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Hadi Azmi

A dispute over the display of Chinese flags at a festival in Malaysia’s Perak state intensified over the weekend after hundreds converged on the same town to unfurl their country’s banner in a retaliatory show of national pride, drawing a stern warning from local police and escalating tensions further.
The sudden flare-up of nationalism began after China’s red national flags were out in force on Thursday at the International Guan Gong Cultural Festival in Teluk Intan waved by participants from China.
As video from the flag-waving went viral, outcry percolated across social media, with commentators claiming the predominantly Chinese town of 170,000 people in Perak “feels like Shanghai” among other barbs aimed at Chinese influence in Malaysia.
In response, some 300 people converged on Teluk Intan’s town square on Saturday where they unfurled Malaysian flags and sang the national anthem as well as other patriotic songs.

@wanwadifa nah kome...smangat malaysia... main main lagi org teluk intan....ni haa..buka mata ckit #menaracondongtelukintan #fypシ #viral ♬ MALAYSIA - Faizal Tahir

Perak Police Chief Azizi Mat Ari said that, over the weekend, they received over 16 reports from the public, adding that the police were not informed of the rally.
“We are warning and advising the public not to be part of any gathering that can cause disruption and public disorder,” Azizi said on Sunday in response to Saturday’s rally.
The issue has highlighted lingering suspicions of China among the Malaysian public and also rekindled old resentments toward’s the country’s Chinese community among segments of the Muslim Malay majority, whose leaders are often accused of exploiting ethnic and religious dividing lines for political gain.
The flag fracas has also taken on a political dimension with Razman Zakaria, the Perak state chief of Islamist party PAS, making racially charged remarks against Chinese people at the rally.
“We ask those whose eyes are like [mine], skin like [mine], and blood like ours, we must unite,” Razman, an ethnic Malay, said while gesturing to himself during the flag rally on Saturday.
The Guan Gong Cultural Association of Malaysia, which organised the festival, has since apologised to the public, clarifying that the flag-waving seen in the viral video was not part of the official program.
Flags from other countries were also paraded at the international event, including Vietnam and Thailand, as seen in other photos from the festival.
Despite the apology, PAS, a key component of the opposition Malay nationalist Perikatan Nasional coalition, has refused to let the issue subside.


Slamming Perak state Chief Minister Saarani Mohamad for stating that it is not a crime to wave a foreign country’s flag in Malaysia, Razman described last Thursday’s display as the latest in a series of disrespectful acts against Malaysian sovereignty.
“No one is taking care of our country’s sovereignty, so we have to take care of it,” Razman said, referencing China’s repeated intrusions into Malaysian territorial waters – where Beijing’s claims overlap with Malaysia’s in the South China Sea – and the recent visit of two Chinese navy vessels to Penang, where the Chinese flag was similarly displayed during school visits.
In contrast, Chief Minister Saarani likened the festival’s flag display to Malaysians flying their national flag abroad during gatherings.
“What is problematic,” Saarani said, “is if Malaysian citizens of Chinese ethnicity suddenly carry China’s flag, as it gives the impression that they revere a foreign flag.”
While defending the flag display, the chief minister’s comment played on the persistent suspicions surrounding the Malaysian-Chinese community, despite their citizenship.
Making up one-fifth of the country’s 34 million population, they continue to have their loyalty to Malaysia questioned and are often implicated by the actions of the People’s Republic of China.
That sentiment was voiced by former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, who in January remarked that the loyalty of Malaysian-Chinese and Malaysian-Indians to the country is “not complete.”
“They want to identify themselves with their countries of origin (China and India),” said Mahathir, who led Malaysia for over 23 years during two non-consecutive terms.
Racial tensions, which culminated in deadly riots in 1969, have been on the rise in recent years, particularly following the opposition Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition’s 2022 election campaign, which focused on uniting the majority Malay Muslim voters against other races.

At the same time, Malaysia’s heavy reliance on China as its largest trading partner has forced the country to temper its responses to Beijing, even regarding sovereignty disputes such as those in the South China Sea.
In June, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Li Qiang, Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, issued a joint statement on the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, calling each other “good neighbours for hundreds of years” and “true, sincere friends”.
“Such a friendship has witnessed profound changes over half a century and shown renewed vigour and vitality,” the joint statement said.


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The display of Chinese flags at a cultural festival in Perak on Thursday led to a counter rally on Saturday in which hundreds converged on Teluk Intan’s town square to wave Malaysian flags and sing the national anthem. Photo: TikTok / wanwadifa 

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This Week in Asia

Politics

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Asia

Southeast Asia

Chinese flags waved at a festival in Perak state prompted a nationalist counter rally and rekindled concerns over foreign influence


Chinese flags waved at a festival in Perak state prompted a nationalist counter rally and rekindled concerns over foreign influence.


South China Sea

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Mahathir Mohamad