An Umno Supreme Council member has backed Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh in his antics over the hoisting of the national flag upside down. Puad Zarkashi said Akmal should be praised for his patriotism in defending the proper use of the flag.
Puad said in a Facebook post that a flag represented a country, and hoisting a flag upside down would be a crime if it was done intentionally, while doing so accidentally meant one was apathetic and less patriotic.
“So why can’t such actions (of hoisting the flag upside down) be reprimanded?” he said.
He questioned why defenders of the flag were labelled political gangsters. “Do we just let it be? It’s not like Akmal and Umno Youth want to go on a rampage. They only want to gather,” Puad said.
Akmal had recently led some 200 members from the youth wing to gather in front of a hardware shop in Kepala Batas, Penang, after its owner was investigated for flying the Jalur Gemilang upside down.
He later said he was prepared to face legal action for defying a police directive and allegedly disrupting public order by means of a gathering.
Earlier today, Akmal said he had been summoned by police to provide his statement at the Dang Wangi police station tonight, adding that if it was the price he had to pay “to defend the country’s dignity, I am willing and will fight to the end.”
Puad took note that Akmal did not come to the defence of Terengganu Umno following a similar gaffe involving the national flag. “This is why Akmal should be praised for his patriotism,” Puad said. “Those who try to arrest such patriotism are the real hoodlums.”
