Letter to Editor
LAST week, Harma Zulfika Deraman was sentenced to six months in jail for flying the Israeli flag. This week, a man was arrested by the police for expressing his desire that Malaysia establish diplomatic relations with Israel.
This has made me wonder whether you can get thrown in jail for flying the Taiwanese flag or expressing your desire that Malaysia establish diplomatic relations with Taiwan. As it stands, other than Israel, Malaysia also doesn’t have a diplomatic relationship with Taiwan.
Personally, I really don’t see why the police or the courts need to get involved in which country or international entities that Malaysian privately identifies with, if those countries or entities are not against Malaysia or the Malaysian people.
People identify with other countries or entities for a variety of reasons. Last world cup, I identified with Argentina during the finals. A lot of people were wearing Argentinian or French colours all over Malaysia at that time. Some of them likely flew the Argentinian or French flag too. Were we in breach of the law for doing so?
I can understand how we might be in breach of the law if we flew the Sulu sultanate’s flag or emblem. The Sulu sultanate has invaded our territory and killed our citizens and servicemen.
I can see how flying the Sulu emblem or flag is a sign that a person has ill intentions towards Malaysia and Malaysians.
I can also see how wishing to recognise or establish diplomatic relations with the Sulu Sultanate might be a touchy subject, that can invite the wrath of many Malaysians, after what the Sulu Sultanate had done to us.
But what have the Israelis done to Malaysia or Malaysians that makes flying their emblem or flag a crime? When did Israel wrong Malaysians? What harm does Israel seek to commit against Malaysia?
Whose flag and emblem are okay to display and whose are not?
Russia and Ukraine are at war today. Is it okay to display the Russian flag but not the Ukrainian flag or is it the other way around? How do we know?
Israel is a member of the United Nations (UN). Hamas however, is declared a terrorist organisation by multiple countries. Considering this, how is a Malaysian supposed to know that flying the colours of Israel is a crime but flying the colours of Hamas is not?
According to the police, showing support to such organisations as Islamic State (IS), Jemaah Islamiyah, the Sikh militant organisation, Babbar Khalsa or the Liberation Tiger of the Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is a crime because these are known terrorist entities, but showing support to Hamas is not, although Hamas belongs in the same list as these organisations?
By the way, if our memory is long enough, we should know that in 1997, Israel’s cricket team played in the International Cricket Council tournament hosted in Malaysia.
I am sure the Israeli flag was flown in Malaysia then with government consent. When was this consent revoked? Was it even revoked?
As per my understanding, you are only not allowed to take sides against Malaysia or show solidarity with an entity or nation that is against Malaysia, regardless of whether you are a foreigner or a local. You cannot, for example, desecrate the Malaysian flag or show support for Sulu Sultanate.
If you fall under the purview of the cops or the courts for collaborating or supporting an organisation that is known to commit acts of terrors around the world, even if the acts of terror are not committed on our soil, this is also understandable.
As a responsible country, obviously we can’t say “this is not our business” or “it doesn’t concern us” when our people or our nation is being used to plan or orchestrate international acts of terror.
This is how most Malaysians understand it too.
Going by this understanding, it is hard to see why it is a crime to display the Israeli flag or desire to support the establishment of ties with Israel, when Israel is UN-recognised nation, but it is okay to display the Hamas flag or contribute to Hamas’s cause, when Hamas is declared as a terrorist organisation by a multitude of nation.
Let us also remember that the actions and the views of a private citizen is never taken as an official stance by other nations.
If some Malaysian decides to demonstrate for the Palestinian cause while another Malaysians decide to display the Israeli flag in their house, other countries won’t necessarily see us as being either pro-Hamas or pro-Israel.
When our police start arresting Malaysians for saying that it would be nice if Malaysia establishes diplomatic relationship with Israel or when our courts sentence a Malaysian to jail for flying the Israeli flag and but do nothing when other Malaysians collect funds to support Hamas or fly the Hamas flag, this will be taken by other countries as the official stance of Malaysia.
Rather than have our police or courts decide our official stance in regards to Palestine or Israel, I think it is about time that our Parliament discuss the matter and come out with an official stance on the Palestine-Israel war so that all of us will be on the same page regarding the subject.
It is, after all, the Parliament’s job, not the cops or the courts.
Are we at war with Israel, do we consider Israel a terrorist state or do we just see the Israel-Palestine war as just another foreign war that doesn’t directly affect us?
I hope the Parliament will answer the question at the earliest convenience, instead of letting the courts and the cops answer the question on their behalf. – Dec 7, 2023
Nehru Sathiamoorthy is a roving tutor who loves politics, philosophy and psychology.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
Main pic credit: Bernama
