The National Day is just a day away and the rehearsals are in full swing!
Yesterday (29 August), a Twitter user who happen to be at the Dataran Merdeka to catch a sneak peek of the rehearsals caught a crucial mistake and it has since gone viral online.
The video posted by the showed a military officer in ceremonial uniform raising the Malaysian flag to the top of the flag pole while the National Anthem was playing. However, it turns out that there was an error in the set up that caused the flag to fly upside down.
Bendera di pasang terbalik ketika rehearsal sambutan Hari Merdeka. pic.twitter.com/nicpBJkaM7
— Zack Rockstarᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠ (@zack_rockstar) August 29, 2022
In the video, it can also be heard that the user was asking if the flag is upside down.
The incident has caused netizens to raise concern and wonder how they could have made this mistake, as well as why they did not fix it right away after noticing the flag was in the wrong direction.
Some netizens even came up with theories that the army is sending a ‘help’ signal to the public and citing the US flag code that says an upside-down flag is a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property.
Di US, bendera terbalik adalah isyarat ‘distress’ @ ingin menunjukkan dalam situasi memerlukan pertolongan bukan mahu berperang. “Distress” boleh jadi terkait dengan keadaan ekonomi/jenayah/alam sekitar/kesihatan/keselamatan & dasar negara yg perlu perhatian segera/pertolongan. https://t.co/gLshVxeGXH
— Adzman Kamaruddin (@adzman86) August 29, 2022
Responding to the viral incident, a netizen named Mohd Shahril Abdul Ghani, who used to work in the Navy, says what other netizens claimed is not true and explained that the army officers were aware of the mistake but could not do anything until the song, Negaraku, finished playing.
Shahril added that the flag cannot be stopped halfway especially if the national anthem is being played as it is considered unethical.
He also said that as soon as the national anthem ended, the army officers will immediately fix the flag. He also believes that this incident was an honest mistake and the army has no ill intentions.
Sebab tu kena raptai sampai 5 hari. Practice makes perfect. 🙈 pic.twitter.com/QU13i5iA6D
— CIKGU TAKDE TIK TOK (@OrangGajiDokter) August 29, 2022
Meanwhile, there’s another video from a different angle that shows the officers immediately bringing the flag down to correct the mistake.
Nonetheless, let’s hope that the parade will go smooth on National Day and that there will no mistakes.
What do you think about this? Share your thoughts!
, a Twitter user who happen to be at the Dataran Merdeka to catch a sneak peek of the rehearsals caught a crucial mistake and it has since gone viral online.){kind=link}