Oh So Patriotic!

In response to 360 on TV3.

But first of all, Happy Belated 54th Birthday Malaysia!

The TV show started by showing kindergarten children waving Malaysia flags while wearing their sort of patriotic school uniform (red and white).

The reporter asked three children,
"Apa erti merdeka..."
All three children interviewed gave almost the similar answer,
"Bebas dari jajahan/pengaruh orang luar"

I bet if asked in detail they sure couldn't explain more. I'm afraid they don't even understand what 'jajahan' means.

But putting all that aside... They are still children. The eldest would be, err maybe 6 years old? So yeah, couldn't put the blame on them.

The owner of the kindergarten, as I've seen on TV, looked like he believed he has succeeded in instilling much patriotism in those children. Excuse me if I made a wrong, biased judgment, but it seems like he believed he himself is very patriotic.

If you're so patriotic, why not name the kindergarten with a Malaysian fruit? Or the national flower?

Tadika Strawberry. Despite my scarce knowledge on Geography, I do know enough that strawberry is not a local fruit. Though Tadika Durian seemed a bit odd and a bit too 'tajam', you can always name it Tadika Bunga Raya. Don't you think? Okay okay, but still... I'm an outsider, maybe he's not the one who came up with that name. But still... I really think Bunga Raya is better.

My point is, patriotism is not only about waving Jalur Gemilang.
Satu Malaysia
Patriotism, in my understanding means loving your country and being proud of it. Proud to be a Malaysian. 

I admit, me myself am not a very patriotic person. 

I used to be SO proud that I'm born in US.
I know I'm proud because when I was younger I used to boast about my birthplace. I still remembered a few lines that I frequent.

"Mother tongue? Perkataan first aku bukan dalam BM kut..."
"Aku manade surat beranak dalam BM, surat beranak aku lain dari Malaysia punya"

Ceh. All the things I've said as a teenager. Saying those lines while I'm in MALAYSIA pulak tu. -.-" Breathing Malaysian air. 

And I remembered always writing my IC with a dash, like this XXXXXX-91-XXXX instead of XXXXXX91XXXX. Just to show off the two special digits in the middle. 

"91? 91 kat mana eh?"
"Oh. Kat US... aku lahir kat sana" *proud*

But that was then. Ever since registering as a Malaysian voter, I felt a little bit increase of patriotism. I felt like I belong to this country. Though not VERY patriotic (if I'm that patriotic, I'd blog in Malay. heh), I know I love Malaysia. 

Comments

Pocket said…
patriotism and its meaning would be different between people,
i myself prefer not to elaborate such topic, as i may differ sampai orang akan kater, kamu ni siam kot?
heheheh

Tadika Jentik!
(From buah jentik jentik, sarcastically also meant that if the kids are not waving and smiling, they'll get a 'jentik' on their forehead)
bak kate org tua ujan batu negeri org ujan emas di negeri sndreyy.sehebat mne negara itu,kite akan terase hebat lg negara kite alauun secara mate kasarnyer,negara kite xsehebat yg negara lg 1 itu..
sopiah said…
I love Malaysia too. Tak sabar nak bekerja dan menumbang balik. :)
Bashtiah said…
Pocket:
Hahah... That's actually the first time I heard about buah jentik-jentik! But that's really sarcastic.haha...

Sarah:
Oh yeah, betul... Buruk macamana pun negara kita kan. :)

Yong:
You must've missed Malaysia a lot kan now that you're there.
Namee Roslan said…
saya lahir Muar, saya jiwa Malaysia! :P haha, tapi during mengundi taktau nak vote untuk siapa. haha, buat undi rosak boleh? takmau bias. haha
Bashtiah said…
Namee, itu idea cam bagus jugak tu. Vote la jugak kan... hahah ;p

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