There is something almost all of us learnt and hopefully keep learning in the course of life. All the more if your training or vocation has anything to do with a uniform, or government service, or many other vocations. And that is - respect as well as dignity of the flag of our country was and will always remain paramount.
As seafarers, it is driven into our DNA, and tradition as well as pride in flag and all it stands for ensures we never forget this. Foreign or Indian ship visiting Indian port - the Indian flag needs to fly at the highest point. Passing or crossing an Indian Navy ship - dip your own country's flag or ensign in salute, and wait for a response, before hoisting it again. Ensure that the Indian flag never touches the ground, come what may. All this, and more.
Come what may, if the Indian flag was in danger of being dis-respected, by anybody, you secured the flag first. At all costs.
And that's where one wonders - what were the young policemen thinking about, what was their training, hitting the Indian flag and people carrying the flag, knowing that this would cause the flag to fall down into the dirty street water? I wish I had been there, only for this. Actually, I almost was, but couldn't.
Earlier today, I had decided to go and observe Arvind Kejriwal's protest as well as take some photographs, and planned to drive over to Lodhi Gardens, park my car there, and then go the rest of the distance by foot, since the Government in its wisdom had shut down all public transport. This was not to be, because even walking was not allowed, and so from a point near the Claridges Hotel roundabout, I was asked to return. Very politely, ofcourse, but firmly.
So for what it was worth, I returned home, and with many others in the country, saw what was a peaceful demonstration, with water cannons, tear gas and the regular push pull. It all seemed quite civilised - to give you an idea, as seafarers we know the power of a fire hose, and at around 4-5 bar pressure, it is impossible to stand in front of water being aimed at you. Here, it appeared as though the water cannons were on "spray" mode and the tear gas shells were not really causing any grief.
So to suddenly see policemen lash out at people waving the Indian flag, repeatedly, was like this major jolt to all we held sacred and loyal. What was that about, did those policemen have something against the Indian flag, where was all this coming from?
One reason being trotted out is that this is a highly sensitive area, whatever that means, and people had no business to be there. Interesting. We can have a race-course where thousands assemble, the area is littered with bars and restaurants where hundreds get ossified on a regular basis, every second bungalow in the area is used for weddings and parties when traffic gets disturbed and all these cause more of a risk to the security of people who live there and apparently make this a sensitive area.
But if a couple of hundred peaceful protestors manage to slip through the dragnet and wave the Indian National flag, then somehow, the Delhi Police is entitled to lash out with their lathis - and not do anything to prevent the flags from falling down on to the ground?
Who is responsible for this dis-respect, and what shall be done about it?
Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders denied today claims they had mounted a campaign to replace the national flag with an alternative design and denounced the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) government for spinning “lies” against the federal opposition bloc in the run-up to national polls.
The DAP-PKR-PAS alliance has been put on the defensive following public uproar over an incident during the recent Independence Day countdown in Dataran Merdeka here last Thursday where individuals were spotted waving flags of indeterminate design other the Jalur Gemilang — which were then alleged to be an alternative national flag.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had yesterday linked the incident to the opposition bloc and accused them of masterminding a plan to change the national symbol, among other national institutions if they win power at the 13th general elections due soon.
“The change of the national flag (sic) is never a Pakatan Rakyat agenda and has never been discussed or raised in any Pakatan Rakyat meeting,” DAP Parliamentary Leader Lim Kit Siang told The Malaysian Insider when contacted.
The Ipoh-Timur MP slammed the PM and his Cabinet for making such unsubstantiated remarks, which he described as a “completely concocted” and “artificial issue”.
Najib’s remarks were also echoed by several Umno federal ministers, including Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein who was reported today to have called on the police to hasten their investigations and book the perpetrators for attempting to incite hatred against the government.
“The majority of the people are already fed up with the actions of these political desperados who know they are facing defeat in the coming general election and are trying to create public hatred against government leaders,” Hishammuddin was quoted as saying today by state news agency Bernama, after opening the Merbok Umno division delegates’ meeting at Dewan Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Merbok in Kedah.
Lim said the remarks showed the ruling BN coalition was “desperate” as the electoral race to win over non-partisan voters tightened.
“I call for an end to such lies and falsehood,” he said, adding that the statements were part of the BN and Umno’s “tactics” to “scare, frighten and mislead the people.”
PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar (picture) expressed similar sentiments, saying “all the allegations are false and have been officially responded to by the PR leadership.”
She accused Najib, who is also Umno president and BN chairman, of “employing the use of malicious lies in challenging his political opponents.”
“Additionally, there was not an iota of evidence that was used to back up his malicious lie.
“It is also distracting if the PM can only lend his voice in regards to our flag yet silent on more important matters such as corruption, political violence, statutory rape, high crime rate, statistics manipulations and so on [sic],” she said in a text message to The Malaysian Insider.
PKR secretary-general Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail urged Najib to stop making such statements, saying that “his position as prime minister is not licence for him to accuse without evidence.”
PAS secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali also denied the allegations, saying: “That is not our policy. That is not the policy of PR.”
He also called the act of carrying the alternative flag design “unacceptable”, saying that the “authorities should investigate who is responsible... and take proper action.”
The BN’s mandate expires next April, prompting the automatic dissolution of Parliament if general elections are not called earlier.
The two political blocs have been engaged in an intense battle for Putrajaya after the ruling coalition lost its customary two-thirds control of Parliament in the last election four years ago, and giving hope to the opposition that it may break the BN’s grip after 49 years in government.
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