Police release photos of those involved in brandishing flags

The Sun Daily 
by Charles Ramendran, Alyaa Alhadjri & Hemananthani Sivanandam

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 3, 2012): Police today released photographs of 11 people being sought over incidents at Dataran Merdeka on the eve of National Day, including one where flags were brought allegedly to replace the Jalur Gemilang.

Kuala Lumpur CID chief Datuk SAC II Ku Chin Wah said those identified by police will be called up to have their statements recorded.

The photos were released as those involved had not responded to a call by police to assist in their investigations.

He said the photos have also been uploaded on to KL police's Facebook account.

Ku said to date a total of 39 police reports have been lodged nationwide on the "Janji Demokrasi" event attended by several thousand people on Thursday night.

Despite police not getting any response, two bloggers have admitted in their weblogs that they had carried the "Sang Saka Malaya" – a red-and-white flag with a yellow crescent moon and 11-pointed star – on Thursday night.

However, they denied they had called for the Jalur Gemilang to be replaced but claimed the flag was brandished to represent the struggles of early left wing political parties against the British during the pre-Independence era.

They also denied being responsible for the distribution of some pamphlets calling for the Jalur Gemilang to be replaced with the Sang Saka Malaya.

Apart from the flag-waving offence which is being probed under the Sedition Act, police are also investigating two other possible offences in relation to acts of indecency and disrespecting a national leader.

Several individuals were captured on photo mooning and trampling on the photos of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor.

Meanwhile, constitutional law expert Prof Datuk Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi voiced the view that any proposal to amend "semi-sacred" national symbols, including the Malaysian flag, could be "acceptable."

"I do not know for sure what took place or whether the group had any intention to disrespect the flag, but a proposal to replace the national flag is not a constitutional issue" he told theSun.

"A change can be proposed provided it is done respectfully and through the proper channels," said Shad Faruqi, who noted that the tempo of the national anthem had also been changed to make it more upbeat.

"There are other non-emotional ways of doing things ... either through the Parliament, through the judiciary or even raising the idea in letters to the editor in newspapers," he added.

One of the bloggers known only as "Singa Selatan" who admitted to being one of the individuals brandishing the Sang Saka Malaya flag about that night claimed the action was to highlight some historical facts.

He said the Sang Saka Malaya, was first used in 1938 by the Kesatuan Melayu Malaya which later evolved into the left-leaning Parti Kebangsaan Melayu Malaya (PKMM) in 1945.

It claimed to be involved in the struggles for independence, but the PKMM along with several other political parties were labelled as communist symphatisers and banned in 1948 when the state of Emergency was declared.

If the Emergency laws were still in place, the waving of the PKMM flag may be an offence, but several laws enacted as part of the Emergency Ordinance have since been repealed.

As such, Bar Council constitutional law committee chairman Syahredzan Johan said the only possible charge would be under the Sedition Act, but even so, it would be "difficult to prove."

"There are no specific provisions under the Act which says proposing to change the (national) flag is seditious, so they would need to look at other areas to prove if there were any seditious tendencies," he added.

Criminal Investigations Director Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Zinin had on Sunday said the incident is being probed under the Sedition Act for sowing animosity among the races.

Bakri said Gabungan Janji, a coalition of 47 NGOs as organisers of the Janji Demokrasi rally, was also being investigated for failing to notify the police of the gathering at least 10 days prior to the event.

Meanwhile, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said if there was any evidence that the youths have committed the offence, they should be charged as such "despicable behaviour" should not be allowed.

"If they have committed an offence and we do not charge them, we will be giving the wrong signal to the public," said Nazri who is also the de facto Law Minister.

"It is not a trivial matter! It is about the symbols of the country.

"If they carried, say a Manchester United flag, it is okay because it is not displacing our national flag, but this Sang Saka flag does not represent the flag of other countries…

"The only reason I can think of is that they intend to replace our national flag," he added.