KUALA LUMPUR – Touching on the controversy over foreign flags being displayed at a cultural festival in Teluk Intan last week, Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim (Arau-PN) questioned if Malaysians flying the Jalur Gemilang in China would be allowed to return home.
The Perikatan Nasional lawmaker said Malaysians who did such things would probably have to spend their lives in China, suggesting that authorities there would punish such activities with imprisonment.
“We are Malaysians who must have a strong sense of patriotism because we love our country.
“Show the type of patriotism we display when supporting our athletes at sporting events.
“Oppose those who threaten our country. We must all object to (Chinese) flags flying in our country,” Shahidan said while debating Budget 2025 in parliament.
Checks by Scoop show that there are records of the Jalur Gemilang being displayed by Malaysians in China, without any apparent criminal consequences.
In 2003, a team of Malaysians comprising 23 university students draped a 3.2km long Jalur Gemilang across the Great Wall of China.
Their feat, which took 4 hours and 17 minutes just to unfold the flag, saw the students etching their names in the Malaysian Book of Records.
These students actually beat a previous effort in 2000 where a team did the same thing with a 2km-long flag.
On Thursday, the International Guan Gong Culture Festival at Teluk Intan drew controversy after photos and videos of the event showed several participants flying Chinese flags.
The photos and videos of the festival went viral on social media, with netizens asking if the scene was in China or Malaysia, and other social uploads expressing concerns about communist elements and urging police to investigate.
The event organiser, Guan Gong Cultural Association of Malaysia, on October 25, apologised on Facebook to all Malaysians.
Its chairman Soon Boon Hua said the waving of China’s flag was never part of the planned programme, and that those who waved the flag were not Malaysians but visitors from China. – October 28, 2024