Patriotism is kind of strong passion which inspires one to serve ones country.

As one part from the society in Malaysia, we should always show loyalty and gratitude to our country. However, in Malaysia,does the people really love or respect the country? Based on the facts in Malaysia,newspapers and television news broadcasts have been full of calls by government ministers and officials for greater patriotism in the country. Malaysians, it seems, do not love Malaysia enough.Regarding this important issue, they are some certain parties playing main roles to overcome it.

First and foremost,government always plays the most important part to handle this problem.Government will choose randomly to decide who are going to undergo the three months National Servicecourse.Through this program,the generation will have the opportunity to mix with different generation which came from vary races, religious and culture background.By going through the National Service course,the young citizens will have a better and deeper knowledge and eventually they will respect others people customs. Thus by respecting the uniqueness of every culture, this helps us promote racial solidarity and enhance national unity.

Other than that,schools are always said to be the second home for pupils.Therefore,school must do something in order to promote the spirit of patriotism among Malaysian generation.For example, schools can organize certain campings or campaigns which help to improve the self-conscious among students relating to the importance of showing patriotism to their country. Besides that,school must ensure that there will be a singing session for Negaraku during assembly.Although it was a simple action,however it would be a great way to show our devotion to Malaysia.During the week before the National Day,school can take the chance to held several activities,such as drawing Jalur Gemilang competition,class decoration with the topic of patriotism,essay writing competition

Promoting patriotism and nationalism through songs Posted on August 2, 2011, Tuesday KUALA LUMPUR: Most of the Malaysians are familiar with Roys rendition of Malaysiaku Gemilang (My Glorious Malaysia), a song which boosts patriotism and instils a sense of nationalism among them. The song, in Malay language, goes like Berpadulah kita semua, Di dalam satu suara, Dengan degupan merdeka, Menjulang budaya bangsa, Untuk Malaysia tercinta The lyrics talk about fostering unity among the people, apart from loving and nurturing peace in the post-Merdeka years. Roy, whose real name is Mohammed Rauzan Alwi, 47, is no stranger to patriotic songs. Among his other well-known renditions are Wawasan 2020, Perpaduan Teras Kejayaan, 1Malaysia, and Sejahtera Malaysia (Vision 2020, Unity The Core of Success, 1Malaysia and Prosperous Malaysia). At a recent function on the occasion of Fly the Jalur Gemilang campaign, Roy belted out 1Malaysia song before thousands of guests. In connection with the nations 54th Independence Day on August 31, Roy recently visited Bernama here to share his experiences that go back to his initial days as a singer to the time he shifted to singing patriotic songs. Roys late father, who loved jazz, was a positive influence on his singing career. But a young Roy was more inclined towards rock songs in those days and he also managed to earn some money from it in order to finance his further studies in the field of architecture. Like other rock musicians, Roys singing career in the 1980s was not that rosy. Hardship was a routine affair for him. It was routine for me to walk from my home (in Taman Segar, Cheras) to the Kuala Lumpur city centre and the recording studio, which is in Sentul, in the hot and scorching sun. If I need to go outstation, I will sleep the night on the five-foot-way at Puduraya bus terminal, before catching the bus early next day as I was scared to miss the bus leaving the terminal for my destination, he recalled. In 1984 Roy signed up for the Merdeka Rama singing competition, held by Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM). He was successful in creating an impact in this competition and from then, fortune began to smile on this young singer. Soon he was offered the Sejahtera Malaysia song. This song was aired at the beginning and end of the transmission on the national television daily. It was also aired during the interlude before the prime time news bulletin every night. In a day I was on television for five times and people began to notice me. Through this song, I became a singer of patriotic songs until this very day, he said. Roy added that since then his passion for patriotic songs has only become deeper, despite some singer friends trying to convince him to remain with rock music. Roy feels that a singer should be versatile, while music is universal. According to Roy, patriotic songs with their catchy tunes used to be a favorite among the young in those days, but now the interest appeared to be on the decline. To him, this scenario is a challenge as patriotic songs belong to all Malaysians. Hence it is the responsibility of all to respect and appreciate these songs. The waning love for the national language, which is Bahasa Malaysia, is one of the reasons why the society lacks the interest in patriotic songs, as all of these songs are in the national language. The priority in our life should be Bahasa Malaysia as compared to the usage of the second language, English, to create a sense of belonging regardless of the ethnic origin or skin colour. This is the 1Malaysia identity, he said. Knowledge about the history is lacking among the younger generation of Malaysians, resulting in poor appreciation of the struggles put up by their forefathers to achieve the countrys independence. This is one of the reasons why the younger generation sees the messages on patriotism as having nothing to do with them. I was once ridiculed by artiste friends for accepting offers to sing patriotic songs. To them these songs are not of the same standard as the commercial songs that they sing, said Roy, looking back on his more than 20 years of singing career. Roys idol is Jamaludin Alias, famous for his rendition of the patriotic song Barisan Kita (Our Front). Like Jamaludin, he always tries to adopt a positive attitude in his effort to glorify the patriotic songs. Roy also shared his appreciation on the involvement of young singers in belting out patriotic songs, for example Malaysia Satu by Faizal Tahir, which is a favourite among the youngsters. He believes that it is essential to convey the message on the importance of patriotism to the society, and therefore, such efforts to come out with patriotic songs are most welcome. Now many may not be so interested in march-beat songs, hence songs in other genres like rock, rhythm and blues, rap and others can be turned into a platform to put forward the patriotic messages in line with the taste of the younger genration, he said. Roy, however, believes that songs with the march beat should still be made as their rhythm can fire the nationalistic spirit in Malaysians and they can also act as the base for patriotism-themed songs. Its time for the Arts and Culture Department (JKKN) to unite all artiste bodies and private entities to produce these genre of songs as part of its contribution to the society and nation, Roy observed.

The artistes are icons of the society and their behaviour is copied by the society, hence it will be beneficial if they contribute songs in the national interest. He also hoped that this culture will spread among the people of Malaysia. As somebody acknowledged by the society, a singer should not deny his duty to the nation. Do not come to a point where ones own patriotic song sounds so foreign, he remarked. Roy further said that students should be exposed to patriotic songs through the creation of choirs in schools nationwide to inculcate a love for such songs. Despite his tight schedule, Roy still finds time for training the choirs at several government departments, local universities and boarding schools. Among the institutions utilising his services are the Survey and Mappping Department (JUPEM), Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and Maktab Rendah Sains Mara (MRSM) in Trolak, Perak. Observing the developments in todays local music industry, the hope for patriotism and nationalism-genre songs to make a comeback among the society is bright, as many from the younger generation are working on songs like these, he said. He noted that in earlier times, patriotic songs were composed by those who had experienced the struggle for independence; while the newer ones were composed to reflect on the benefits of independence.

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2011/08/02/promoting-patriotism-and-nationalism-through-songs/

pic A headline of national unity among races in Malaysia always appeared in a local newspapers and magazines nowadays. According to the definition ,national unity is a condition in which all citizens from the various ethnic groups live in a peace as one united nationality giving full of commitment to national identity based upon the federal constitutions and Rukun Negara. Malaysia has a diverse community consisting of three major ethnic groups Malay, Chinese, Indian plus several other indigenous tribes. This ethnic and cultural diversities results to a wide variety of language spoken and religion practiced in Malaysia. There are many ways to strengthen national unity among this different ethnic groups such as through campaign, education and social activity. Pic

The Malaysians government can promote national unity through campaigns like Open house,1 Malaysia concept and advertisement. Open house usually held during major festivals in the country. This program has served to promote unity among Malaysians when they visit each other in their home. The government can also organise national-level open houses for the major festivals. In addition,1 Malaysia concept is the path that can lead to political stability, economic growth and social enhancement for all Malaysians and the country. The purpose of this concept is to complement the existing approach to strengthen national unity. The core elements of unity are the attitude of acceptance among races and peoples and have the sense of belonging together. Advertisement through radio, television and newspapers are one of the best way in promoting unity. Most of people can be affected virtually to be united among races because of slogans about unity that they heard and saw in radio and television. Newspapers that read by all the ethnics must publish unity material that helping citizens understand the important and advantages when they united. Thus,the government can promote national unity through campaign like open house, 1Malaysia Concept and advertisement.

National unity also can be fortified via education such as vision school concept, teachers role at the school and the education system. Vision School concept involves putting a national school and one or two another vernacular schools together at the same site to share common facilities such as the school canteen and sports ground. The close proximity between the students of various races as well as organised activities between the schools will encourage greater interaction between them and foster national unity. Students who have been a part of a vision school can contribute more to the country when they grow up because of their strong bonding among each other. Moreover, students nowadays spent most of their time at the school rather than house. Teachers, especially, play a significant role in

encouraging racial understanding outside the home.In this situation, teachers must play their important role to educate and nurture the spirit of unity among them. Teachers also must show the good attitude because they are role model for their students.In addition,with a unified education system, the government could use education as a tool to build the nation and foster unity through a common syllabus and curriculum. This could be further achieved with a single national language as the main medium of instruction in schools and university.Teachers also must be provided with a standardized form of training in teachers' training colleges.Hence, , national unity can be strengthen via education such as vision school concept, teachers role at the school and the education system.

Pic Social activities like gotong-royong programme, sports and community service can contribute to the improvement of national unity in Malaysia. The gotong-royong programme such as to clean up particular areas like mosque, church and graveyard will make the neigbourhood cooperative and more unite. This programme also can make the resident become more closer and helping their neighbour when in difficulty such as house burning and home robberies. The resident also can develop a watch groups to protect the community from intruders and make the neighbourhood harmony. On the other hand, sports is another way to spread unity. Sports are all forms of physical activities that contribute to fitness, mental well-being and social interaction. In sports, there is no racial segregation as the people will become one when they participate as a team or when they support a team. All the Malaysian citizens did not support the national teams based on skin colour, race or religion, there was no racial borders in sports where different races joined hands to form teams to compete. Its automatically make the athletes and fans unity. The community service means a work that people do to help other people without payment. In this case, all the Malaysians must have the spirit of unity because there is no wage when they did this work. Community service also can led the unity when all the citizens get together to help the needy people.Thus, the social activity for instance gotong-royong programme, sports and community service can improve the unity among Malaysians.

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As a conclusion, national unity can be strengthened through campaign, education and social activity. The Malaysian government can promote national unity through campaign like open house, 1Malaysia Concept and advertisement. Furthermore, national unity can be fortified via education such as vision school concept, teachers role at the school and the education system. Moreover, the social activity for instance gotong-royong programme, sports and community service also can improve the unity among Malaysians. Thus, all people must play their important roles actively to ensure the unity among Malaysians can be strengthen.

WRITTEN BY :AMMAR BIN ABDULLAH MUHAMMAD KIFAH BIN WAN ARIFIN

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