days anytime. It was easier to be patriotic then. We all went to the same schools, learnt the same things and played the same games. There was a common sense of identity, certainly more than a semblance of it.
The cynical playing up of ethnic and religious differences to win popular support is not a recipe for fostering patriotism on any given day, let alone the nation’s 68th birthday.
Why is it impossible to believe that a shopkeeper or anyone else simply made an honest mistake when he flies the flag upside-down?
The mere fact that they took the trouble to fly the flag at all should win them some appreciation, not condemnation.
But no, mistakes are punished severely. Two businesses in Johor were ordered closed for 30 days over flag gaffes.
Now does anyone in his right mind seriously think the same businesses in Johor might feel inclined to hoist the national flag again next year?
People in authority should be less prone to being judgmental. Perhaps leaven small issues with humour instead of vituperation.
When US actress Raquel Welch donned a bikini made out of the American flag, there were those who grumbled about the propriety of the star-spangled swimsuit.
Nonsense, scoffed the New York Times. If anything, said the paper, it glorified the flag because Ms Welch “is a marvellous breathing embodiment to womankind.”
Happy Merdeka folks.
(The views expressed here are entirely those of the writer)
WE