I got a flaterring email today and I shall not disclose the content. However, the email prompted me to write about my opinion on one of the recent government proposals; playing the national anthem in cinemas.

I personally have no problem with it. As a matter of fact, I might be one of those who would have stood up and sung along (given a couple of vile tasting beer, of course). Seriously, I believe that in spite of the constant criticism we have for the country, deep inside all of us, we hold an indescribable attachment to Malaysia. We secretly long for the day where we could look each other in the eye, smile and know for a moment we shared the same positive feelings for the country.

If materialised, I suppose the campaign would have a shaky start with only a few enthusiasts/patriot….but fingers crossed, it might be contagious. I do think the objective of the proposal, “mark of respect and appreciate the Negaraku”, is rather lame. It is afterall just a song and not a chart topping one at that. I think the goal should be to arouse a sense of belonging in everyone through the song, not blatant idolation/memorisation of the anthem. We all know that at the end of the campaign, people are still not going to remember the 3rd or 4th line of the song, but really…does it matter?

All I want is to look someone in the eye and smile.

++ Edit ++

Interesting view from Vincent.

p/s: It’s been proven again that people do not read something thoroughly before commenting. Are you pissed about being forced to sing the anthem? Are you pissed because it’s in a cinema? Are you pissed because demographic beyond the ones in cinema will not get to listen to the anthem? Are you pissed because it might demean the anthem? Are you pissed because you might be embarassed that everyone’s singing and you’re not? Are you pissed because you feel that the 2 minutes of monotonous tune is going to ruin your cinematic experience? Are you pissed because the suggestion had come from the government? Are you pissed because it’s supposedly a copied idea? If you answered yes to any above, you might need to consider re-reading my post and the comments again.