Would I be a lesser patriot by refusing to adorn my car and house with the national flag during the Merdeka month? Or is my patriotism only calculated by this?

If the questions were posed to government ministers, the answers will most likely be in the affirmative.

These ministers have taken it upon themselves to instil patriotism among Malaysians, and the most effective way to do this, according to them, is to fly the flag.

As a result, flags are everywhere - from high-rise buildings to lampposts. Not to be outdone, private vehicle owners also adorn their vehicles with the flag, some out of compulsion.

Shopkeepers who do not fly the flag are immediately labeled as traitors.

The biggest culprit seems to be Tourism Minister Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir, whose insatiable appetite for flags seems to whet his idea of turning it into a tourist attraction, rather than for patriotism, as claimed.

It was Abdul Kadir who irked the Chinese community leaders by calling them traitors for not flying the flag.

Building owners too have been warned not to disobey the flag-flying rule and instead of flying a single flag, these overzealous patriots, cover entire buildings with them, much to the pleasure of the minister.

And then there is the order from Entrepreneur Development Minister Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz to all public vehicle owners to either hoist the flag or face action.

Wrong equation

Joining the ministers are the local councils, with the Kuala Lumpur City Hall leading the way, putting up flags in every nook and corner. Following closely behind are government departments and the big corporations.

And to make things more 'exciting', these corporations are dishing out free flags to the public - either due to fear or to curry favours from the authorities - resulting in an overflow of flags everywhere.

Why the sudden craze by the public for the national flag? Is it because it is the only way to show their patriotism or is it just the case of following instructions?

The latter seems to be the more probable answer, especially after the public is bombarded with statements from ministers, and magnified by the media, that hoisting the national flag equals to patriotism.

The ministers are wrong in making such an equation and worse still, it is the public that allows itself to be led astray by such a misconception.

There are many other ways for a person to show his/her patriotism, if he/she chooses to do so. Most of us are proud of the developments achieved by the country and need no prompting to defend it against any kind of aggression or undue criticism.

Many of us are filled with pride whenever our citizens achieve something great, but at the same time, are put off by the shows of symbolism advocated by the authorities and readily undertaken by many.

Total contempt

The need to fly the flags is just another display of symbolism, promoted by those in authority who have their own agendas.

There could be economical gains for those close to them, or it could merely be a way of impressing their superiors.

By turning the national flag into a centrepiece of attraction, they fail to realise that they are showing utter contempt for the national symbol.

In the same vein, there is also no need to change the national anthem so that it would sound more patriotic. Negaraku is as patriotic as Malaysiaku - the new anthem according to media reports.

The national flag and anthem are symbolic of a nation's unity and identity. They are not to be changed or abused at anybody's whim and fancy.

What will happen to the large number of national flags at the end of the Merdeka celebration? Will they be stored somewhere to be re-used or will they be left to rot?

Going by past experiences, it is likely that these 'once-used' flags will be discarded, strewn in a rubbish dump, unbefitting the respect it should get.

Worse still, there are others who pride themselves in turning the national flags into costumes and then selling them for a profit, while ministers beam with pride over the 'creativity'.

Propaganda purposes

People will maintain respect for the national flag if it is used sparingly. Just like the forbidden fruit, abusing it, may be detrimental.

The authorities may well take note of the experiences in Eastern Europe's ex-communist states.

People in Romania and the Czech republic had difficulties showing affection to their national flags as they reminded them of their hardship under communism - an era where national flags were abound and used for propaganda purposes.

It is similar in Malaysia today with the national flag being shown as the symbol of the state when it should be the symbol of the people.

Ministers must be warned that this attempt to overload people with patriotism, by using the flag as a tool, can backfire.

The overkill must stop and we should return to the old days when national flags were hoisted with pride only in certain places, for certain events.

And as for patriotism, lets not kid ourselves by using the flags to judge it.