Minor error over flag draws mountain of criticism

A PRIMARY school in Klang was lambasted on social media, all because a worker inadvertently hung the Jalur Gemilang upside down on the school building.

Although the school, SJK (C) Pui Ying, rectified the mistake within 10 minutes, it was enough for some sharp-eyed passers-by to snap pictures of it and share them on Facebook, drawing flak from netizens who made a mountain out of a molehill, China Press reported yesterday.

Some of them likened it to the desecration of the national flag and many posted racial slurs, prompting police to intervene to defuse the situation.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Northern Klang district police chief ACP Nurulhuda Mohd Salleh said a worker of Pui Ying realised the mistake after he finished hanging the flags on the first floor verandah of the school block and went to the ground to look at his work.

The mistake was corrected within 10 minutes, she pointed out.

“However, within that 10 minutes, some outsiders took pictures of it and, without finding out what really had happened, blew up the matter on social media, to the extent of turning it into something racial.”

She urged netizens to stop sharing the pictures in question and reminded them that it is a crime to cause public disorder.

Deputy head of the school’s board of directors, Lee Siong Mou, said the school had decided to fly the Jalur Gemilang to show patriotism in conjunction with Merdeka Month.

He said the school had rectified the genuine mistake as soon as it was found out, adding it was unfortunate that some people had chosen to “magnify the slip-up” and bombarded the school with insulting remarks.

The Education Department and police had investigated the matter and accepted the school’s explanation, Lee said, while urging the public not to spread any rumours.