Spit on a flag? That’s 15 years’ jail
Joseph Sipadan, The Malay Mail
Anyone who “dishonours” the Jalur Gemilang, or any national flag for that matter, could face up to 15 years behind bars if amendments to the Penal Code are passed by Parliament next week.
The penalty is part of a new section that the government wants to add on to the law, which will impose jail time and a fine on anyone who does not handle the national flag of any nation with respect.
The new provision, if passed, will apply to anyone who “mutilates, defaces, physically defiles, burns, maintains on the floor or ground, tramples on, desecrates, destroys, insults or questions with the intention of dishonouring any national emblem or flag of a foreign nation”.
The additional section also criminalises the act of recognising or promoting the use of any flag “that purports to represent Malaysia” but is not officially recognised by either the federal or state governments.
The penalty for either offence will be no less than five years and not more than 15 years jail and a possible fine, if found guilty.
The new section is part of a raft of proposed amendments to the Penal Code listed on a bill tabled in Parliament by Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi earlier today.
The new section comes just a few weeks after police arrested national laureate Datuk A. Samad Said and two others for allegedly raising the Sang Saka Malaya flag on the eve of Merdeka Day last August 30.
Samad, along with student activist Adam Adli Abdul Halim and activist Hishamuddin Rais, were arrested and investigated by police under the Sedition Act, but were released after several hours.
The Sang Saka Malaya flag allegedly unfurled on August 30 this year is a two-striped red-and-white flag with 12 yellow stars arranged in three rows in the top left corner.
It was used by the first Malay party, Kesatuan Melayu Malaya (KMM) formed in 1938, that had fought against the colonial British for the country’s independence.
The authorities have used the Sedition Act twice in as many years on individuals caught raising the Sang Saka Malaya flag.
Last September, the police arrested two youths for allegedly flying the Sang Saka Malaya flag during the countdown to the 55th National Day on August 30.
The Sang Saka Malaya flag at the heart of last year’s controversy is also a two-striped red-and-white flag, but it has a crescent moon and an 11-pointed star in the top left corner instead.
