Kepong MP decries Home inister denying double standard in the handcuffing of 2 Sin Chew editors
'My disappointment at this evasive response cannot be expressed in words,' he reacted to the parliamentary reply by Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail on Thursday (Aug 7) to his alleged double standards in the investigations process.
'Isn't this tantamount to being brave against the weak but afraid of the strong'? Has the principle of justice and human rights – that all human beings are equal before the law – simply disappears when the issue at hand involved race?'
This came about as the perpetrators in two other 'flag blunder' cases that coincidentally occurred within a month period – that involving a PAS politician and the Education Ministry (MOE) – were not treated in similar manner.
In stating that both Sin Chew Daily editors were probed under Section 3(1)(c) of the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act 1963; Section 4(1)(b) of the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984; and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, Saifuddin had noted:
'The police carry out their duties professionally, independently without any political interference, at all times.'
Recall that cops went ahead to detain both editors despite industry veteran in the likes of Datuk A. Kadir Jasin having urged to accept in good faith Sin Chew Daily's prompt apology on grounds that the mainstream Chinese media complied with journalistic ethics – and that the blunder was nothing more than an honest mistake.
As if misfortunes have to come in pairs (Polish proverb), the MOE found itself having to apologise for a blunder in the design of the Jalur Gemilang printed in its Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia results analysis report barely a week later.
In May, PAS secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan acknowledged the incident involving the logo for the Himpunan Teguh Memimpin Terengganu (TMT 1.0) 2025 which depicted an incomplete national flag with incorrect star points and stripes. – Aug 9, 2025
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