Our 3rd Merdeka Day has been and gone in Malaysia. As for the lasting memory of Malaysia's national day: a display of multiple flags that I am quite unaccustomed to in NZ. They are on cars, shops, sides of buildings, anywhere is fair game. And some of them are huge. As a NZer its fair to say the emotional connection with our flag is quite low. How much the flag waving reflects the degree of nationalism and general love for country is unclear. I imagine its just another chance for a public holiday for many Malaysians. The thing I like most about this public holiday, over and above the multitude of other holidays (17 was Lina's count this year) is that the celebration is of secular and non-racial origin. Its a day for all Malaysians unlike the Muslim holy periods, Chinese New Year, and Deepavali which cover the 3 main races in Malaysia. Perhaps that is why Merdeka day is when we hear and read on the government controlled radio and newspapers, the importance of being proud to be Malaysian. Lets hope that its real and not alot of manufactured hot air. I'm a big believer in healthy patriotism and that every country needs a time during the year to do some nationalistic navel gazing free of controversy and debate (would be nice to have this in NZ eh!).
Happy Merdeka Day Malaysia.
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