OVER the past few days, a hot topic in Malaysia is how Second Lieutenant Chan Ming Youn from the Second Battalion of the Royal Ranger Regiment has passed a 12-week commando training course - the only Chinese to do so in decades.

The 25-year-old was among nine officers and 60 other members of other ranks awarded the revered green berets and commando knives during a parade to mark the end of their training at the Bertutu Laut Beach in Sungai Udang in Melaka on Sunday (April 28).

Chan’s success caught the attention of not just the non-Malays but also Malays like Muhamad Mat Yakim, the press secretary to the PAS-led Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Mohd Nor.

HarakahDaily, the party’s official organ, quoted Muhamad as saying that the Malays were proud that the Chinese too, were patriotic, notably those who completed their commando training course.

Different level of patriotism

“When a Chinese youth has completed the Commando (Gerak Khas) basic course, the Malays share the achievement on their social media. They are proud of the patriotism in that young man,” the news portal quoted Muhamad from the latter’s social media post.

“He’s prepared to lay down his life and sacrifice. Although rare, they (the Malays) want to believe that there are many Chinese like him. I want to ask … how many Chinese share their pride in the achievements of Second Lieutenant Chan Ming You?”

Muhamad went on to list several Chinese personalities whom he regarded as being patriotic. They are former national shuttler and Olympic silver medallist Lee Chong Wei; the late historian Prof Emeritus Dr Khoo Kay Kim and academician Prof Emeritus Dr Teo Kok Seong.

For the latter, Muhamad praised him for speaking up on national identity and values that should be imbued among all Malaysians to the point that Teo is ostracised by his own community.

Teo who was the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s (UKM) former professor of ethnic studies and currently member of the Council of Professors has been a lighting rod for many of his views.

Recently, he claimed that national-type Chinese primary schools were the breeding ground for intolerance in the country, a phenomenon that leads to national disunity - an opinion that saw him roundly criticised by the Chinese community.

Patriotism is not about lifting arms

Perhaps, people like Muhamad are under the mistaken notion that patriotism is all about willing to lay down one’s life for the nation or spewing “nation-building” rhetoric that in reality, only tears the country at its seams.

There are many other ways one can be patriotic. One can help to grow the country’s economy so that more taxes can be collected for social-economic programmes like building schools or hospitals.

Or one can take part in civic engagement such as participating in local politics, voting in elections and staying informed about current issues that directly or indirectly impacts the lives of Malaysians.

Volunteers are also patriotic, especially those who sacrifice their time and money to the service of the community such as helping out in soup kitchens, orphanages, shelters for stray animals or environmental groups.

Those who expose scandals like 1MDB (1Malaysia Development Bhd), too, are patriotic as they sought to end the economic bleeding that would have far-reaching and lasting impact on the country in terms of debt financing that will burden generations to come.

No need to question non-Malay loyalty

Almost 67 years after Independence, there is really no need to question the loyalty nor the patriotism of certain ethnic groups. In any international sporting event where our athletes are up against foreign competitors, there is no question who the Malays, Chinese, Indians and other ethnic groups will root for.

We all beam with pride every time the “Negaraku” is played when we clinch a gold medal in an international sporting event. We call no other country our “home”, and certainly not the ones our forefathers left around a century ago, whether China, India or other parts of the Malay Archipelago.

So, it is pointless for the likes of Muhamad to insinuate that non-Malays are less patriotic just because they express patriotism and contribute to nation-building in ways that he couldn’t get his head around.

Non-Malays love the country in equal measures to the Bumiputera notwithstanding certain affirmative action policies that occasionally cause some emotions to bubble up.

If anything at all, it is those planting the seeds of doubts over the non-Malays’ patriotism who may not be as patriotic as they make themselves out to be as they only cause division and strife that can unravel national unity that ultimately undermines our socio-economic progress. - May 2, 2024 

https://focusmalaysia.my/pas-needs-to-know-non-malay-patriotism-is-not-just-about-being-enlisted-as-a-commando/