AUG 1 — I was watching this Hindi movie called Airlift. It is a true story about how a businessman’s courage, sacrifice and efforts helped to evacuate about 150,000 Indians who were living in Kuwait during the Iraqi invasion.
When they finally reached the airport, everyone was looking out for the Indian flag, signifying Indian planes had arrived. I found the scene which showed joy in the eyes of the Indians when the Indian flag was finally raised very touching. It was a reminder to me the flag can come to mean much more than just a design on a cloth flying in the air.
National flags have been around for a very long time, since the concept of a modern national state was created. It is a means of identifying a country and I suppose more importantly how the country wants to portray itself to the rest of the world. Most flags also reflect the history of the country itself.
The Malaysian flag, for instance, has 14 stripes of alternating white and red to signify the union or federation of the 13 member states together with the federal government. They are equal in size to denote equality of status. The star also has 14 points to represent the unity of these members of the Federation of Malaysia.
I would argue legal unity of the federation is based on the agreed document between the members called the Federal Constitution, the highest law in the land. While each state may have its own constitution, the Federal Constitution is supreme. And while each state has its own flag, we are united by the Malaysian flag.
When we look at the 14 alternating stripes and the 14-point star, it should be able to remind us of the sacrifices and efforts made by our people to reach the state of a united Federation of Malaysia.
We should never take this for granted as the unity has allowed us to progress far better than we were back in history. As we evolve as a nation, I am sure we will be giving further meaning to the unity of the federation depending on how we further shape the destiny of our country.
We can take inspiration and encouragement from the fact our Malaysian flag is named “Jalur Gemilang” or “Stripes of Glory”. This should constantly remind us as a nation we should think, behave and plan so that we can live up to its name.
Obviously, this will call for further sacrifices, efforts, understanding, unity and cooperation between its people. We will therefore have to learn to put aside our differences and work with common values and principles to achieve a common vision for the Malaysian people so that we truly become a nation of glory. After all, the blue canton of our flag symbolises the unity of the people.
The crescent on our flag represents the fact that Islam is the official religion of the federation and the yellow represents the royal colour of the Malay rulers. The Malay rulers are heads of religion (Islam) in each of the states and hence have a significant role in shaping the nature of Islam in our country. The Federal Constitution in Article 3 states Islam is the official religion of the country while recognising the freedom to practise other religions.
Today, whether we like it or not, for various reasons, Islam has developed a lot of negative elements, partly due to the behaviour of Muslims themselves. Whatever may be happening in the rest of the world, the critical question to me is: when we and the world look at our Malaysian flag, what kind of Islam in our country comes to mind? Do we portray and propagate a compassionate, just and progressive Islam or a rigid, dogmatic, inclusive and regressive “Islam”? Even the Malaysian flag demands we address these issues.
We must always remember flags are held in high esteem if they represent and reflect good values and principles that the country and people stand for. Hence, if we take the flag to be more than just a mere symbol, it becomes a constant reminder people must do all they can for good values and principles to be a norm in society.
People should never lose hope regardless of any political development because they must remember the country belongs to the people, not just the politicians. A great, prosperous and glorious nation is never built in a few years without challenges. Politicians come and go in the power game but the people and their families will continue to live on the soil of this land.
Hence, it is the people who have to toil to till the land and make it prosper. Then we will see the flag for what it really is: a reminder of our gratitude, our pride and our home which only we can safeguard.
* Jahaberdeen is a senior lawyer and founder of Rapera, a movement that encourages thinking and compassionate citizens. He can be reached at [email protected]
** This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.
