It’s not a crime to remove illegal flags

Four people were arrested recently in Taman Tun Dr Ismail Kuala Lumpur for taking down BN flags - one of which was featured in a famous viral video. The incident in that video took place very near to where I live.

There are times when it is just to disobey unjust laws. I very much doubt, however, that these four individuals actually even broke any law.

Let us start by scrutinising the section of the Penal Code under which these individuals were arrested, Section 427, which reads:

“Committing mischief and thereby causing damage to the amount of twenty-five ringgit.

427. Whoever commits mischief and thereby causes loss or damage to the amount of twenty-five ringgit or upwards, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years or with fine or with both.”

Mischief and damage? I do believe that putting up flags before nomination day is illegal. Wouldn’t that make these flags the equivalent of rubbish left lying around?

How can it be illegal for residents to remove trash in their own neighbourhood?

If someone threw out an old appliance costing more than RM25 and someone else removed it from the street, should they be arrested under Section 427 as well?

I think it also goes without saying that you won’t find the police arresting individuals taking down opposition flags.

This entire farce begs the question - how important are these flags anyway?

If you’ll allow me a smidgen of arrogance, you could cover Segambut (the parliamentary constituency in which TTDI is located) from head to toe in BN flags and it will not affect the outcome of the election on May 9.

Being so heavy-handed as to arrest citizens who are removing what is technically litter before the campaign period, however, will only reflect badly on BN - in both Segambut and beyond.

The same goes for the Federal Territories Umno Youth leader Razlan Rafii who said that they “cannot guarantee the safety” (could there be a more cowardly, hypocritical euphemism?) of those who tear their flags down - not as if we needed more proof that Umno is a party of thugs.

Which is the greater offence? Removing litter or threatening the physical safety of others? Why would we need to rely on Umno Youth to guarantee the safety of anyone, unless it is they themselves who would incite violence?

Pieces of cloth

As frustration simmers about the entire episode, I suppose we should remind ourselves not to fall into the same mud many of the individuals involved here find themselves in.

Almost every day I have driven by the same flags that were taken down and have myself entertained thoughts of cutting down these rather ugly symbols that were spoiling the beautiful neighbourhood.

That said, while I defend the rights of the gentleman in the video in taking down those exact flags I have driven by, I cannot say I believe his actions on camera were in good taste.

There was no need to be rude to the individuals filming him and I believe that actions steeped too much in anger will not ultimately benefit the nation as a whole.

The same goes for Razlan. We can gauge from his response that he seems to have taken these actions very personally as if someone had gone up to him and spat in his face or desecrated something so very sacred to him.

Let us not forget that ultimately these are pieces of cloth. We can debate about whether it’s right to tear them down or not, but really, it is not worth tearing one another apart over.

Avoiding the politics of hate

This entire phenomenon is perhaps a good microcosm of the state of politics today.

In our “first-past-the-post” Westminster system, you increase your chances of winning equally by trying to get more votes as you do by trying to reduce the votes of your opponent.

This incentivises us to rely on generating hate and resentment towards our political opponents and when people identify too closely with their political beliefs, this translates into generating hate and resentment towards one another as individuals.

This is no way to grow the nation as a whole. We should certainly be exploring alternative political models - models that do not incentivise us to pull everyone else down in our mad struggle to rise to the top.

In the meantime, let’s remember that flags are just flags and that for the most part (in Taman Tun Dr Ismail for sure), they definitely don’t win or lose elections.

It would also be good if everyone could play by the same rules, especially the police. They of all people should take into primary consideration the letter of the law regarding the legality of these flags.

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NATHANIEL TAN stands with his neighbours. He begs to differ with TTDI being “known for its upmarket gastronomical offerings” as he feels its low to mid-market offerings are just as well-known and delicious. He invites the upmarket hunters to try Bangsar or something else instead. - Mkini