Akmal’s “selected extremism” faulted for fewer Jalur Gemilang flown during past two Merdeka months

 

ALTHOUGH he has toned down considerably this Merdeka month, the so-called damage that UMNO Youth chief Datuk Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh has inflicted by provoking a sense of public fear has apparently been blamed for lesser number of Malaysian flags a.k.a. Jalur Gemilang been flown this year.

This has prompted the administrator of Anwar Ibrahim Fans site to take a pot shot at the self-proclaimed staunch defender of race and religion by “congratulating his selected extremism” to the hesitation of Malaysians – both individuals and business premises – to hoist Jalur Gemilang.

 

Chief among his moral policing antic is how he wanted to make a trip down to Penang last year to teach Kepala Batas hardware shop owner Feng Jin Zhen – whom he rudely jibed as apek – how to fly the Jalur Gemilang after the latter was filmed holding the Malaysian flag upside down.

In stark contrast, the Merlimau MP’s demeanour has softened considerably in two viralled Jalur Gemilang-related outrage reported this year, notably those spotted in Dataran Batu Buruk. Terengganu and at an automotive plant at i-Park Indahpura in Kulai, Johor.

This led to accusations of hypocrisy and double-standards, particularly on grounds that the so-called culprits are not of Chinese descent, hence DAP would not be dragged into the picture.

‘Better be safe than sorry’

Doubtlessly, some presumably rightists credited the Melaka Rural Development, Agriculture and Food Security state EXCO for his harsh action given the undivided love for his motherland instead of the oft-alleged trying to derive political mileage from his intervention.

“Better be safe than sorry” is the key phrase here for “some crazy men might turn the flag upside down at night or snap the flag”, warned a phobic commenter while another contended that this would eradicate concerns over the flag being “upside down or backside up”.

One senior citizen from Petaling Jaya chided Akmal for thinking highly of himself as a “Malay hero” by recounting last year’s upside-down flag incident involving the Penang hardware shop owner.

Even one Malay netizen vouched as “true” observation of the Anwar Ibrahim Fans’ administrator.

“People used to fly flags with great enthusiasm, if someone hoisted them wrongly, we would reprimand them (decently) face-to-face and fix/resolve the matter there and then,” he recalled.

But now people are afraid to fly the flag because they’re afraid of going viral and becoming political fodder.

Not just individuals, private companies, non-government agencies are also less likely to fly the flag because they want to avoid going viral and being criticised.

This comment apparently prompted some rightists to hit back by asking “why can’t there be someone to inspect the flag before it gets hoisted” or “how could one be so ignorant as to flying a flag right after more than 60 years of the nation’s independence”.

One even insinuated that some unpatriotic citizens purposely wanted to fly the Jalur Gemilang upside down.

In fact, a similar phenomenon of lesser people flyting the Jalur Gemilang was observed in Melaka, the state whereby first premier Tunku Abdul Rahman announced the historic date for Malaya’s independence on Feb 20, 1956.

The Father of Independence made this iconic declaration to a large crowd at Padang Hilir upon returning from successful independence negotiations in London.

Many commenters seemed to be pointing their fingers at the Russian-trained medical doctor for sparking unnecessary fear with concerns over the act of sabotage which led to business boycott, “mass protest outside factories” and even “unpredictable windy condition” being some of the primary reasons. –  Focus Malaysia