PETALING JAYA: The Terengganu Umno Youth received brickbats online after posting an image of the Jalur Gemilang with only 12 stripes.
This came in the wake of their recent criticism of others for making similar mistakes.
The division had uploaded a social media post condemning the recent upside-down flag incident in Penang, as well as the death of bullying victim Zara Qairina.
The post described the acts as "cruel, rude and heartless" and called for the harshest punishment for those responsible.
However, sharp-eyed social media users quickly noticed that the Jalur Gemilang image in the post had only 12 red-and-white stripes instead of 14.
Netizens were quick to point out the irony, with many posting sarcastic comments and sharing screenshots before the group replaced the image with the correct version.
One user wrote: "YB Akmal Saleh, can you go to the designer’s house and teach them how to draw the Malaysian flag?"
Another commented: "We Malaysians are also very disappointed and angered by this careless act of using the wrong Jalur Gemilang. Don’t delete the post, okay? Screenshots have been taken!"
One user even compared the "before and after" versions of the post, while another remarked: "Did your boss not hold a class on how to draw the flag before posting? Don’t turn your leader, YB Dr Akmal Saleh, into an embarrassment, aiyo. ‘Don’t act first, then apologise’ — so it actually means, ‘No need to apologise, just quietly fix it’. Now I get it."
The division later replaced the image with a corrected version.
In a later Facebook video, Akmal called on the authorities to investigate and prosecute the Terengganu Umno Youth member who produced a poster showing the Jalur Gemilang with the wrong number of stripes.
"There are two stripes missing, and I have confirmed the mistake came from the person who designed the poster. We take responsibility," he said.
Akmal stressed that he would not excuse the error, despite it coming from within his own ranks.
On Aug 9, a 59-year-old hardware shop owner in Kepala Batas, Penang, was investigated after the national flag was found hanging upside-down outside his shop.
The shop owner stated that it was an unintentional mistake made while measuring a flagpole, which he corrected shortly after.
Umno Youth chief Datuk Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh had announced plans to stage a protest at the shop, but the gathering did not take place after police were stationed in the area and advised against it.
Akmal has been vocal against improper displays of the Jalur Gemilang and said he wanted to visit the shop owner to "teach" him how to display it properly.
