KUALA LUMPUR — Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim, has expressed his disapproval of Sin Chew Daily wrongly depicting the Jalur Gemilang on the newspaper’s front page of yesterday’s edition.
His Royal Highness said it was “unacceptable” of the Chinese-language daily to have used a graphic of the national flag without the crescent moon.
“The flag is not merely a colourful piece of cloth, but represents the struggles, history, meaning of independence, and the spirit of the people,” he said in a post on Facebook.
“We, as citizens, fly the flag with pride and patriotism inour multiracial community,” Sultan Ibrahim said, adding that the mistake could trigger people’s sensitivities.”
The King said he firmly believes that Sin Chew Daily’s management and editorial department should be more sensitive and review any published material before printing.
Sin Chew Daily has apologised for the error, attributing it to an unintentional technical fault as the image was generated using artificial intelligence (AI). The national flag minus the crescent moon had appeared as an illustration, alongside the flag of the People’s Republic of China, in conjunction with the official visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Malaysia.
The error triggered uproar on social media, while police today confirmed receiving 13 reports over the illustration.
Meanwhile, the Home Affairs Ministry (KDN) said it has issued Sin Chew Daily a show-cause letter and will summon its management for an investigation.
In a statement, KDN said that an immediate investigation is being conducted under the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act 1963 (Act 414) and the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 (Act 301).
According to KDN, the act of publishing the Malaysian flag without the crescent moon symbol, which represents the status of Islam as the religion of the Federation, is a serious negligence.
The act, it said, not only reflects a lack of professionalism but could also cause disharmony among the diverse communities in the country.
“The Malaysian flag is not just a symbol, it is a symbol of sovereignty, unity and national identity of this country which must be respected and upheld by all.
The ministry added that appropriate enforcement action against the violations of both Acts will be considered upon completion of the investigation. – April 16, 2025