Introduction:
As define in the political science, patriotism is also means to love one’s nation and country. The individual with the spirit of patriotic are willing to keep the country environment in flora and fauna. The high level patriotic spirit is compassion and proud of the homeland, with a willingness to defend the homeland not being attack and offense by enemies and protect national interest when ridiculed and humiliated.
Nowadays, alongside with the new era communication technology and multimedia is raised, the way to educate the Malaysian value in among the youngest generation have become more difficult and challenging when there is no more boundary to avoid our youngest generation to keep in touch with the global information.
The youths nowadays is called in the ICT world generation, they are easily to get access into the internet world to get any latest information through. As for example, the use of social media is one of the multimedia platform to share and receive latest information around the world. Some of the internet user are using the benefits of social media to spread and comment the negative information especially the sensitive topic like racist, word of offense the country, it will be easily to affecting our youngest generation.
In order to implement the spirit of patriotic to our youngest generation, it will need every sector to cooperate to help in encourage and educate our youngest generation to learn more about Malaysia history and cultural of multi-ethnics in Malaysia. However, the teaching of the patriotic value in the family also play an important role to influence the youngest child and teenagers in respects the culture from every races to know how to get unite in our multi-ethnics society.
Challenge to implement the values of Patriotism
1. Lack of practices Malaysian Values
The lack of practices the Malaysian values have become a recent issues in among the young generation. The Malaysian values is very important to every Malaysian. The reason that cause the youngest generation today lack of practices the Malaysian values is because of they are still have prejudice between the ethnics relationship. Second, the cause of the prejudice to another ethnics is because of they are not really knowing about the cultural and living style to others ethnics.
In the history of Malaysia, the bloody racial conflicts is occurred on 13th May 1969. The reason of this conflict begins is because of the sense of not satisfied between Malay and non- Malay. This incident has been use as a lesson to all races in Malaysia not to too selfish and only concerned about the own kind but need to be more concerned with national aspiration.
The prejudice in a multi-ethnics society is still an issue in among of non-Malay against the vice versa of the issue of identity of Malay. Language, religion and culture are still remain the major issue need to be facing in the multi-ethnics society in Malaysia.
2. Negative attitudes among the youngest generations
The negative attitudes among the youngest generations is because of most of them are preferred individualistic and preferred self-interest more than national interest. They are concern about their self-interest on how to achieve their own good living experience, and only know how to blaming about the unfairness to them instead of concern about what is issue is happening in their country.
Some of them are living in the world of internet, they are doing their own online business or makes the online games as their only motives of living, no matter what is happening around of them, they are feels like this is not business. They are not even trying to learning the cultural of others races and practicing the Malaysian values in their daily life.
3. Lack of Appreciation and Lack of Confidence
The youngest generation of all races who are born after Malaysia’s independence, they do not know how the country get to independence, how many people are sacrificed just to defend our country. They are not appreciate what had been done by country and performed the negative attitudes because the lack of the patriotic spirit and lack of the knowledge of Malaysian history.
The reason of the negative attitude from the young generation is because of lack of confidence in the words of loyalty and honesty towards the country. Especially for the young’s that studying abroad were being influence by the foreign culture, many of them are getting a good offer from the foreign country has been found that not willing to serve their profession after complete their study.
4. Globalization
The power of internet had been brings the international opportunity platform to the youngest generation. The communication technology in 21st century have been create a platform to the youngest to compete at the global platform. Through multimedia and the world of internet, our youngest generation are able to explore and to receive any information that happening at the world.
The borderless world may bring the foreign culture into the country easily. The negative influence from foreign culture to our youngest generation had cause introduce of the spirit of patriotism among of the youngest generation. As for example, some of the youth are using the benefits of the internet and multimedia platform to spread their own negative opinion towards the country by using video to influence and pictures that offense another races to create the racial issue.
Suggestion to facing the challenges
1. Education System
Education system is an important role to educate the Malaysian value to the young’s. The student spend half day in the school with other races. So, in order to educate the student to learn about the cultural, there is some suggestion to help in improve the relationship of all ethnics in the school and educate all student about the important of Malaysian value to every citizen in the Malaysia.
1.1 Campaign of Patriotic and Malaysian value.
Campaign of patriotic is one of the activity that suitable to every races and every category of people. This is to encourage the family, student and also the private sector to take part in the campaign to get unite with all races to build the nation in peaceful and bring to growing of economics in Malaysia.
1.2 Organize Event Related to unite the multi-ethnics society.
The government must organize the event related to the terms of Unity, this is a platform open to all races to get involve in knowing others ethnics cultural and learn how to respects other ethnics in the society.
1.3 Sport Competition for all races.
The community society may organize some sport competition open to all races and make a compulsory of all races form in a team to open the door of develop the relationship. Besides, NGO parties may also create some arts & musical performing, line dancing, marathon, cooking society to create an opportunity to every categories to get involve through their interest.
1.4 Educate the History of Malaysia to the young people.
The subject of Malaysia history is play an important role to teach the young people to know and to learn deeper about the Malaysia history. Besides, the ministry of education Malaysia (MOE) may add the cultural studies as a compulsory subject in primary school, secondary school and university in Malaysia. Except of the “Ethnics Relationship” and “Malaysian Studies” as a compulsory subject in university, it may also add in the “Cultural Studies” as a compulsory subjects, not only applicable to the university but also including the primary school and secondary school in the terms to implement the patriotic values when they are still young.
2. National Service Program for all races involvement.
National service training programme should be a compulsory program to all young people. This program require all the young people to experience the military life, and this is a benefits to the country to reduce the crime issue and conflict within all races.
2.1 The National Service Training Programme of Singapore.
As our neighbour country Singapore, the national service program as a 2 years compulsory programme to all male citizen. They are take this opportunity to train all the young people to unite in the suffer life, learning together and growth together until they are bonded as one before they start their university life and career life. All the man of Singapore are start preparing their physical body during their primary school and secondary school before they being enlisting. Through this national service programme, the country are being able to train the young citizen with the military knowledge and with the spirit of patriotism. The government of Singapore are taking seriously in this national training programme as part of the national legal rules.
2.2 The National Service Training Programme of China.
Another example from the national service training programme in the Republic of China. In the Republic of China, all of the first year university student are compulsory to involve in the national military training. They are require all the young people to have an experience and with the spirit of patriotic during their university studies.
3. Strengthen the Role of the Digital Media.
The new media technology is an important tools especially for the young people. To avoid the spreading of the negative information, the government should strengthen the role of the media using and using the benefits of the new media to publishing the program that able to educate the Malaysian value in the multi-ethnic society. To implement the spirit of Malaysian value, the suggestion are as shown as below:
3.1 Producing the Video & Animation for Education Use.
As for the education system in Malaysia nowadays, some of the school is already starting to using video as a teaching method to get interact with the student. The benefits of video is to simplify the information and influence people in the way of visual. This can use as a platform to promote the Malaysian value through multimedia platform and social media platform such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, e-news and much more better.
3.2 Cooperate of the Education Provider.
In addition, the cooperation of the education provider within the government is to decide the content of the video being spreading out through multimedia. As for the education provider, the role of the school is to educate the young generation to study and learn to get involve into the different culture.
4. Legislation
The part of the legislation is responsible to take action to those who are trying to attempt the country legacy system. The punishment should be fair to every citizen in all races. The legislation of a country is to keep the country always in the peaceful environment.
4.1 The Punishment of the Negative Influencer.
A legal punishment should be given to those who insult the name of the country and to those who are trying to influence others people who are trying to influence others to spread the negative actions that can be threaten the national security.
Conclusion
The youngest generation is the leader of the country in the future. The motives to influence the Malaysian value and the spirit of the Patriotism to the youngest generation is to educate them to learn to appreciate to those who sacrificed in order to defend Malaysia from being attack by enemies. In other words, is to educate the terms of Unity within all races to develop the country economics and the quality of the citizen. In contrast, is to educate and to resolve the conflict of all races.
The spirit of Patriotism is an element in develop the value of unity in multi-ethnics society. However, there are still have many challenges need to be solve in Malaysia context and many efforts need to be undertaken to promote and educate the spirit of patriotism for the harmony and progress of the country.