No Jalur Gemilang blunder, says taekwondo tournament organiser

A local taekwondo tournament organiser has clarified that the five-pointed star on its logo is not derived from the Jalur Gemilang.

This comes after former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak highlighted on his Facebook page how Pakatan Harapan and former BN ministers had graced events organised by CK Classic International, fuelling the ongoing outrage over the misrepresentation of the national flag.

In a statement today, CK Classic International organising chairperson CK Karan stressed that the five-pointed star was a part of the long-running competition’s official logo, and not a blunder.

“What we have displayed on the board is not a flag and definitely not the Malaysian flag.

“It is merely a logo created to embody both Malaysia and Selangor, being the host country and state for the said event. At no time was this done on accident or a mishap... we have carried this logo for the longest time as this is our 14th edition of the championship come 2020,” Karan said.

The red and yellow Selangor flag comprises a white crescent and a five-pointed star.

However, in light of the controversy, CK Classic International will amend its logo to reflect the Jalur Gemilang for its future tournaments.

“Moving forward, we will change the star to appease the many. We are, after all, Anak Malaysia and we would like to stay united with our beloved country in doing the right thing,” Karan said.

The Malaysian Basketball Association (Maba) was recently embroiled in controversy after a flag with a five-pointed star and 11 stripes was broadcast during the national anthem at one of its games.

The Jalur Gemilang has a 14-pointed star and 14 stripes.

Yesterday, the association issued a public apology and terminated the services of the live-stream contractor that displayed the incorrect flag by mistake.

The Maba blunder resulted in a police probe as well as stern warnings from Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, his deputy Steven Sim, Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah, who is also Maba's patron, and PKR president Anwar Ibrahim.

It sparked further discontent after a video of the incident was shared on social media.

Perak gov't regrets state flag gaffe

Maba has now been implicated in a second flag gaffe, this time concerning the Perak flag.

A state basketball athlete (photo, above) was photographed in a jersey bearing an upside-down state flag, allegedly at the same tournament where the incorrect national flag was broadcast - Maba’s Lum Mun Chak championship.

In a statement today, Perak executive council member Howard Lee, who is in charge of Youth and Sports, said the state basketball authority has since explained that the mistake was caused by a manufacturing defect.

“I have spoken to the Perak Basketball Association and they have apologised.

“The association claims that the athlete who was photographed with an upside-down state flag was the only one in the entire squad whose jersey carried such a manufacturing defect.

“The association is also committed to ensuring that such an incident will never occur again,” Lee said.

He urged the association to take the jersey manufacturer to task and to implement checks to ensure that only accurate symbols were used in the future.

“The state government deeply regrets the occurrence of such a gaffe and will bring the matter up in the next state Sports Council Management board meeting to deliberate on a systemic mechanism or policy to prevent such matters from arising,” he added.

This is not the first time flag blunders have made the headlines. 

Earlier this year, tycoon Lee Kim Yew apologised for mistakenly posting an incorrect Jalur Gemilang on his blog, while a Pahang school was found to have hung the national flag upside down, also by mistake.