The recent incident involving an upside-down Jalur Gemilang flag was most likely unintentional, national unity minister Aaron Ago Dagang said today.
Acknowledging that the mistake had left a negative impression, he said it was important to understand why such incidents happen and to take them as lessons on proper flag etiquette.
“We regret that such things happen, but it is a lesson for us to really understand how the flag should be hung.
“If the flag is upside down, it is wrong, but we must see why it happened,” he said after launching UCSI University’s Harmoni Mesra Week 2025 here.
In an X posting later, Aaron also urged the public not to jump to conclusions without waiting for a full investigation, and called on all parties, including politicians, to avoid provocative statements or actions that could worsen the situation.
“I would also like to emphasise that the public should not feel afraid or hesitant to put up the flag just because of this incident,” he said.
“I encourage all Malaysians to continue supporting the communications ministry’s ‘One Home, One Jalur Gemilang’ campaign in conjunction with the national month celebration as a show of love and patriotism for the country.”
The flag blunder which took place in Penang went viral with the circulation of a clip showing a man hoisting the flag upside down, filmed by another man.
The man, a hardware store owner, said he corrected the mistake immediately after realising it, but was later arrested.
This is the sixth flag-related incident since January and the second case of improper handling this month.
