PKR Youth has distanced itself from one of its officers who designed the Sang Saka Malaya , a flag which has drawn brickbats from the authorities and Umno-linked media organisations.

PKR Youth chief Shamsul Iskandar Md Akin said the Sang Saka Malaya , designed by his deputy information chief Najwan Halimi, was merely a fictional creation.

"I believe his creation was just his personal opinion and manifestation as a youth who is looking at matters from a historical perspective.

timbalan ketua penerangan amk najwan halimi "I believe the red and white motif was basis of his creation. But Utusan Malaysia is trying to link it to PKR Youth," he said when contacted.

He stressed that the flag was designed in 2007, even before Najwan ( left ) became an office bearer in PKR Youth.

"He may not be our deputy information chief, but what he did in 2007 should not be a problem and should not be linked to us," he told a press conference today.

The Sang Saka Malaya was reproduced by two participants of Janji Demokrasi, attracting the attention of the Malay press and the authorities.

Umno has the same design

In a front page report today, Utusan Malaysia highlighted a tweet by Najwan which read: " Sang Saka Malaya akhirnya dikibarkan oleh anak-anak muda! (Sang Saka Malaya is finally flown by the youths!)".

According to Najwan's blog, he had came up with the design in 2007 and blogged about it again on August 30, 2009.

NONE He argued that the present Malaysia flag - the Jalur Gemilang - was adapted from United State's national flag.

However, his creation was based on the Sang Saka , a motif that is present in the national flags of Singapore and Indonesia, as well as Umno's logo, known as the Sang Saka Bangsa .

Shamsul also dismissed allegations by pro-BN bloggers that Najwan was being influenced by neighbouring countries, arguing that Umno's flag had a similar design.

He added that PKR had no intention of changing the Malaysian flag but said there was "no problem" with the Sang Saka Malaya .

"We can't stop the youths from expressing themselves based on history," he said, while urging the press to look at the controversy through a historical perspective.

Shamsul argued that the red and white elements in Sang Saka Malaya were based on suggestions by All-Malaya Council of Joint Action (Putera-AMCJA).

Thus, he said detractors should not exaggerate and claim that the issue was capable of threatening national security.

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