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When Patriotism Needs a Fact-Check: Is Akmal the Cause for Lesser Displays of Jalur Gemilang?
By Mihar Dias August 2026
There is something wonderfully Malaysian about the latest political argument over the Jalur Gemilang: we have apparently reached the point where even the number of flags flying in the country can become somebody else's political fault.
A Focus Malaysia article has made a rather spectacular allegation — that Datuk Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh’s brand of “selected extremism” has created such fear among Malaysians that fewer people and businesses are willing to fly the Jalur Gemilang. https://focusmalaysia.my/akmals-selected-extremism-faulted-for-fewer-jalur-gemilang-flown-during-past-two-merdeka-months/
It is an entertaining proposition. It is also a serious allegation.
And that is precisely the problem.
Where is the evidence?
The article cites comments from an administrator of an Anwar Ibrahim Fans site, a senior citizen, a Malay netizen and other commenters who believe people are now frightened of becoming “political fodder”. One commenter says businesses and NGOs are less inclined to fly the flag because they fear going viral. https://focusmalaysia.my/akmals-selected-extremism-faulted-for-fewer-jalur-gemilang-flown-during-past-two-merdeka-months/
Fine. These are opinions.
But opinions, however passionately expressed, are not statistics.
If we are going to accuse a politician of causing Malaysians to stop displaying their national flag, surely we need something more substantial than a handful of social-media observations. Where is the survey? Where is the comparison with previous years? Where is the number of flags distributed, sold or displayed? Where is the evidence from businesses themselves?
Otherwise we are doing something rather familiar in Malaysian politics: taking an impression, adding indignation, sprinkling it with social media and serving it as a national trend.
That is not journalism. That is political kuih lapis.
The allegation becomes even more curious because there are perfectly ordinary reasons why fewer flags might be visible. Businesses may be cutting costs. Property managers may have rules. Some people simply do not bother. Weather can damage flags. And, as the article itself rather amusingly mentions, even “unpredictable windy condition” has entered the list of explanations. https://focusmalaysia.my/akmals-selected-extremism-faulted-for-fewer-jalur-gemilang-flown-during-past-two-merdeka-months/
Meanwhile, authorities themselves have been urging Malaysians to follow proper guidelines for displaying the Jalur Gemilang after several controversies. The latest Terengganu incident, for example, was subsequently explained by state authorities as an isolated technical problem in which the crescent and star had come loose in strong winds.
So we have an intriguing situation.
One politician is accused of frightening Malaysians away from flying the flag.
Others are accused of being insufficiently patriotic.
And the flag itself is sitting quietly in the middle, probably wondering why everyone is fighting over it.
There is, however, a legitimate question behind the controversy.
Has the policing of patriotism become so aggressive that ordinary Malaysians are becoming reluctant to participate?
That deserves investigation. But it should be investigated properly.
If businesses really are saying, “We would fly the Jalur Gemilang but we are afraid somebody will photograph us, accuse us of displaying it wrongly and turn us into tomorrow morning's political scandal,” then that is an important story.
But let us hear from 100 businesses rather than one commenter.
Ask shopping centres. Ask factories. Ask shopkeepers. Ask schools. Ask residents' associations. Ask the people responsible for corporate buildings.
Then count the flags.
That would transform an amusing political accusation into journalism.
There is also another uncomfortable question.
If patriotism requires Malaysians to be frightened into displaying the national flag correctly, have we misunderstood patriotism?
The Jalur Gemilang ought to be flown because people love Malaysia, not because they fear a politician's Facebook post.
A national flag should inspire affection, pride and belonging. It should not resemble a compliance document requiring Malaysians to check whether they have filled in the patriotic form correctly.
The Focus Malaysia article points to an apparent double standard in Akmal's responses to different flag controversies, including the earlier Penang incident and more recent incidents in Terengganu and Johor. That is a legitimate political question. https://focusmalaysia.my/akmals-selected-extremism-faulted-for-fewer-jalur-gemilang-flown-during-past-two-merdeka-months/
But again, political inconsistency is one allegation.
Causing a measurable national decline in flag-flying is another.
The first can be argued from the record of what a politician said and did.
The second requires evidence.
This distinction matters because credibility is not a luxury in journalism. Especially when the allegation is large enough to blame one politician for the patriotic behaviour of an entire country.
Perhaps Akmal has indeed contributed to a climate in which some Malaysians are more cautious about displaying the flag. Perhaps he has not.
But before we declare him the mysterious invisible hand behind Malaysia's missing flags, perhaps we should count them.
Otherwise, next year we may discover that the reason Malaysians did not fly enough Jalur Gemilang was not politics at all.
Perhaps they simply forgot to buy one.
And somebody will write an article blaming the opposition.
That, too, would be very Malaysian.
Mihar Dias (mihardias@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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