“Parentage is a very important profession, but no test of fitness for it is never imposed in the interest of the children.”

- George Bernard Shaw, “Everybody’s Political What’s What?”

COMMENT | The 64th anniversary of our Merdeka Day came and went with a whimper - no festive crowds gathered in clustered noisy merriment while a seemingly endless barrage of screaming, whistling missiles arc into the sky to explosively burst into multi-coloured sparkly bouquets.

No lengthy marches of uniformed and costumed Malaysians past a platform of VIPs receiving salutes, while jets power overhead and more sedate helicopters twirl, trailing flags.

No post-parade media interviews with foreigners who all say they are having a great time in Malaysia and are amazed to see so many races and cultures gathered in such blissful harmony.

The occasion was observed with a much-reduced hoo-hah in Putrajaya.

Blame the government’s still rampant bête noire – the virus. It compelled the prime minister to lie low in quarantine, to be absent, except virtually, from the ceremonial gathering of his re-branded "Malaysian Family".

Sixty-four years of the Malaysian family and Ismail Sabri Yaakob, the new patriarch...