Anwar backs police action over Israeli flag, Hebrew sticker incidents

Anwar backs police action over Israeli flag, Hebrew sticker incidents

Malaysiakini Team
Published: Oct 14, 2025 11:23 AM
Updated: 2:24 PM


Summary

• PM Anwar Ibrahim says the acts of flying the Israeli flag and displaying a Hebrew sticker on the car are both wrong.

• Anwar affirms authorities will take appropriate action against those involved.

PARLIAMENT | The potentially misguided intentions behind acts of displaying the Israeli flag and Hebrew stickers here should not excuse the involved parties from facing repercussions, said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Addressing the Dewan Rakyat today, Anwar (Harapan-Tambun) affirmed that authorities will be taking appropriate action against those involved in the separate incidents which recently drew widespread condemnation.

“Regardless of the aim (behind such acts), they are wrong. I agree that the police should take the necessary action.

“Just as when we were colonised, those who raised the Union Jack flag were considered traitors - similarly, when it comes to the flag issue now, regardless of the excuses given, I agree that action should be taken so it serves as a lesson to prevent a repeat incident,” he added.

The prime minister said this during the Minister’s Question Time following a query from Shahar Abdullah (BN-Paya Besar), who questioned whether authorities practised “double standards” in cracking down on such cases.

“In the case where a car displayed a Hebrew sticker, police took strict action. If there is a programme where the Israeli flag is flown, what action will be taken?

“As someone who understands the suffering in Gaza, I don’t think the goal justifies the method,” the Umno MP said.

In response, Anwar highlighted that such displays go against national policies as a whole, asserting that there is “no nation in the world” that would stand by such acts.

Backlash over incidents

Previously, the organiser behind a pro-Palestine solidarity rally in Kelantan on Oct 10 apologised for having Israeli flags flown at the event, insisting that the flags were displayed as part of a “gimmick” to re-enact intimidation faced by Global Sumud Flotilla volunteers.

DAP lawmaker RSN Rayer (Harapan-Jelutong) had earlier questioned the opposition’s silence over the presence of the flags at the event, claiming that opposition figures would have much to say if the event had happened in Penang.

His remarks hinted at an incident from August when Umno and Bersatu Youth joined forces to protest against a shopkeeper who had mistakenly hung an upside-down Jalur Gemilang in Penang.

Kelantan police chief Yusoff Mamat has since confirmed that the matter will be investigated under Section 3(1) of the National Emblems (Control of Display) Act 1949.

Kelantan police chief Yusoff Mamat

In a separate incident, a retired civil servant’s vehicle made the rounds on social media for displaying a sticker with Hebrew writing, which he claimed to have ordered from a shop in Selangor about 13 years ago.

Malacca police chief Dzulkhairi Mukhtar reportedly said the 59-year-old man came across the Hebrew phrase “Israel Betainu”, which means “Israel is our home”, before modifying it by replacing “Israel” with “Malaysia” when creating the sticker.

Dzulkhairi added that investigations indicated the individual had used Hebrew out of interest in foreign scripts, including Greek and Russian.

A probe into the matter is understood to be ongoing, with police seeking the input of language experts.