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Sunday, 17 August 2025

Jalur Gemilang and the rise of political bullies; Malaysian flag hoisted upside down heats up debate ahead of national day celebrations

 

Politicians-turned-bullies usually have a dismal record on ideas and achievements, and act out to have a temporary sense of superiority or confidence.



MALAYSIANS have read a lot about the many bullies in our country, mostly in schools, hostels, and workplaces, as well as online.

But what is less talked about are the political bullies and their disturbing posturing.

If there is a ranking, these bullies, who shamelessly call themselves Yang Berhormat, must be the worst.

We expect elected representatives to bring people together, to mediate disputes, advise those who erred and be charitable.

We would like them to be exemplary role models to younger citizens but many fail miserably.

Instead, they become agitators, issue warnings, are confrontational and intimidating, and, most pathetically, turn into racists as they pick and choose their targets.

All bullies have some common traits: They target people they perceive as weaker, they love to dominate, and feel a need to control others to boost their own self-worth or mask insecurity.

Bullies often target individuals who are different – by race, gender, sexuality, disability, etc.

Needless to say, they have low empathy and probably suffer from some form of psychological problem.

If we dig deeper, it wouldn’t be surprising to learn they had been victims of bullying themselves or suffer from a chronic inferiority complex.

They have difficulty understanding or caring about how others feel; such emotional detachment makes it easier for them to harm others without remorse.

As political leaders, they probably have a dismal record on ideas and achievements, thus bullying gives them a temporary sense of superiority or confidence.

To conceal their poor performance, bullies often act out to impress peers or climb the social ladder.

They may thrive on the reactions they get from an audience, especially from comments sections online.

They really don’t deserve space in the media but social media news portals, hungry for eyeballs, have given these losers generous space to shout in.

These media portals do not even bother to moderate their comments section – by right, those who post nasty, racist remarks should be hauled up to face sedition charges.

In Malaysia, playing the racial and religious cards is the fastest way to become communal heroes.

Those who do so seem to be able to attract many admirers with their aggression and impulsiveness.

They fan a racial angle with their inflammatory statements, postures, and gestures, with warnings of protests, and of course, keep the police busy with their many reports.

In the latest case, this recalcitrant politician has even given the authorities an ultimatum and a deadline to act by.

There must be no space for political bullies with their prejudices and intolerances. We shouldn’t keep silent and let such cowardly behaviour continue.

Many of us are working towards a kinder, progressive, and moderate Malaysia.

How can we recite the tenets of the Rukun Negara when political bullies blatantly disregard “achieving and fostering unity in society’’ and have no “courtesy and morality” as enshrined in the nation’s principles?

As we prepare to celebrate National Day in two weeks, there should be an air of celebration with Malaysians coming together, with reminders that we are one as Malaysians.

In my neighbourhood, I have been taken aback that my household is the only one that has hoisted the Jalur Gemilang and the Selangor flag.

The other houses are devoid of flags for reasons I cannot comprehend. Have my neighbours lost their enthusiasm – or are they afraid of putting them up wrongly?

It will be sad if we have come to a point where Malaysians – especially shopkeepers – choose not to fly the Jalur Gemilang out of fear lest they make a mistake and that mistake becomes a hot political issue.

I hope they won’t emulate my friend, analyst and columnist Prof Dr Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi, who has said he will not fly the national flag in his home and on his car this year in case of potential sabotage. He does not want it made into a political tool to incite hatred.

“We are supposed to love our flag with pride but the current reactions to those who made mistakes regarding the flag have become a political tool to attack others and incite hatred.”

Flying the Jalur Gemilang upside down is a serious matter, and getting the flag wrong, with missing stripes or points on the crescent are also offensive errors, but they are not unforgivable.

Many of these angry politicians barely squeak when it comes to more serious wrongdoings like corruption.

Why can’t these politicians just walk to these shops or places of worship and just adjust the flags correctly and explain to the people how they went wrong?

Instead, the politicians choose to be arrogant bullies in their videos to prove to their audiences that they have to teach these purported “disloyal Malaysians” a lesson.

The offenders they pick on always happen to be Chinese, and as a minority race, they become perfect targets for bullies.

Yet these self-proclaimed communal heroes quickly hide their tailcoats and do a Houdini disappearing act when their own political party members make the same error.

Can we expect the party members of these YBS to lodge police reports against their own and to insist that an apology is not sufficient?

There is also a need for the police to be seen to be fair or not react because of pressure from certain politicians. We expect our men and women in blue to be fair.

In May, two Sin Chew Daily editors found themselves handcuffed after the paper printed an incorrect illustration of the Jalur Gemilang on the cover, with the police having to call up 42 witnesses for the silly mistake.

Surely the police did not need to handcuff them, giving the perception of an overreaction.

The same month, it was reported that Terengganu PAS had to say sorry for mistakes in the national flag that was part of a logo designed for a gathering.

Around the same time, there was another blunder in an official document which contained an inaccurate depiction of the Jalur Gemilang, resulting in several senior officers of the Education Ministry’s examination board being transferred.

Last week, the same illustration gaffe was made on social media by Terengganu Youth and certainly the apology by its chairman, Tengku Haphiz Tengku Putera, is sufficient.

A viral image showing the Malaysian flag being flown upside down at a district police headquarters also resurfaced last week. The police had to explain that it was a 2016 incident and not a recent one.

The point is, even the police can make a mistake and why not, after all, the police constable responsible for raising the flag is also a human being who can err.

The national flag was, in fact, flown upside down at a National Day rehearsal in 2022 because there was an error in raising it, according to news reports.

There will be such mistakes made by Malaysians, regardless of their race or political affiliations. To err is human, to forgive is divine.

I would be more concerned with Malaysians who fly a tattered Jalur Gemilang.

My friend Anas Zubedy wrote that these errors “are not always acts of disrespect – but are often human error.

“When such incidents occur, especially involving our beloved Jalur Gemilang, our response matters.

“Do we react with anger and suspicion, or do we pause, reflect, and choose to respond with understanding and wisdom?

“This is where we must return to the very spirit of the four colours of the flag.

“Let blue guide us to unity and calm. Let white remind us to be sincere and honest in our assessment. Let red give us courage to correct with dignity, not to shame. And let yellow inspire us to act with grace and respect, as our royal traditions teach.’’

To these bully politicians and those who habitually make racist remarks, my question is: Do you even make it a point to put up the Jalur Gemilang in your homes every year?

Certainly, Malaysia and Malaysians deserve better quality leaders. These bully politicians don’t deserve our votes in the next elections.

By Wong Chun WAI national Journalism Laureate datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai is the chairman of Bernama. The views expressed here are solely the writer’s own.

Malaysian flag hoisted upside down heats up debate ahead of national day celebrations


The upside-down flag incident at a Penang hardware shop caused a rift between the Malay and Chinese communities ahead of Malaysia's National Day celebrations on Aug 31.

PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM NAZIRUL HAFIZ/FACEBOOK


 – Socks with the word “Allah” printed on them, “ham” sandwiches and now Malaysian flags displayed upside down – Umno Youth chief Akmal Saleh does not seem to run out of controversies to stoke tensions.


This time, he has threatened to “educate” a Chinese hardware shopkeeper in Penang on how to properly hoist the national flag, after the latter flew it upside down outside his shop on Aug 9.


“If there are no charges on this individual by Wednesday, then God willing on Thursday I will go, and we will give a class to educate this Ah Pek on how to properly hoist the flag,” he said in a Facebook video on Aug 11.


This was the second reported incident of the national flag being improperly displayed, following a case at a Chinese primary school in Negeri Sembilan on Aug 1.


The Penang shopkeeper, Mr Pang Chin Tian, 59, was arrested on Aug 9 after more than 15 police reports were made against him. He had earlier apologised to the public, saying he did not realise the flag was upside down.


“Every year, I will hoist the flag on the long pole on my shop since its opening 11 years ago. This is to show my patriotism,” he was quoted as saying in Malaysia’s Chinese-language daily China Press after his release on Aug 12.


Even so, some in the Chinese community have said on social media that they would not fly the Malaysian flag in 2025 for fear of being bullied as the issue has become political.

The controversy, just ahead of Malaysia’s national day on Aug 31, has created a divide yet again between Malaysia’s two biggest ethnic groups.


The affair was featured prominently on the front page of the country’s largest Chinese newspaper, Sinchew Daily, on Aug 11, while the largest Malay daily, Sinar Harian, has been focusing on the death of a 13-year-old student in Sabah, a suspected victim of bullying in school.


Datuk Akmal is no stranger to controversy.


In March 2024, he led calls to boycott the popular KK Super Mart chain after a pair of socks was found to have the word “Allah” in Arabic printed on them . The issue sparked widespread debate, with responses from political and religious figures.

The Umno Youth chief again stoked tensions in January, drawing angry responses and calls for boycotts against KK Super Mart, after its outlet in Universiti Malaya was found to have sold a “ham” and cheese sandwich with a fake halal label.


The “ham” turned out to be chicken meat, but the authorities confirmed that the halal label was used without a proper permit.


The flag blunders created the feeling among some in the Malay community that the national flag, widely called the Jalur Gemilang – Stripes of Glory – was being disrespected.


For Mr Shahriful Saiful, 26, who flies the flag every year on national day, what took place was unacceptable and warranted stern action.


“We’ve learnt the basics of hoisting the flag since our school days. The top edge of the flag is sewn, so it’s clear how to fly it correctly. If the flag is flown upside down, it has to be intentional,” the private sector employee told The Straits Times.


Professor Kartini Aboo Talib believes the incidents should be taken seriously by the authorities to prevent their recurrence.


“I think the issue runs deeper and reveals the level of knowledge, experience and appreciation of Bahasa Melayu, patriotism and nation-building, which are still lacking in daily activities by most non-Malay communities,” the deputy director of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s Institute of Ethnic Studies told ST.


The view of the Chinese community is that the errors made do not merit threats from Dr Akmal, who is also a state lawmaker from Melaka. He has said that Umno will protest in front of the Penang shop should the shopkeeper not be charged in court soon.

In response, Mr Anthony Loke, secretary-general of the Democratic Action Party (DAP) – the biggest party in Malaysia’s governing coalition – said on Aug 12 that the party “strongly condemns certain quarters for openly pressuring the Attorney-General’s Office to charge a shopkeeper in Penang for his mistake while hoisting the Jalur Gemilang outside his shop”.

Rejecting the “openly bullying tactics”, he said DAP is sponsoring a giant national flag to be hung outside the Penang shop and the distribution of 831 free flags – the number chosen to signify Malaysia’s national day on Aug 31.

To alleviate the anxiety among Chinese Malaysians, Deputy Finance Minister and DAP member Lim Hui Ying on Aug 10 encouraged the public to fly the flag without any fear of making mistakes.

But her efforts in distributing the Malaysian flag in her constituency were less successful. Some members of the public refused to accept the flag. A similar flag distribution by the DAP in a market in Negeri Sembilan got a cold reception.

Mr Lee Hwa Beng, a former assemblyman for the Malaysian Chinese Association, said he would not hoist the Jalur Gemilang though he had been doing so for the past two decades.

“I fear being called up for whatever reason, like (the flag is) too old or dirty due to exposure, or the wind may blow the flag upside down... So I won’t put (it) up this year not because (I am) unpatriotic, but (because I) fear being charged,” Datuk Lee said in a post on X on Aug 10.

His post had garnered more than 230,000 views as at the evening of Aug 12.

Political analyst Phoon Wing Keong said that Umno’s aggressive approach could undermine Malaysians’ emotional connection to the nation.

“Patriotism should be rooted in a citizen’s genuine affinity for the country. If the upside-down flag incident is excessively politicised, especially when it’s unintentional, it may erode national unity and dampen public enthusiasm,” the head of the Huayan Policy Institute, a Chinese Malaysian community think-tank, told ST.


Saturday, 16 August 2025

Top Southeast Asian leaders will travel to China for military parade, sources say

 Leaders from Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar are expected to attend next month’s Victory Day event in Beijing

Dewey Simin Beijing
Top Southeast Asian leaders are expected to attend China’s military parade next month to commemorate the end of World War II, in what would be a show of Beijing’s growing influence in the region.

Many countries are said to be sending more senior delegations than they did a decade ago, when the first such parade was held.

According to multiple sources with knowledge of the matter, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will likely attend the parade, set to be held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing on September 3, 2025.

Explainer | China will bring out the big guns for its military parade. What’s it all about?

The last military parade was held in 2019 to mark 70 years since communist China was founded. Photo: AP
China is preparing to show off its military might with a huge parade in Beijing on September 3 marking the 80th anniversary of the victory over Japan in World War II.
As well as thousands of goose-stepping soldiers, the People’s Liberation Army will bring out the big guns with its latest missile systems, weaponry and aircraft on display for the first time since the last military parade six years ago.

Why hold a parade?

The PLA has not fought a war since the 1990s and its military parades since then have served as a demonstration of the PLA’s prowess and determination. 

They have become more frequent since Xi Jinping took power in 2012. Amid an ambitious modernisation drive – with the goal of creating a “world class” military by 2049 – there have been large-scale parades in Beijing in 2015 and 2019, and in Inner Mongolia in 2017. Two major naval parades have also been held, in the South China Sea in 2018 and in the Yellow Sea in 2019.

Fewer parades took place when Xi’s predecessors Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao were in office. One was staged in 1999 when Jiang was in power and another in 2009 when Hu was president, both in Tiananmen Square. Naval parades were also held in the Yellow Sea to mark PLA Navy anniversaries in 1995 and 2009.

Xi Jinping (centre) with former presidents Hu Jintao (left) and Jiang Zemin at the 2019 parade. Photo: AP
Xi Jinping (centre) with former presidents Hu Jintao (left) and Jiang Zemin at the 2019 parade. Photo: AP

In recent years, these parades have reflected a fundamental shift in China’s defence strategy and foreign policy – from “keeping a low profile and biding time” to “proactively striving for accomplishments” – and they come as geopolitical rivalry has intensified, especially with the United States.

China also has long-standing territorial disputes with its neighbours, including Japan over the Diaoyu or Senkaku Islands, over its contested border with India, and over its expansive claims to the South China Sea that overlap with those of the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei.

Tensions have escalated in recent years over these hotspots as China – now militarily and economically stronger – has taken a more assertive stance while the United States backs its rivals.

Taiwan remains a major flashpoint and there are fears a conflict could break out between China and the US over the self-ruled island. Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be brought under its control – by force if necessary. And while the US, like most countries, does not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, it opposes any forcible change to the status quo and is committed to providing defensive arms to the island.

Against this backdrop, the PLA has been flexing its military muscle more regularly, including with war games such as live-fire exercises in key areas that are aimed at deterrence and pushing forward its modernisation programme, and with large-scale parades to show its power and resolve. 

Play  https://youtu.be/Ayi8ddu_eZg

Why September 3?

For 60 years, from 1949 when the People’s Republic of China was founded until 2009, the PLA only staged big military parades on National Day, October 1.

The first Victory Day military parade marking the end of World War II was held on September 3, 2015. It marked 70 years since Imperial Japan signed the surrender document on September 2, 1945.

A decade on, China will hold its second Victory Day parade this September.

The win over Imperial Japan was hugely significant for China since it was the “first complete victory” against a foreign invader in the country’s modern history. Beijing highlights this victory both to reinforce national identity and unity and to establish the ruling Communist Party’s role in leading China to overcome its past humiliations and become a strong nation.

Beijing is also seeking to reshape the narrative around World War II, for example by shifting the starting point of the war to the Mukden Incident in 1931 instead of the 1937 battle at the Marco Polo Bridge, adding six years to the Chinese people’s war against the Japanese.

In doing so, it is trying to emphasise China’s sacrifice and contribution to the fight against fascism in Asia and to position itself as a defender of the post-war order.

The 2015 Victory Day parade reflected this narrative, highlighting the 1931-37 resistance in Manchuria by the party’s Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army.

In what was seen as a “united front” against Taiwan independence, the parade was attended by war veterans from both the Communist Party and the Kuomintang. The KMT ruled China at the time of the Japanese surrender but was later defeated by the Communists in the 1945-49 civil war and fled to Taiwan, where it was the governing party.

Similar arrangements are expected to be in place this year.

https://youtu.be/b_L_QrDhgqM Play


What to expect

From fighter jets to hypersonic missiles, the PLA has a raft of new equipment that could go on public display for the first time at this year’s parade.

That includes the Shenyang J-35, the second model of the air force’s fifth-generation stealth fighter, and the J-20A, an upgraded J-20 stealth fighter powered by Chinese-made WS-10C engines.

Both aircraft are expected to fly over Tiananmen Square during the parade, alongside other upgraded warplanes such as new Y-20 variants the Y-20B transport aircraft with WS-20 engines and the YY-20 aerial refuelling tanker, and the KJ-3000 early warning and control aircraft.

New types of drones are also expected to be unveiled during the parade.

But the two types of sixth-generation fighters under development are unlikely to take part, given that parades usually show equipment already or almost in service.

While the navy’s newest additions – including the Fujian aircraft carrier, new guided-missile destroyers, amphibious assault ships and submarines – will not be part of the spectacle, its latest ship-borne aircraft could make an appearance.

They include the J-15T and J-35 fighter jets that have been modified for catapult launch, the KJ-600 early warning and control aircraft for the Fujian, and various ship-based drones.

The navy’s nuclear-capable submarine-based JL-3 ballistic missile and the YJ-21 hypersonic anti-ship missile could also be rolled out on launchers.

Meanwhile, the PLA Rocket Force is expected to showcase some of its new generation of strategic missiles, such as the DF-5C intercontinental ballistic missile which can carry multiple independently targetable nuclear warheads in one single missile, and the DF-27 hypersonic missile.

The PLA Ground Force has embraced the era of drone warfare and some of its latest equipment – from robotic dogs to unmanned ground vehicles and anti-drone systems – is also likely to be part of the parade along with traditional weapons.

Liu Zhen
Liu Zhen joined the Post in 2015 as a reporter on the China desk. She previously worked with Reuters in Beijing.


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