KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia police have arrested two students were took part in a National Day celebration earlier this month where they displayed an alternative flag, which sparked an uproar of anger by average Malaysians. The college students were arrested and are being investigated under Section 9 of the Sedition Act, police told Bikyamasr.com on Saturday. City CID chief Senior Asst Comm Datuk Ku Chin Wah said the two, aged 24 and 26, surrendered on Saturday and are expected to be released on bail after having their statements recorded. The two youth activists had not been released by late Saturday evening. SAC Ku said that to date, 6 of the 11 individuals identified as part of the “fiasco during the Janji Demokrasi protest have surrendered after photographs of the individuals were published in the newspapers.” Malaysia's PKR Youth have denied a role in images that showed other youth activists pushing an alternative flag for the country recently that sparked anger nationwide. They said that while the flag was designed by one its youth leaders, it was not meant to be shown as an alternative for the country as a whole. “The flag was designed by our deputy youth information chief Mohd Najwan Halimi in 2007 but at that time, he was not a member nor held any post in the youth wing. “What happened during that year should not be associated with us," its chief Mohd Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin told reporters on Monday. He did argue that anger should not be made over the flag, as “there was nothing wrong in flying the flag" during the National Day celebrations in the country. “The most important part is that we are clear on our stand which is that we have no intention to change our national flag," he said. The “alternative flag" has sparked much anger among the people, who are frustrated by the attempts of the youth to fly the different flag. “This is our flag. We are proud of this and it is a symbol of Malaysia and our success," shopkeeper Nur told Bikyamasr.com when asked if he supported the Bersih demonstration movement's calls for a flag change. “It just seems they want to get attention and while I agree with a lot of their ideas, this one is just stupid," he added. Many Malaysians have described the attempts to change the flag “shameful." Even Bersih supporters told Bikyamasr.com that this effort is taking away from their goals of change and electoral freedom for a country that has seen one-party rule since its independence more than five decades ago. Some supporters of Bersih, who are championing for changes to the electoral system in the country, had displayed a flag they had created to replace the “Jalur Gemilang" – Malaysia's current flag – and distributed flyers to the people to support their cause. Their actions can be seen in a video posted on YouTube. But it has not gone over well, with most Malaysians laughing the stunt off as an attempt to regain their headlining ability after months of near silence. With elections to be held before April next year, the country is beginning to see a massive increase in politicking and while the flag stunt is unlikely to go over well with most Malaysians, it has pushed the Bersih demonstrators back into the spotlight, where they hope to continue their push for greater electoral freedom.
