Malaysian too distracted to be patriotic?

It may be the National Day month but most people are more preoccupied with the upcoming general election.

EVERY August, many of us look forward to the entire nation being awash with feelings of warmth and patriotism as we celebrate our National Day on the last day of the month.

Aug 31 was, until 2010, celebrated as the National Day as it was the day Malaya gained its independence from the British colonial masters, but this caused many Sabahans and Sarawakians to feel left out because their independence did not come until Sept 16, 1963.

Thus, the Government from 2010 declared that Sept 16 would also be a national holiday as it was the day Malaysia was formed – a move many Malaysians on the Borneo side of the country felt was long overdue.

So instead of a one-day National Day celebration, we now have a month-long one from Aug 16 to Sept 16. During this time Malaysians are encouraged to fly the Jalur Gemilang.

This is something that I have been doing regularly even before the call from politicians because I am a very patriotic Malaysian and unlike others I only declare myself as a Malaysian and nothing else.

However, this year I find it very difficult to bring myself to fly the flag. The amount of quarrelling and finger pointing that is going on at the moment makes it very bitter to express my patriotism.

Yes, there will be many of you who will say that the finger pointing and political posturing that’s going on at the moment are also a show of nationalism.

I do not disagree that being politically partisan is part of our democratic process but I cannot help but feel that the political temperature has gone too high for anyone to show his or her loyalty and love for the country.

From the way every act connected with the celebrations of Aug 31 and Sept 16 have been criticised and attacked on the Internet, any neutral but patriotic Malaysian will question themselves if they are being nationalistic or bias towards one side.

The way the criticisms flew when a certain logo was suggested for this 55th celebrations left many quarters stunned. It’s only a logo but yet the venom with which the attack was carried out was frightening.

Would the act of flying the Jalur Gemilang be mistaken as a symbol of support for one side or the other?

Yes, the way the Government had planned the National Day celebrations may not have been very bi-partisan with most of the programmes seemingly be centred around the achievements of the Government of the day.

Yes, the so-called 55th Merdeka song “Janji ditepati” reads like a roll call to the achievements of the Barisan Nasonal government.

But that’s what all the other 54th celebration songs, logos and themes were about – singing praises of such achievements and the 55th anniversary celebration plans are not very different.

The difference, I feel, is the heightened tension in the country stoked by the high expectation of an impending general election.

People are now too busy guessing when the general election will be held to be bothered about anything else.

Recently, there was a rumour that it would be held in September because “someone told someone” but according to the same media a few days later, it has again been “postponed” to November it seems.

Why? Because two Sabahan Barisan Nasional politicians had left their party positions to co-operate with Pakatan Rakyat.

The “jumping” of the two had been expected for over two months.

Nothing done these days is not seen to be connected to the GE 13. It does not matter whether it is the shortage of water or the call for the protection of certain environmentally sensitive places.

The problem is that politicians have been quick to jump on the bandwagon to use these issues to attack their opponents and instead of these matters being resolved, they get muddied by politics.

Politicians, regardless which side of the divide they are from, are extra sensitive during this run up to the general election. Every statement, newspaper report or social media comment which they deem as not favourable to them as made by people with an agenda against them.

Even supposed defenders of press freedom want to gag the media in case their reports do not favour their side.

The country is highly charged. Recently, it was reported that an elderly couple in Pasir Emas, Kelantan was divorcing after 14 years of marriage, the husband allegedly could no longer convince his wife to join his political party.

The 78-year-old man reportedly accused his 61-year-old religious teacher ex-wife of deviating from Islam for not supporting his party. The wife was supposed to have supported Umno while the husband was an ardent follower of PAS.

If political differences can destroy a marriage then what chance has our National Day celebrations got?

As it is, I am the only person in my multi-racial neighbourhood who bothers to fly the Jalur Gemilang come every August. I put this down to the apathy of my neighbours and the lack of patriotism due to ignorance.

They do not realise that the expression of patriotism by flying the flag is the best way to show that we are Malaysians and that nothing can take that away from us regardless of our religious or cultural backgrounds.

WHY NOT? BY WONG SAI WAN
saiwan@thestar.com.my

> Executive Editor Wong Sai Wan will not bother to dig out the old Jalur Gemilang this year – he will go buy a new one – regardless if it’s the silly election season.

How low can cruel people go?

Somali who ‘helped’ to care for pet throws it into manhole

PETALING JAYA: The deliberate killing of a pet dog by two men who were caught on video throwing it into a manhole has raised the hackles of animal lovers.

Worse, the persons who killed the dog had earlier volunteered to care for the pet, claims the owner, a Jordanian student.

“I went back to Jordan on June 24. My housemate's friend, a Somali student, offered to care for my dog Kanilla for a month,” said the 19-year-old, adding that the female dog was a cross between a Pitt Bull and a Dalmatian.

On July 19, the owner was shocked when he received a message from the Somali student claiming that Kanilla had run away.

Further distress awaited the owner when he came back to Malaysia on July 26.

“My housemate showed me a video of the Somali student and another person throwing Kanilla into a manhole in Cyberjaya,'' he said.

He said he was broken-hearted over the cruelty inflicted upon Kanilla.

Cruelty comes in many forms but this is particularly very shocking. I urge the authorities to take the necessary action and to make a stand that animal abuse would not be tolerated in Malaysia. — CHRISTINE CHIN

The owner claimed that the perpetrators had used his housemate's laptop to transfer some files, including the offending video, and had forgotten to erase them after that.

He has lodged a police report at the Cyberjaya police station on July 31 with help from the Selangor Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).

“Cruelty comes in many forms but this is particularly very shocking,'' said SPCA chairman Christine Chin.

“I urge the authorities to take the necessary action and to make a stand that animal abuse would not be tolerated in Malaysia.”

Stills of the video were also forwarded to canine welfare project Malaysian Dogs Deserve Better (MDDB) which posted the pictures on its Facebook page.

The posting garnered countless comments from enraged people from Malaysia as well as overseas,

Among those who commented was renowned bassist Andy Peterson who said: “Get the one who took the picture too.”

A Malaysian living in Canada, Juliana Vincent-Phillips, said the perpetrators should be deported, adding that “no one will miss these scums”.

MDDB rescue coordinator Irene Low said more police reports were being lodged to lend support to the SPCA's initial report.

She urged the public to obtain the sample report from the MDDB Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/MalaysianDogsDeserveBetter

The Star/Asia News Network\


Related post:

Look, man threw dog into manhole!

Crime Watch !

Crime Watch...

(1) Today I passed by a building which has an ATM machine. There was an old man looking at me. Suddenly, he called me. He said he didn’t know how to read, so he gave me his ATM card and asked me to help him withdraw money from the ATM machine. I answered ‘NO! If you need help, ask the security to help you.’ Then he said ‘never mind…’ and continued to find other people to help him… REMEMBER: ATM machines have CCTVs. If you help him he will later claim that you have robbed him or stolen his ATM card. Besides, his ATM card could be a stolen one. So please be careful of these tactics. (2) Suddenly your house lights go off. From your window you find that your neighbours still have their lights. So you go out of your house to check the Meter Box. But once you open the door, a knife will be pointing at you and preventing you from closing it. This is when you will be robbed and injured. REMEMBER: Even though your electricity suddenly goes off, DO NOT open your door immediately. Look around to see if there is anything unusual or if there is any noise around. (3) This is another incident. You may have heard about it before; it is about a lady who saw a kid crying by the roadside. When she spoke to the kid, the kid told her he was lost and wanted her to take him home. The kid even gave her a paper with his house address. So she took him home. But when she rang the door bell, she had an electric shock. Later when she woke up, she was naked in an empty room. REMEMBER: Being such a compassionate and helpful person might not be a good thing these days. Girls, please be careful. DON’T BE TOO KIND! (4) One day, there was an old lady outside my house holding two packets of sweets. At first I thought she was our neighbour and wanted to give us these packs of sweets as a gift. But then when she spoke, I realise that she was foreigner. I could not understand what she was talking about. I guessed she must be asking for money. I sensed there was something wrong and immediately closed the door and ignored her. Later, I found she and an accomplice robbed someone else down the road. (5) I was at the ATM machine to withdraw some money. Behind me, there was an old lady. She asked me whether I was able to withdraw my money because she said she had problem with the machine. Suddenly a small girl came up beside me. The small girl was tugging and squeezing in front of me. I thought she was just naughty and playful. But then, the small girl placed her hand inside the tray of the ATM machine where the money was being dispensed out; ready to take away my money. I sensed something wrong and immediately pushed her away. Later I realised that the small girl and the old lady worked hand in hand together. She was trying to steal my money while the old lady was trying to distract my attention by asking me questions! REMEMBER: BE VERY CAREFUL when you are at an ATM machine and be alert. Look out for anyone suspicious around you! (6) My parents are retired and stay at home most days. One afternoon, a young stranger went to their house and said his motorcycle had no more fuel and the petrol station was too far away, for him to push his bike there. So he asked my parents for an empty coke bottle to buy some petrol. He said he will pay RM2 for the bottle. So my mum gave one coke bottle to him. He really took out the money from his pocket, but it was a RM 100 note. He told my mum he had no small change and asked my mum to give him the change. Luckily my mum was smart. She just told him to take it for free. REMEMBER: obviously that note isfake! Who would want to pay for RM2 for an empty coke bottle! It’s very OBVIOUS that that stranger was a trickster. (7) This happened in Bali . A newly married couple was having their honeymoon at the hotel. When both were in the changing room, the wife suddenly went missing. The husband was very anxious and went around finding her. He asked the hotel staff to help him find her. Then he thought his wife was just playing hide and seek. So he went back and waited for his wife. After a few hours, he decided to call the police. Three weeks passed and there was still no news about his missing wife. So he went back and was very disappointed and sad. A few years later, he came back to Bali , to watch a ‘FREAK SHOW’ in an old house. He saw a dirty and rusty metal cage. Inside there was a lady without limbs. Her body including the face was full of scars. When he had a closer look at her face, he was shocked to find out that she was his missing wife caged there and used for begging. (8) This happened in Shanghai . A few years ago, a lady reported to the police that her cousin sister was missing in the shopping complex. But after five years, one of her friends found her cousin sister begging at the road side on one of the streets in Bangkok , Thailand . The worst thing was that her cousin sister had no more limbs and her body was tied to a lamp post with a shackle (metal chain). (9) Let’s just shorten this story. DO NOT open your house door when you hear the sound of a BABY CRYING! It might be a trap! Women in the house must be alert to this form of trick. The police said it is the work of a robber or murderer using the recording of a crying baby to attract your attention. This normally happens at night and when you are alone in the house. (10) I read an email that was sent by my friend. Her friend, known as A, went to Luo Hu Commercial City with 2 friends, B and C. Luo Hu Commercial City is known as the Shenzhen counterfeit goods distribution center. There are many people there. It’s also near to the Shenzhen train station and Hong Kong ’s Luo Hu Port. C went to the toilet at the shopping centre while A and B waited outside. After waiting for a long, time they felt uneasy and went into the toilet to look for her. When they went in, there was nobody inside. Both were scared and they called C’s phone. There was no reply. So they reported to the police. The police asked them whether they had seen anybody suspicious going into the toilet. Both said there was none and it’s impossible to bring a person out of the toilet without them noticing! Then A remembered seeing a cleaner pushing a trolley in, and then coming out of the toilet. The police told them that were not the first time such a thing happened there. The police suspected a gang of criminals who were always attacking women in the the toilets of shopping complexes. They use cleaners to kidnap people to harvest their organs for sale. REMEMBER: please be careful when using the toilet. Do not go to the wash room ortoilet ALONE (especially if you are female)! Please at least have a partner with you.