Wither the flag

Malaysia or rather Malaya will celebrate their 51st year of independence come 31st Aug 2008. We have come a long way, but I really wonder if we have moved forward or have we regressed backwards. If my memory serves me right, I have always been excited about waking up early to watch the live telecast on the march past and various cultural shows on TV. Then there is the Rasa Sayang series come every occasion which warrants one.

This year or rather in recent times we have been treated to a spectacle of events that make normal people puke at the mention of it. With all these, many have heeded Sheih (Kickdefella's) call on Aug 3rd to fly the flag upside down. Amongst the prominent bloggers are Zorro and Haris. According to Sheih, "The upside down flag is accepted as official signal of distress. By displaying it properly, it is not meant to be or it is not recognised as any type of disrespect."

I have explained my reasons for not doing so in my previous postings but what I would like to draw upon today as we approach the historic day is this. What does our flag stand for?


According to Ancient and Heraldic traditions much symbolism is associated with colors. The colors on the Malaysian flag represent the following:

• White - peace and honesty

• Red - hardiness, bravery, strength & valour

• Blue - vigilance, truth and loyalty, perseverance & justice. The blue field also symbolizes the unity of the Malaysian people

• Yellow - the yellow seen on the crescent and star is the color of the royal family

• The basic style shown in the picture of the Malaysian flag is described as Canton reflecting the central design of the flag pattern, highly influenced by the USA

• There are 14 equal horizontal stripes of red (top) alternating with white (bottom)

• All Flag pictures depict flags flying, from the viewer's point of view, from left to right

• The shape and flag ratio of the Malaysian flag is described as 1:2 ( length twice the height )

• The upper left quarter of the flag is called the Canton and pictures a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a yellow crescent and a yellow 14-pointed star

• The emblem on the Malaysian flag pictures a yellow crescent and a yellow 14-pointed star both being the traditional symbols of Islam

• The Meaning & History of the Malaysian Flag - The Malaysian 14 stripes stand for the fourteen states of Malaysia. The Malaysian star also has fourteen points, for the same reason

Ponder for a moment... while our PM talks of uncouth act of flying the flag upside down, lets talk about our government acts of desecrating the very symbol what our flag stands for... peace? honesty? Hardiness? Bravery? Strength? Valor? Vigilance? Truth? Loyalty? Perserverance? Justice? Unity? 14 EQUAL stripes?... While all Malaysians are fighting hard to preserve the dignity of what the flag represents, here we have a government that is working overtime to dismantle them.

While our government wantonly desecrates the ideals enshrined in the flag, what right do they have to call upon the acts of a group of fiercely loyal citizens showing their distress by flying the flag upside down? The fact that the government today has forfeited their rights in criticizing others by their own brazen actions.

My actions of not flying the flag does not mean I do not support their actions. To each, their own way of showing their displeasure and I certainly can understand why they want to do it and let us all fight for our beloved country Malaysia in our own ways, coming together when it is required and doing it in our own little ways at other times would be really refreshing.

LETS PRAY FOR A HAPPY 51st MERDEKA MALAYA!
and
LETS CELEBRATE OUR 45ND MALAYSIA DAY ON 16th SEPT 2008