Muhyiddin condemns involvement of Samad Said in flag-waving incident

He said Samad should not have waved that flag on the eve of the 56th anniversary of independence celebration as it was inappropriate for a national laureate to have done so.

"Malaysia has its own flag, the Jalur Gemilang as we call it. It has been well accepted by Malaysians, and people everywhere identify us by the Jalur Gemilang.

"I feel it was something that should not have been done; it was an embarrassing thing to do, what more by a national laureate," he said at a dialogue with almost 2,500 students of Universiti Malaya in conjunction with the orientation week, here.

Also present at the event were the director-general of higher education, Datuk Prof Murshidi Sirat; Universiti Malaya vice-chancellor Tan Sri Dr Ghauth Jasmon and deputy vice-chancellor (student affairs) Prof Datuk Dr Rohana Yusof.

Muhyiddin, who is also the education minister, said the incident should not have happened even if there was resentment against the government.

He urged to people of the younger generation to respect the Jalur Gemilang and appreciate the implied meaning behind the national flag.

"The Malaysian flag is our soul. When it is hoisted, we stand at attention. It is the symbol of our nation's sovereignty," he said.

It was reported that Samad was reading out a poem close to the flag at Dataran Merdeka. The flag was reportedly seized by a man later.

Samad was arrested by the police at his house here early on Wednesday to help in the investigation into the incident.

Last Monday, political activist Hishamuddin Rais and student activist Adam Adli Abdul Halim were arrested to help in the probe into the same incident.

A video recording of the incident had been uploaded onto the social media.

Muhyiddin, who is a graduate of Universiti Malaya, shared the experience of his involvement in politics, which was a topic of numerous questions from the undergraduates at the event.

Saying that leadership could be nurtured while in school and university, Muhyiddin advised the undergraduates against being overzealous in championing their own cause rather than helping the community.

He said he became involved in politics after completing his studies and when he was working, and was encouraged by Johor Umno leaders.

He entered politics to champion the weak and needy as well as to fight injustice, he said.

Muhyiddin advised the youngsters interested in politics to be prepared to wait and progress one step at a time.

"I have had my ups and downs, and I regarded those as a challenge and learned from them," he said.

The deputy prime minister said sincerity and objectives could determine the success of a politician.

Earlier, in his speech, Muhyiddin said the government was committed in its efforts to maintain unity among the people and was prepared to consider allocations for institutions of higher learning if they wanted to increase unity-oriented activities.

He also said that at the last Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the territorial army programme should be encouraged in institutions of higher learning as it could instil discipline, values and patriotism.