Dragon parade at Jonker Walk draws widespread condemnation among Muslims

Dragon parade at Jonker Walk draws widespread condemnation among Muslims

15 Feb 2024

Aaron Colt
News and political writer. Shooting through the noise, one word at a time.

Dragon Dance at Jonker Walk (Source: Facebook)


A recent video featuring a dragon parade has ignited condemnation. The 2 minute 19 seconds video showed a large dragon replica being carried by tons of people for the upcoming Chinese New Year. The video was even shared by Pasir Mas MP and PAS member, Ahmad Fadhli Shaari which further increased its virality and spread condemnation among Muslims. The reason for it to gain such condemnation? The dragon replica used in the dragon parade has the flag(s) of China attached to it.


Many questioned why the gigantic dragon replica only has the flag of China attached to it and not our beloved Jalur Gemilang. One commentator has sarcastically commented, “Welcome to the Republic of Malaysia!”. Another commented, “You can see that there is no love for Malaysia in their hearts. If you ask them to sing the national anthem (of Malaysia), they would sing the national anthem of China instead”. Some questioned whether these were Mainland Chinese who entered Malaysia but did not leave (refer to this news for more info). Others blame DAP and the current PMX's administration for their purported ‘leniency’ in allowing this to happen but is all this criticism and hatred warranted?

Comments from netizens (Source: Facebook)


According to the news, the gigantic dragon replica measured 179.2m with a head that weighed 60kg; it was an attempt to enter the Malaysia Book of Records and it successfully made it! Due to how long and heavy the dragon was, it had to be held up by more than 180 people. It was understood that the dragon parade was held in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Malaysia-China diplomatic relations and also the upcoming Chinese New Year.


As for the flag of China being attached to it? There are indeed tons of People's Republic of China flags attached to it. However, it isn't the ONLY flag attached to it - there is also our beloved Jalur Gemilang. Due to the angle of the camera used in the video, we can only see the People's Republic of China flag but there are flags of Malaysia as well - it is just that it is on the other side of the dragon.

One side of the dragon with the PRC flag during the parade (left). The other side shows Jalur Gemilang (right) (Source: Aaron Colt)


A user by the name of Norman Radzuan has also condemned the actions of Ahmad Fadhli Shaari who misled the public by sharing the following caption with the video: Beautiful dragon parade with the flag of China. ("Perarakan naga yang cantik bersama bendera Negara China"). It is worth mentioning that the original caption of Ahmad Fadhli Shaari's post was, ‘Beautiful dragon parade with the flag of China. This is the era of Madani’s government, no need to be surprised' ("Perarakan naga yang cantik bersama bendera Negara China. Ini zaman kerajaan Madani, tak perlu hairan."); we can clearly see that he seeks to blame Anwar's government for this. Mr Norman Radzuan's post which responded to him is as follows:

"Provide accurate facts rather than misleading ones…

DOES THE OPPOSITION (referring to Perikatan Nasional) WANT RACIAL DIVISION?

I don't understand why from morning till night…the leaders of the opposition (referring to Perikatan Nasional) always bring up sensitive issues…never done with their Chinese Chinese Chinese (rhetoric).

The latest from Fadhli Shaari, the info chief of PAS who raised an article titled 'Beautiful dragon parade with the flag of China'. What is his intention?

Yes, indeed, Fadhli Shaari can answer this question. What is written is a fact, but a fact that in my opinion is quite mischievous.

Why weren't the details written to describe the facts more clearly and accurately? What happens when this article is seen as if it is fueling racial tension due to public misunderstanding? We can see among the comments written on his wall...

‘Early maids to communist countries’

'What's there to tell, they already got support from being the (Chinese) puppet strings.'

‘They can be sent back to their home country.’

'Doesn't this violate the social contract, Yb?'

‘MALAYCHINESE country.. wow’

‘Because the laws are not strict enough…’


These are among the comments written by netizens who seem to feel that this country is now under threat from the Chinese people.


The question is, do they understand the real issue? Is it blind prejudice or is it worse, the Malays, haven't even realized that their racist nature is already embedded deep within their souls?


Our society is not the type of society that seeks clarification or thinks critically. This is dangerous when we write; there must be a sense of social responsibility towards the community regardless of political and ethnic understanding.


It's actually the 'Biggest Dragon Dance' in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of Malaysia-China diplomatic relations and the Visit Melaka Year 2024 (TMM2024) as well as the 34th Chinese New Year Carnival for 2024 on the main stage of Jonker Walk, Kota Laksamana, Melaka.


This replica is 588 feet long (179.2 meters) with the head section weighing 60 kilograms (kg) and is paraded by 180 individuals including students from schools in Melaka and China, and it also received recognition from the Malaysia Book of Records (MBOR).


Fadhli Shaari should think about how to help the economy of Kelantan, provide ideas for KFA Kedah, attract investments, strengthen racial unity... not just create topics that only lead to misunderstandings between ethnic groups."

The edit history of Fadhli Shaari's post (Source: Facebook)


It is great to see that there are people like Norman Radzuan who have taken to Facebook to clear the misunderstanding and preserve harmony among the various races in Malaysia.


What do you think about this issue? Was it blown out of proportion? Let me know in the comments.