Terengganu Umno Youth Bungles Jalur Gemilang Akmal Flag Gaffe Resurfaces

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Terengganu Umno Youth published a graphic with an incorrect Jalur Gemilang.
This came amid fury from the wing’s chief Dr Akmal Saleh, against a hardware store owner in Penang for displaying the national flag upside down.
Meanwhile, a photo of Akmal holding up a Palestinian flag upside down with other Umno Youth leaders from two years ago has also resurfaced.
In the first incident, Terengganu Umno Youth yesterday posted a graphic (above) aimed at expressing their anger over the upside-down flag blunder in Penang, as well as the death of Sabah student Zara Qairina Mahathir, who was said to be a bullying victim.
The graphic had both the Jalur Gemilang and a black and white photo of Zara.
However, the Jalur Gemilang in the graphic had only 12 stripes instead of 14.
The error was noticed by eagle-eyed internet users, many of whom questioned whether Akmal would give Terengganu Umno Youth a dressing down.
The original graphic was deleted at 12.55pm today, and replaced with a new graphic containing the correct number of stripes on the Jalur Gemilang.
Politicians hit back
Politicians critical of Akmal were quick to poke at the situation.
MCA Youth secretary-general Saw Yee Fung quipped whether Akmal had taught Terengganu Umno Youth how to identify the proper Malaysian flag, while teasing them not to delete the post.
"We Malaysians also regret and are angry at this rude act of using the incorrect Jalur Gemilang in this post," she said.
DAP Youth chief Woo Kah Leong also shot back with the Malay proverb "sepandai-pandai tupai melompat, akhirnya jatuh ke tanah juga" (what goes up, must come down).
Without naming names, he also urged Akmal to head to Terengganu to school the Umno Youth chapter there instead of going to Penang.
Separately, DAP veteran Teng Chang Kim called for Akmal to be arrested and charged for the blunder in his capacity as Umno Youth chief.
In a Facebook post, Teng urged the police to immediately apply for a warrant of arrest against Akmal for making, publishing, and circulating statements.
He said the Umno leader should be charged under section 505 of the Penal Code for intent to cause or likelihood of causing fear or alarm to the public, or to incite any class or community to commit offences against any other class or community.
“Akmal has taken the law into his own hands by issuing a warning to the authority that if the owner of the hardware shop is not prosecuted in court within these two days, he will visit the shop to teach the owner how to fly the national flag. Akmal has no legal standing and is a nobody at all ‘to teach’ anyone how to do anything in the flag incident.
“Being a state assemblyperson carrying the title of ‘Datuk’ does not accord him any right or power to do so. Such a warning by Akmal is a contempt of the rule of law and authority and will cause public disorder. If bully behaviour is allowed to spread, there is no hope that we can curb the rampant bully culture in schools nowadays,” he added.
Teng went so far as to suggest that if Akmal remains recalcitrant and continues with his bullying behaviour, he ought to be charged under the recently gazetted section 507B of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment.
The said law addresses bullying, namely the use of threatening, abusive, or insulting words or acts that cause harassment, distress, fear, or alarm to a person. This includes both physical and online actions.
Meanwhile, netizens also highlighted a photo from April 2023, in which Akmal and several other Umno Youth leaders posed with a Palestinian flag that was held upside down.
This was from a solidarity rally with Palestinians in Kuala Lumpur.
Flag showdown
Tensions are high after a 20-second video surfaced on Saturday, showing a hardware store owner hoisting the Jalur Gemilang upside down.
The owner, Feng Jin Zhen, later explained he was measuring the length of an iron pole while hanging the national flag and did not notice that the flag was upside down. He said he immediately corrected his mistake upon noticing.
Akmal, however, is threatening to hold a protest outside Feng’s shop on Thursday if the business owner is not charged by tomorrow for the flag error.
The Umno Youth chief said he wanted to teach Feng how to put up the national flag correctly.
Lawyer Zaid Malek and DAP have said they would make a stand against Akmal’s protest. - Mkini

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