KOTA KINABALU: The actions of a group of Malaysians believed to be from Sabah and Sarawak who insulted the Jalur Gemilang overseas risk tarnishing the reputation of Malaysians studying and working there.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Sabah and Sarawak) Datuk Mustapha Sakmud said disrespecting the national symbol of sovereignty did not reflect the civilised and courteous culture of Sabahans and Sarawakians.
Referring to the actions of a group calling itself Sabah Sarawak Keluar Malaysia (SSKM) Australia, he said freedom of speech did not mean people could act without facing consequences.
"The Madani government guarantees freedom of speech. However, freedom does not mean a person is exempt from the implications of their actions," he said in a statement today.
He was commenting on the group's media statement and its display of the Jalur Gemilang upside down during a demonstration held yesterday in conjunction with United Nations (UN) Day.
The group claimed the event outside the Victorian Parliament House in Melbourne was significant in pressing for greater international attention to historical issues, the rights of the people, and the political future of Sabah and Sarawak.
Mustapha also encouraged the public to lodge official complaints with the police over the group's actions so that social media content showing the national flag upside down could be investigated under the relevant laws.
He said the situation today was different from more than 20 years ago, when efforts to push for the implementation of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) were considered a sensitive issue.
"More than 20 years ago, the MA63 struggle was considered sensitive, with some people detained by the authorities and facing legal action. Today, the rights of Sabah and Sarawak can be discussed openly and have even become a key agenda of the Madani government," he said.
He said that in nearly four years of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's administration, 12 matters under MA63 had been resolved, while Sabah's interim special grant had increased from RM26.7 million to RM1.5 billion a year.
He said negotiations over Sabah's claim to 40 per cent of the net revenue collected by the federal government from the state were also ongoing.
"The people can judge for themselves the results achieved through negotiations and action compared with provocations such as these," he said.
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