Flag fest: The Jalur Gemilang is flown everywhere in the country during National Day as Malaysians celebrate together as one.

COME Merdeka Day every year, the national flag is automatically raised in my neighbourhood.

They are the everyday people of different races and religions, who see themselves as nothing more than Malaysians. They are proud to be born here. They will even say that they consider themselves fortunate to be Malaysians, in this very blessed nation.

One expatriate, who lives a few doors away, has always hoisted the Jalur Gemilang, joining in the celebrations. There are millions of other Malaysians who do the same all over the country, regardless of them living in the cities, new villages or rubber estates.

But instead, what has been amplified on social media are a few isolated cases of people who have displayed the flag wrongly, or worse, printed it wrongly.

It doesn’t help that there are those who pushed the race and religion agenda, unwittingly or intentionally. In their suspicious minds, they’d like to believe there’s an orchestrated plan to plant these national flags upside down all over the country.

In one case, it was revealed that the national flag was flown wrongly because of the ignorance of a foreign worker. I am sure such blunders have happened in previous national day celebrations, but this time, there is a greater sense of misgiving.

Every day, Malaysians of all races help each other. I’m sure we have come together to help victims of a road accident even, but these kind acts largely go unnoticed. What’s more tragic is, some of us choose to shout about isolated tensions involving Malaysians of all races.

There is an implied narrative at play here, that since the new government came to power, there are non-Malays who have dared question and challenge the Malay institutions. Likewise, there are Chinese who can’t appreciate the beauty of Malay culture and practices, the national language and positive values of Islam.

Even more embarrassing, some can’t even communicate with their fellow Malaysians in Bahasa Malaysia effectively. I always find it strange that migrant workers can speak better. They know they must speak Bahasa Malaysia, at least serviceably, because it’s a matter of survival.

However, I need to point out that many Chinese signed up for Malay Literature at school and university, too, including this writer, and there are many other Chinese who teach the Bahasa Malaysia subject in school.

Basically, Malaysia is a country of 32 million people, yet we can celebrate National Day collectively after six decades, because we have been able to hold the nation together as one.

Ours is a complex, plural society. It can’t compare with countries that are homogenous in their racial composition, or where the minority race is too small, because that only means there really isn’t much political impact. There will always be those with more extreme views within each community, but we shouldn’t be consumed by them because that will only legitimise their purported mainstream leanings. We must always treat them as the minority and highlight the moderate majority instead.

They have become more visible and louder, simply because they can get heard through the social media platform. Many put themselves on Facebook and YouTube, ignorantly assuming they are just talking to their own community, without realising such things can reach a global audience in minutes.

In the process, they find themselves getting arrested, and often, their bravado ends when they find themselves in a lock-up. A three-day remand can do wonders for self-reflection, and most walk out meekly and feel remorseful.

It doesn’t matter whether they express their hate speeches in English, Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese or Tamil, thinking it will only reach their intended audience, because in the digital age, it will reach others. So, these hate mongers must face the consequences of their toxic content.

But there are reasons to be concerned in such free-for-all exchanges, because racism around us and on social media has never been this rife. This is made worse by those who occupy political and religious platforms, who propagate race dominance and supremacy.

Their connotations and down-right dismissal of other races are dangerous, to put it mildly. Such a narrative is divisive, sows the seeds of discontent and drives a bigger wedge between races.

Then there are those who have put the blame entirely on the new government, suggesting that since they came to power, the Malays and Islam are under siege.

None of these assumptions, or agenda, considered the Malays being the most populous race, especially against the shrinking Chinese and Indian communities.

The Malays form and dominate all aspects of society, including Rulers, the official religion, armed forces, police, civil service, and the Bumiputera affirmative action policy. It’s impossible for non-Malays to mess with the status quo, or for that matter, dare challenge for a change.

Besides the emotional response, not many have come out with racist remarks about the looting of billions of ringgit from institutions involving mainly Malays.

In Malaysia, we must choose to highlight the best among us, the moderate majority from all ethnic groups and religious beliefs – and never give credence to the few who peddle exclusive, extreme and hurtful views. We must accept that we can never be the same. None of us can choose our race or birthplace. Like it or not, we were born here, live here and will most likely die here, too. Regardless of us being Malay, Chinese, Indian, Iban or Kadazan, we are stuck with each other.

It might be news to some, but I can’t go back to China. I don’t have relatives there. None that I know of, at least. And contrary to many who think every Chinese speaks Mandarin, I don’t.

And China certainly doesn’t need another mouth to feed. They have more than a billion people, and don’t be duped by the fake news that China is issuing green cards to overseas Chinese.

It has been discredited and dismissed. Yet, it seems to have resurfaced again, and non-credible and unethical news sites are not helping. The mood in the country isn’t downbeat. Most Malaysians are rational people — they are too busy earning a living to be immersed in racist chatter.

None of us can choose the race of our customers, our Grab and taxi drivers, our doctors and nurses, our blood donors and our colleagues.

Politicians are squarely to blame for this, because in their desperation to win votes, the easiest way, unfortunately, is to play the race and religion cards. It’s sad that some of us aren’t thinking straight, and have allowed ourselves to be influenced and exploited.

And not wanting to have their thunder stolen, there are those who use the religion platform to preach hatred. It’s no surprise that none of our holy texts promote pride or prejudice, so it’s surprising that these leaders, claiming to be men of peace and experts in their field, don’t realise the adverse effects of their actions. It hasn’t brought Malaysians together, but divided us further.

The worst of human nature is on full parade now on social media. Where is the good and uplifting that exist in all of us?

Leave the people alone, because most of us can co-exist and respect each other together.

Those of us who live in a more diverse atmosphere, take a much broader view of issues, because we understand and respect race relations better.

Talk of a dominant race is unhealthy and unnecessary. Look at the flipside for a bit – Malays who live in Europe and United States are surely uncomfortable with the hurtful remarks by white supremacists.

Many ignorant Westerners like to equate Islam with terrorism because they choose to validate groups like Islamic State and al-Qaeda – who are the extreme minority – as representing Islam, instead of the majority 1.6 billion Muslims who are peace-loving individuals.

Superfluous assumptions, like casting prejudice on Muslim women who wear the hijab as being Muslim extremists, reflect such shallow minds.

It’s common for Arab Christians, for example, to dress like their Muslim sisters, because of cultural and local conditions and customs.

Likewise, it’s ridiculous to accuse women who wear skirts and don’t cover their heads of enticing men to commit sex crimes.

A plural Malaysia is an asset for Malaysia. The ability of Malaysians to communicate in many languages is a prize to be proud of, and surely, we want to tell the world that we can handle race and religious relations well after six decades.

The independence story is about the major races coming together and working towards it. That is the historical fact, and Tunku Abdul Rahman understood it.

The Malaysia success story today, 62 years on from its birth, is about all races playing their roles by binding this blessed nation together. It’s not about dominance or supremacy at all.

This rhetoric and religious talk won’t help uplift Malaysia. And there couldn’t be a better time for us to need the Malaysia Forward story.

Malaysia is home to all Malaysians, which not only includes the Malays, Chinese and Indians, but also the people of Sabah and Sarawak, and other minorities, too. Without our Malaysians, there is no Malaysia. It’s that simple, and we should never forget that.

Difficult guest: Zakir should get the message by now, says the writer, and drive straight to the airport.

LET’S make this easy for controversial preacher Zakir Naik to understand better – he is a guest in Malaysia, but his presence is making his host family very uncomfortable.

The family members are squabbling daily over whether he should be allowed to continue staying in their house. The disputes are tearing at the host family, and in some ways, have forced them to take a stand. His stay here has been divisive and has led to much unhappiness.

There have been numerous unnecessary flareups and, consequently, sad and angry faces. And all this fuss because of a foreigner. Some want him to stay, while others feel he has done enough damage and, so, should just leave.

Zakir must surely be within earshot of this bickering, but he has chosen to ignore the family’s predicament, putting on his arrogant smirk instead.

Adding insult to injury, he has now even declared to the family that he has a right to be a guest in their home now, lecturing them on family roots and history.

He has selfishly and obstinately refused to move, insisting he has done no wrong and has questioned why he should leave the family house, forgetting through it all that he’s merely a guest.

Meanwhile, there are others – those with political interests, specifically – who are egging him on to stay put.

They have assured him of their backing, in the hopes the home will collapse and its family members will end up in a bitter feud with harmful consequences.

That deviant thought has been planted in his head, and it might even encourage him further to put up a fight and even cross the line again.

Instead of just talking about religion, his area of expertise, Zakir has gone on to give a discourse on Malaysian history and politics, according to his warped interpretations, of course.

Conveniently, though, he has overlooked the fundamental point of the house being built by family members of various races and faiths.

The house turns 62 years old on Aug 31, and all its family members are looking forward to that celebration.

In setting up that home, some members have had to look for money to build and maintain it, while others put their lives on the line to safeguard everyone’s interest and wellbeing. Then there are those who work on the economy so there’s food on the table for the entire household.

Every member has a role and part to play, and all regard the house which they built as their home – forevermore.

Everyone accepts one another as brothers and sisters, and as is with every family, we have our differences and quarrels, but we remain together.

Zakir, please make it easy for everyone. It will much easier for the Prime Minister – as head of the family – if you would just leave the home.

Despite your offensive and divisive ways, he has defended you. But surely it must have pained him to see the family members quarrel over you. The PM has not spoken, but his daughter has.

Malaysians are very nice people, and we are often neither very direct nor confrontational. I guess pantun, puisi and peribahasa, are foreign to you, so we’ll leave that alone.

But you should get the message by now. You have chosen Saudi Arabia as your permanent residence, so please book your ticket home. A full citizenship in Saudi Arabia is better than being a mere guest in Malaysia.

And also, in your quiet moments, you should perhaps ask yourself and reflect why is it that so many countries – including those in the Middle East, presumably – don’t want you.

No country, to our informed knowledge, has offered you a place in their land.

If offers do come in, please share the good news with us Malaysians, so we may rejoice and celebrate the prospect of, not only you leaving, but of having host nations clamouring to offer you a home.

There will be another Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, when we can let our ministers deliberate more pressing matters such as the economy and strengthening our ringgit. We could also do well by allowing the Education Minister to unveil his plan for coding lessons for our kids. This must surely be our priority, instead of wasting time on inconsequential issues and individuals.

By the way, there are at least four airlines which fly from Kuala Lumpur to Jeddah.

This is how bad plastic waste on tourist-favourite Tioman Island can get. – Reef Check Malaysia

THE Kinabatangan river in Sabah is one of the best places to view wildlife in Asia, what with its dense population of animals such as orang utan, hornbills, proboscis monkeys, pygmy elephants, langurs, wild cats, crocodiles and other amazing creatures.

My maiden trip to the interiors of Borneo, on the eve of National Day in 2017, changed my life immensely and permanently. Initially, I was reluctant to make that trip because going into the jungle with bare-bones accommodation was not my idea of a well-deserved vacation.

But being ahead of the General Election in 2018, and driven by my desire to find out more about the parliamentary constituency of the infamous and controversial Kinabatangan MP Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin, I grabbed the opportunity with both hands.

I fell in love with the place immediately. From that moment on, the city boy in me decided that the jungle and sea – with their flora and fauna – make better destination options than banal and homogeneous shopping malls.

From Kinabatangan, I went to the incredible ancient rainforests of the Danum Valley, one of the last untouched pieces of land on earth.

I lost track of the number of orang utan I saw each day while trekking deep in the jungle. I also couldn’t remember the number of blood-sucking leeches that feasted on me – ecotourism at its best!

But here’s the sad story – I also lost track of the amount of plastic debris floating in the Kinabatangan, drifting with the river’s current.

It was painfully embarrassing for me because, apart from a Malaysian couple, I was the only other Malaysian on the boat cruise and just before that, we had been proudly promoting Malaysia to the others, some of whom had come from as far as Chile and Italy.

Lo and behold, we saw plastic items like bottles, food wrappers and even beer bottles floating by us. Surely this shouldn’t be happening in one of the world’s most beautiful and biodiverse areas.

As I made my complaints known to the local lodge operator, I learned that the villagers living along the river were just as guilty of littering.

It never dawned on them that their indiscriminate practice of dumping all this plastic would hurt them economically, as many of them have profited from the ecotourism there.

It was a different story in the Danum Valley though, where its inaccessibility and the restriction of visitors have kept the jungles clean. In fact, I don’t recall stumbling on any plastic refuse on my treks there.

The plastic horror surfaced once more on my trip to some isolated islands in East Kalimantan. I travelled for three hours on an uncovered boat from the small Indonesian town of Tarakan (an hour’s flight from Tawau) to Derawan.

The Derawan Islands comprise 31 islands, including Maratua, Sangalaki and Kakaban, which has numerous submerged reefs and islets. Located in the Sulawesi Sea, these islands are so rich in marine life I could see rays, sharks, turtles and barracuda from my room! And out in the deep sea, whale sharks and manta rays are aplenty.

Only simple hotel facilities exist on these islands and it’s certainly not a place for well-heeled luxury seekers. This is not the Maldives.

The air-conditioning in my room wasn’t working, and there was absolutely no Wifi, not even in the reception area. Meals comprised just three items and rice.

Most of the time on these islands, I felt like Robinson Crusoe, from the story of an 18th century traveller who was marooned on an island, because a few villagers apart, there were just no tourists – the place was largely desolate.

But despite the acute isolation, it was heart-wrenching to still see plastics, of all kinds, washing up on the shores of these beautiful locales.

They were an eyesore, but I was more concerned about the sea creatures mistaking some of the plastic for food. That now-renowned image of a straw sticking out of a turtle’s nose must now surely be burned into our brains.

For a multitude of known and unknown reasons, we seem to be losing the battle against the plastic menace. Last December, I trekked up the volcanic mountains of Rwanda in Africa in search of gorillas, and despite the wilderness, I still stumbled upon discarded plastic bottles.

Unfortunately, plastic isn’t the only thing damaging our oceans, but it’s by far the worst offender.

According to a report, experts estimated that some eight million metric tonnes of plastic waste enter our oceans annually.

“Some micro-plastics – bits of plastic that are less than five millimetres long – also find their way to the sea and these end up getting ingested by fish and other marine animals.

“Experts say if things don’t change, there will be more plastic than fish by 2050. This isn’t inevitable. A change in public opinion about single-use plastic and various initiatives and technologies are trying to repair the harm done thus far and turn the tide on plastics in the ocean, ” it was reported.

We are in a crisis. It’s something that concerns ecotourists and adventurers because Malaysians don’t care about plastic pollution, and we are a major contributor without many of us knowing it.

According to a 2015 study in Science Magazine, Malaysia is the eighth worst country worldwide for plastic waste.

The study, which named China, Indonesia and the Philippines as the top polluters, estimated Malaysia produced almost one million tonnes of mismanaged plastic waste (waste not recycled or properly disposed of) in 2010.

This must stop. And the time to act is now.

Protesters in protective gear holding up a symbolic yellow umbrella and an American flag while marching through the Sha Tin District in Hong Kong earlier in the month. Sights such as these are fuelling speculation about foreign involvement in the ongoing protests. — AP

There’s no such thing as a free lunch, and likewise, in the pursuit of democracy, there will always be casualties.

ONE of the most avid speculations about the Hong Kong protests is whether the CIA is involved, and this talk is fuelled, no less, by warnings from the Chinese to the US to keep out of Hong Kong’s affairs.

Last week, former HK chief executive Tung Chee-hwa was more ominous, openly accusing the US and Taiwan of orchestrating “well-organised” recent protests.

The first retaliatory strike from China on Taiwan was the ban on solo travellers, involving 47 mainland cities to Taiwan, which will cost the island state US$900mil (RM3.75bil) in tourism dollars by January.

Let’s look at these accusations rationally, though. It’s impossible for the CIA to hire such a massive crowd in Hong Kong.

The anger is real, though, and the spontaneity of the protests speaks for itself.

There has been growing frustration among the people, especially the younger generation, over what they see as the decline in living standards, and many now don’t see a future in the city.

The amendment to the Extradition Law has touched a nerve among HK citizens because many perceive they would not get justice or due legal rights under China’s mainland rule.

Let’s put it this way, the judicial independence in China isn’t ranked highly by international standards, and even Chinese nationals complain about it.

HK citizens are concerned that their city will be like any other mainland Chinese city, where the citizens’ freedom could be compromised, although one wonders how many of these protesters truly believe they would ever get extradited to China in the first place.

The Bill is, essentially, a manifestation of the frustrations that have built up, and its timing allowed for that volcanic eruption of anger.

It’s unlikely the young protesters were aware that HK has, in fact, extradition agreements with 20 countries, including Britain and the United States. From China’s point of view, why can’t there be one with the mainland?

Against this backdrop, with students on summer holidays, the perfect concoction was created, building up a massive protest for an international audience.

The timing couldn’t have been worse for HK chief executive Carrie Lam to push the Bill through – this is the season of protests, coinciding with the anniversaries of the Tiananmen Square incident and British handover of HK to China on July 1, 1997.

By now, it’s clear that Lam is a technocrat who isn’t politically savvy, and her lack of learned leadership during a crisis shows her shortcomings in being the best person to helm HK, even though China continues to back her.

The Bill has been suspended since June 15 until further notice, but not withdrawn. She has said the legislation process was a complete failure and that “the Bill is dead”, but she hasn’t enacted any legislative process to withdraw the proposal either.

So protests will likely continue, but nothing is free, and that includes the business of organising well-planned weekly protests.

Over the past month, the media has been reporting that groups involved in the protests have received significant funding from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), “a CIA soft-power cut-out that has played a critical role in innumerable US regime-change operations, ” according to writer Alexander Rubinstein.

The report claimed that the NED has four main branches, at least two of which are active in Hong Kong: the Solidarity Center (SC) and National Democratic Institute (NDI).

“The latter has been active in Hong Kong since 1997, and NED funding for Hong Kong-based groups has been consistent, ” Louisa Greve, vice president of programmes for Asia, Middle East and North Africa, was quoted.

While NED funding for groups in Hong Kong goes back to 1994, 1997 was when the British returned the territory to China, it was reported.

The report said in 2018, NED granted US$155, 000 (RM645, 885) to SC and US$200, 000 (RM833, 400) to NDI for work in Hong Kong, and US$90, 000 (RM375, 000) to Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor (HKHRM), which isn’t a branch of NED, but a partner in Hong Kong. Between 1995 and 2013, HKHRM received more than US$1.9mil (RM7.9mil) in funds from the NED.

This isn’t the first time the NED’s name has cropped up either.

During the 2014 Occupy protests, the spectre of NED in the protests and the foreign philosophies it represented also came up.

The NED was set up in 1983 to channel grants for “promoting democracy” and it’s said that it receives US$100mil (RM416mil) annually from the relevant agencies.

Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai has also been accused of funding the protests. He has taken it a step further by meeting US Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Washington DC to discuss the Bill and the city’s situation.

Lai is the owner of Next Digital, which publishes both the pro-democracy Apple Daily and Next Magazine, among others.

Predictably, the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong issued a statement saying it has lodged a solemn representation at the US Consulate General in Hong Kong to ask the US to stop its “mistaken words and deeds”.

A spokesperson for the local Commissioner’s Office said that it strongly opposed foreign forces interfering in Hong Kong’s affairs.

“The US side clearly knows who Jimmy Lai is, what his stance is, and what his role is in Hong Kong society. Top US government officials have ulterior motives and sent a seriously wrong signal when they queued up to meet such a person at this sensitive time of Hong Kong – we express our strong discontent and opposition, ” it said.

In 2014, the South China Morning Post reported that Lai spent millions funding the Occupy Central protests.

The SCMP reported that Lai’s group offered extensive advice – including propaganda material – to the Occupy Central organisers, whom Lai dismissed in private as “idealist scholars” who “couldn’t make the cut without help”.

The emails were leaked by the same person who sent documents detailing the Next Media chairman’s political donations to various pan-democrats two weeks ago. It isn’t clear how the documents were obtained, though.

One of the exchanges between Lai and his top aide, Mark Simon, indicates that Lai spent some HK$3mil (RM1.6mil) to HK$3.5mil (RM1.8mil) to help the plebiscite. The email did not detail how the money was spent, only mentioning that the costs included “advertisements and billboards”.

In a rebuttal, Lai said that while he had donated large sums of money to politicians in the pro-democracy camp, he had not given a cent to the co-founders of Occupy Central. His newspaper, though, had given the movement discounts for advertisements.

China cannot be faulted for seeing shadows of foreign influence in the protests. It doesn’t help that protesters, pressing for independence, are waving colonial British and US flags, and what began as peaceful protests has now degenerated into riots, a term the demonstrators have also challenged and protested.

There is much irony in the HK protests. The late kung fu legend, Bruce Lee, has become an icon in the protests because of his philosophical advice to “be formless, shapeless, like water, ” in his role as Li Tsung, a martial-arts instructor in Longstreet, a US TV series.

Basically, the protesters should take on the HK police with a new tactic: formless, shapeless protests in scattered parts of the territory, aimed at wearing the authorities down.

But older folks like me would probably remember a better scene in the movie Fist Of Fury, where he kicked and smashed a sign at the gate of Huangpu Park which read, “No dogs and Chinese allowed”. The park in Shanghai was closed to the Chinese between 1890 and 1928.

It has been said, according to some reports, period photographs show a sign listing 10 regulations, the first of which was that “The Gardens are reserved for the Foreign Community”, with the fourth being “Dogs and bicycles are not admitted”. Any way you cut it; the Chinese weren’t allowed in the foreign settlement.

What has happened in HK is that the protests’ demands have grown exponentially, bordering on calls to be independent and free from China. Tragically, it has also become more violent by the day.

In calling for freedom of speech, citizens who disagreed with the protesters have found themselves beaten up, which seems to go against the grain.

When violence committed on the police and those who disagree are embraced or encouraged as part of a democratic process, and the destruction of public properties is accepted as a minor price for freedom, then something has gone badly wrong.