Chinese flag waving: Malaysians of different ethnicities blame politicians for racial provocation

Iman Muttaqin Yusof and Ili Shazwani Ihsan
2024.10.31
Kuala Lumpur
Chinese flag waving: Malaysians of different ethnicities blame politicians for racial provocation International participants are shown at a Guan Gong event in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, where Chinese participants waved their country’s flag on Oct. 20, 2024, according to Kerk Chee Yee, deputy speaker for Melaka.
[Via Facebook@Kerk Chee Yee]

Political analysts and many Malaysians of different ethnicities blamed politicians for inciting racial tensions after images posted on social media of two separate recent events showed groups of people waving Chinese flags.

They said that nativist politicians and their parties had wound up a section of the country’s ethnic-Malay majority by using these pictures to question Chinese-Malaysians’ allegiance to the nation.

For years, increased political fragmentation in multi-racial and multi-religious Malaysia has upped the ante – and the desperation – to win or stay in power.

And Malaysians have become more wary of the threat to their country’s sovereignty from China after news emerged lately that Beijing had questioned Kuala Lumpur’s activities in its own exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea, via a diplomatic note sent earlier this year.

This situation is a powder keg and perhaps all communities should be deliberately conscious that they don’t create controversy, said Hassan Ihsan, 63, a Malay retiree from Selangor state. About 70% of Malaysia’s population is Malay, with ethnic Chinese making up around 23% and ethnic Indians 7%.

“Right now, with so many heated issues involving China, flying China’s flag in public isn’t the best idea. People are on edge, and such displays can easily be misinterpreted,” Hassan told Benar News.

“[E]vent organizers here need to be aware of these sensitivities and set clear guidelines from the start. … Politicians, especially the opposition, often amplify these issues for their own ends.”

MY-CH-Chinese-SHIP.PNG
Chinese naval training ship Qi Jiguang and amphibious dock landing ship Jinggangshan are seen at the Penang Port in Malaysia on Oct. 5, 2024. [China Military]

The opposition Perikatan Nasional coalition took full advantage of the diplomatic note affair, said Azmi Hassan, a senior fellow at the Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research. 

“When China filed a diplomatic protest against Malaysia’s oil exploration activities in the South China Sea, Perikatan Nasional framed it as an attempt by Beijing to dominate us. This fuels the public’s distrust of Chinese influence,” Azmi told BenarNews.

“The anxiety is not just about China’s behavior internationally – it’s about how these narratives are used in Malaysian politics to deepen ethnic divides.”

Perikatan comprises the Malay-nationalist Bersatu party and PAS, an Islamic party that won the most seats in the 2022 general election, and whose leader was “one of the key amplifiers of divisive, racist, intolerant and hate-based narratives” during the election, according to a journalism NGO

That’s why a section of Malaysians were easily aggravated earlier this month, when pictures on social media showed students in a Penang school waving Chinese flags with a rumor on social media saying they were Malaysian, analysts said.

MY-CH-2.PNG
Thai participants at a Guan Gong event in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, Oct. 20, 2024, wave their country’s flag, in a photograph on the Facebook page of Kerk Chee Yee, deputy speaker for Melaka. [Via Facebook@Kerk Chee Yee]

The Malaysian communications minister said that international students from China attending the private school had waved the flags when Chinese Navy sailors visited, but first impressions have stayed, it appears, based on some social media comments.

Chinese flags were seen being waved again in a video posted of an Oct. 24 event called the World Guan Gong Cultural Festival, in Teluk Intan, a district in Perak state. 

The backlash online was swift, with critics interpreting the flags as a sign of “China’s encroachment in Malaysia.” Hundreds of Malaysians gathered in the district soon after, waving Malaysian flags and singing patriotic songs in a counter-display. 

Again, the Chinese flags had been waved “by a delegation from China (not Malaysian residents),” said Soon Boon Hua, the chairman of the Guan Gong Cultural Association that organized the event.

Still, as of last Saturday, 16 reports had been filed with the Perak police, who were investigating whether the event had a permit and if it violated the National Emblem Act 1949, for the offense of displaying the national emblem of a foreign country in a public place, local media reported.

Razman Zakaria, the Perak state chief of PAS, directed racially charged comments toward Chinese Malaysians. 

“Are those waving the China flag Chinese citizens, or are they citizens of Malaysia?” he questioned in a statement on Friday posted on a PAS website.

“It’s extreme and disloyal behavior when done openly in a public space in front of a multiracial crowd,” he added.

One 43-year-old Chinese-Malaysian, Chong Keat, sounded tired of such issues repeatedly cropping up, and explained the Chinese flag waving reactions from various angles.

“If it’s Malaysians flying China’s flag, I wouldn’t agree, as we should stand firm with our own country. When I travel to China, I wouldn’t wave their flag because it’s not my national flag. But if it’s the Chinese nationals themselves, then it’s their right,” Chong, a resident of Perlis, told BenarNews.

“Malaysians need to take it easy and not react too quickly. … Most of these issues are driven by politicians stirring the pot. As a Malaysian Chinese, I don’t feel any connection to China because I was born here.”

It is possible that older Chinese Malaysians feel differently, Chong said, adding he wasn’t sure this was true.

“Perhaps the older generation, who came from China, might still have some attachment, but those of us born here don’t. This is our country,” said Chong.

“Don’t link us to China. We are Malaysians.”

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