SNAPSHOT | Elderly staff quits over inverted flag gaffe; 'blue' Sg Perak water safe for general use - activist

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Inverted flag

• A staff member at the Perak MCA office resigned earlier today after mistakenly hoisting the Jalur Gemilang and Perak state flag upside down.

  In a statement, Perak MCA chairperson Mah Hang Soon extended the party chapter's apology to state ruler, Sultan Nazrin Shah and all Malaysians over the error, which he said was unintentional and was immediately rectified after it was noticed.

  According to Mah (above), the incident occurred this morning when the staff member, who is a senior citizen, was tasked with putting up the flags in conjunction with Merdeka month.

  "The staff member has expressed his regret over the incident and, of his own accord, tendered his resignation. Perak MCA accepted the resignation out of respect for his personal decision," the MCA deputy president said.

  Mah said police have also visited the state party headquarters this afternoon to conduct an investigation.

• In response, Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh called for heavier punishments for inverted flag incidents.

  Taking to Facebook, the Merlimau assemblyperson said not noticing that a flag was hoisted upside down can no longer be accepted as an “excuse”.

  

  “Even people with low intelligence know how to properly install the flag!” he said.

  Akmal’s statement came less than an hour after Pakatan Harapan Youth chief Woo Kah Leong accused him of double standards for supposedly failing to call out an Umno ally while being a firebrand against others.

ALSO READ: 'Calm' Akmal seeks proof T'ganu flag gaffe an accident

Syariah law

• Former chief justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat said the 2024 decision to nullify the Kelantan syariah criminal provisions was not intended to weaken the position of syariah courts or undermine Islam.

  Contrary to “false” claims perpetuated by “certain parties”, she said the decision in the petition - which was brought by lawyer Nik Elin Zurina Nik Abdul Rashid and her daughter Tengku Yasmin Nastasha Tengku Abdul Rahman - was based solely on the principle of jurisdictional competence.

  

  "The court merely acted as an arbiter to correct this boundary of power, because allowing such an encroachment would mean permitting a violation of the federalism system and legal anarchy that could undermine the nation's foundation," New Straits Times quoted her as saying during a lecture at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia today.

READ MORE: Apex court strikes down 16 Kelantan syariah criminal provisions

Water quality

• An environmental activist said water from Sungai Perak, which earlier raised concerns due to its blue-tinged hue, is suitable for general use as it is in Class II of Malaysia's Water Quality Index (WQI).

  Citing an analysis of water samples from the river, Abdul Rani Abdullah said that almost all tested parameters remained at levels allowing the river water to be used for Class II designations, including recreation, fisheries, and as a raw water source for treatment.

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  READ MORE: Three police reports lodged after Sg Perak turns greenish-blue again

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  Stressing that the Class II status does not mean the river water can be consumed directly without treatment, he added that the water quality data also showed that recorded metal content was not high enough to cause fish deaths.

  

  Sinar Harian also reported him as saying that the colour of the river’s water could have been influenced by a combination of geological conditions, natural mineral content, rainfall, and river flow conditions.

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Two more flag gaffes in Johor

'Would you shut down a bank?': Ex-S'gor exco slams 'more ruthless than tiger' response to flag blunder

Lawyer whose challenge struck down 16 Kelantan syariah provisions flags 11 more