Will wearing cute Jalur Gemilang flags make the kids patriotic? Netizens give a resounding no

 

IS THERE any better way to show your love for your country besides joining the army?

For the Ministry of Education, patriotism now has something to do with attaching slick badges of the Jalur Gemilang on the uniform of the school children.

One can only wonder how broadcasting the country flag among the children will improve their love for their country since we are all living in Malaysia anyway. The flag is literally everywhere.

And now, come 21 April, and thanks to the Ministry of Education, it will be found on the body of every schooling kid. 

The online community has since been abuzz, debating about the effectiveness of these badges. More importantly, it has raised suspicion. 

Netizen @ncsh88 said, “ Impressive, a world-changing idea to reform our education system to the next level, and very quick implementation also. Bravo and kudos to our intellectuals at Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia.” Reading the comment, we are ready to bet our money that it was pure sarcasm.

Also, @izdiharzai pointed out that the Ministry of Education had the highest budget every year, claiming that it had been allocated RM64.1 bil for 2025 alone. 

“But what does the Ministry of Education focus on? Flag, toilet, black shoes, removing PMR, removing UPSR, from a long time ago.

He said it was better to give a higher budget to the Ministry of Health or the Ministry of Defense.

According to the statement issued by the Ministry of Education, two free badges shall also be given to each student. 

Netizen @nizxismxil replied, saying two was insufficient. “You think the kids only have two pairs of uniforms?”

Another netizen lamented, “The poor people need to come up with money again.”

@HasbullahHashi8 further tagged the Minister of Education, Fadhlina Sidek in his comment and said, “When it was approved, did you feel like laughing?”

The picture comments on the post were equally hilarious:

Perhaps the winning comment goes to @playtolmeme who said, “That spirit is instilled, not displayed. Do they become clever by wearing the Oxford badge?”

But here comes the pertinent questions. One netizen said the implementation of the flag badges might be a way for a company, or more appropriately, a crony to make profit.

“I strongly believe the funds could have been channeled for some infrastructure or schools in dire need of money,” he said.

“Just tell us the truth. Which crony was the one who lobbied for the school badge project? It is not important anyway. Best if we refine the history subject,” pointed out @Sysafwann.

He wondered if this was similar to the white number plate project for electric vehicles, where the factory was smaller than the Sambal Nyet factory owned by celebrity influencer Khairul Aming. — Focus Malaysia