YOURSAY 'No one is going to stand for a flag and anthem of a broken nation. Years of paying taxes and being a law-abiding citizen for naught.'

Subdued display of national flag as 56th N-Day nears

Quigonbond: Malaysians have wised up not to show patriotism lest it's misconstrued by BN to mean support for them.

Malaysians are patriotic enough as has been demonstrated in the 13th general election (GE13), where instead of taking the safe and known way of voting BN back to government, the majority have decided to trudge into the unknown, because the nation really need to move on, without BN at the helm.

That takes a lot of time, effort and courage. If that's not patriotism, I don't know what is. There is only so much abuse of power and corruption that people can take.

BN may think race baiting is a sure-fire formula for winning the necessary Malay masses for GE14. But rural folk are not stupid. When you play up race and religion too many times, it gets less and less impactful and eventually, people will look at their bread and butter, and what's morally right.

The only way forward is for BN to fix the broken institutions in this country and boot out the regressives from the government.

Abasir: If Communication and Multimedia Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek has even a modicum of intelligence, he would by now have gathered that this is the result of Umno's resounding success - success in convincing the rakyat that the Malaysian flag is synonymous with Umno and the nauseous stench it emits everyday - through the utterances of its ministers, the blatant hypocrisy of the system and the injustice perpetrated by its secretly co-opted judicial and police wings.

It is another clear indicator that the country is not just divided. It is broken beyond repair. Malaysians will spontaneously and enthusiastically fly the flag when they gain their independence from the scourge called Umno Baru.

Wira: I will join a Pakatan government event to celebrate National Day.

The people decides: I will fly the PKR flag at home, the DAP flag on my car and wear the PAS cap.

Families of DAP political aide Teoh Beng Hock, those who died in police lock-ups, students not given university places on merit, do we have a reason to celebrate Merdeka? And who really killed Altantuya Shaariibuu?

Nst: I love this country, and I will do whatever it takes to prosper our country but I don't have to fly the flag to tell the minister that ‘We love this country.'

No action if Negaraku not observed by cinema-goers

Onyourtoes: "We have our people in all the cinemas (to observe)," said Shabery.

Are you giving a subtle threat here? Look, if a nation has to force and coerce the people to respect the national flag, national anthem and national leaders, something is obviously wrong.

Please don't talk moronic stuff, minister. How can citizens be unaware of our national flag and anthem? The right question for you to ask is why the people are feeling so dejected, despondent and dispirited.

What bunch of nincompoops we have - a minister talking about national anthem in cinema and his advisor talking about a national flag costing less than a package of cigarettes.

KDP: No one is going to stand for a flag and anthem of a broken nation. Years of paying taxes and being a law-abiding citizen for naught but baloney. Always living with one foot out of the door and two over the threshold once the situation is untenable.

The growing underbelly of Malaysia will attack those who have earned their share and take from them what they can't loot from the looters-in-chief running the executive.

Geronimo: OMG (oh my God), what stupid questions to ask, "Is it because they are unaware? Is it because of the anthem itself?" No, none of the above.

It is because of Umno Baru, period. You people commit high treasons by removing the powers of the king and sultans; and then you allowed illegal immigrants to flood the country so that they can vote you into power thus compromising the security of the nation. You call this patriotism?

So please don't embarrass yourself anymore with all these gimmicks. I would rather attend a Pakatan rally on Merdeka Day and sing Negaraku with all my heart.

Paul Warren: The gusto and enthusiasm with which everyone stands up to sing Negaraku at a Pakatan rally or even a Bersih rally must surely be in huge contrast to the response to the Negaraku being sung during official government functions.

That should tell Shabery something. But then with an IQ of less than 70, I guess he will never guess.

Fantastic4: One by one, these BN ministers comes out to make a fool of themselves by showing their ignorance on why there seemed to be lack of patriotism in this country.

The fact that they make disparaging remarks about the other races and calling them to emigrate if they are not happy with the BN government reflects their lips service in building unity and promoting patriotism.

Wg321: On Aug 31, I'll go to the cinema to watch the film ‘Tanda Putera', which was sponsored by the government to promote racial hatred and ill-feeling among the races.

Before the show starts, I shall show my patriotism by standing up proudly while the national anthem is played and the national flag flying on the screen.

During the show, I will watch a scene where a Chinese urinating on the flagpole flying the national flag in front of then Selangor MB Harun Idris' house. (It is a historical fact that no such thing happened).

Is this the way Ahmad Shabery Cheek wants to promote patriotism?

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