Strong nationalism may lead to atrocious outcomes when it is not backed by adequate knowledge about peace and globalized thinking.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Former Malaysian prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad said that a sense of nationalism in an individual must be balanced through an understanding and knowledge on peace.

"Nationalism must not be extreme to the point where it become aggressive towards others. When you grow up to love the country, surely you would want to be able to defend the country, but when the defending goes too aggressive, then of course, nationalism is not a good thing," Mahathir stated during a press conference following an International Symposium themed Peace Journalism and Conflict Resolution in Jakarta on Thursday.

He believed that nationalism and the desire to defend a country of ones origin are natural and need to be framed by positive values, especially for the younger generation.

"For example, we find that in schools, they do not really teach any subject on peace. Instead, you teach about history and history is about wars. When you glorify the image of war, children can grow up to be very aggressive," he pointed out.

Strong nationalism may lead to atrocious outcomes when it is not backed by adequate knowledge about peace and globalized thinking.

The glorified image of war in history may lead the younger generation to think that war is a way of solving problems with other countries in the effort to defend their own, he noted.

"In schools, we are told to glorify heroes of the past, battles of the past, and the greatness of your own country. This way, you grow up with a strong nationalism but also develop a feeling on solving problems through wars," he remarked.

Meanwhile, the United Nation Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizations (UNESCO) Programme Specialist Fackson Banda stated that nationalism can be a good thing when understood from the perspective of claiming the right to self-determination.

At the same time, he pointed out the dangers that can be brought by the wrong use of nationalism.

"It can obviously be a bad thing when it is used by a populist who wants people to get excited about identity politics, to think of the other as dangerous to take over their countries," he remarked.

In this instance, Mahathir believed the importance of not only teaching the younger generation the values of nationalism but also the principles of peace.

Aside from the educational institutions, it is the medias duty to portray the image of war and peace in its most authentic condition, he revealed.

"As a journalist, this is your profession, and you have to strive to give a better picture of the good and the bad, on why peace is good, and why war is bad," he reiterated.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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