Kota Shah Alam state assemblyman M Manoharan was chided by Umno information chief Ahmad Maslan for his refusal to fly the Malaysian flag because it "looks more Barisan Nasional than Malaysian."

Ahmad said that Manoharan's statement that he would change the design of the flag if he were in power proved that the DAP member was not patriotic and not proud of his country.

Manoharan had posted in his facebook: "I distributed many DAP flags today in my constituency. I refused to fly the Malaysian flag because it looks more BN than Malaysian".

He has since apologised for his comment on the national flag, and said that he is a "very patriotic" Malaysian.

Ahmad said: "For me this is an unpatriotic act. We also want to know what is the opposition leadership's view on this. Such a statement must be condemned," he told reporters in Seremban.

He added that Manoharan's remark that the Malaysian flag resembled the American flag was unwarranted as the colours differed greatly.

"Besides, there are many countries with flags that look like the flags of other nations," he said.

- Bernama