Merdeka! Merdeka! It’s that time of the year again when I listen to 31 Ogos, the memorable song by our beloved Sudirman Arshad:Tanggal 31Bulan lapan, 57Merdeka, merdekaTetaplah merdekaIa pasti menjadi sejarahTanggal 31Bulan lapan, 57Hari yang muliaHari bahagiaSambut dengan jiwa yang merdekaI am also reminded at this time of the year of an incident many years ago, when some activist friends of mine refused to fly the flag during the Merdeka month because of Malaysia’s ‘poor human rights record’.That left me baffled.