'No fear, no surrender,' Akmal claims Bukit Aman wants his statement

Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh claimed to have been summoned by the police to provide his statement for an ongoing probe.

In a Facebook post today, Akmal said he was contacted by an investigating officer from Bukit Aman, who requested him to present himself at the Dang Wangi district police headquarters at 11pm today.

“If this is the price I must pay to defend the dignity of this nation, I am willing (to) and will fight to the very end,” he stressed.

“As for being afraid of their lot, absolutely not! No fear, no surrender!” he added without naming the targets of his remark.

While the Merlimau assemblyperson did not mention the details of the investigation involving him, several quarters previously said they would file police reports over his protest yesterday, linked to an inverted national flag blunder.

Akmal’s protest against a hardware store owner in Kepala Batas, Penang, came after the businessperson was caught on video hanging a Jalur Gemilang upside down.

After the incident went viral on social media, the store owner, Pang Chin Tian, claimed that he was measuring the length of an iron pole while hanging the national flag and did not notice that the flag was upside down.

While police had confirmed an investigation into the incident and urged all parties to be patient, Akmal had persisted in leading a group of Umno Youth members to gather in front of the implicated store, with Bersatu Youth members also joining the protest.

Threatening public order

Multiple individuals have since urged police to take action against Akmal for disobeying the police’s appeal against the gathering.

Penang DAP chairperson Steven Sim had described Akmal’s decision to proceed with the protest as a blatant defiance of police orders, a breach of the law, and a deliberate provocation that threatens public order.

The protest, which saw the participation of about 300 people, came after Akmal had earlier threatened to show up at the store and “educate” Pang if authorities did not file charges against him by Wednesday.

Earlier today, DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke said he has instructed DAP Youth representatives nationwide to lodge police reports against Akmal.

Loke stressed that Akmal’s choice to resort to “intimidation and bullying” has not helped resolve tensions over the flag blunder.

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