Exile: Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah and Sarawak Affairs) Mustapha Sakmud should have seen this coming.

After months of politicians turning the Jalur Gemilang into a test of patriotism and national loyalty, it was only a matter of time before disaffected citizens began using the same flag to express their disagreement with government policies.

Since the 1960s, protesters, particularly students, have used national flags as symbols of dissent. An inverted flag may be interpreted as disrespect, but it can also be a deliberate expression of political protest rather than rejection of the nation itself.

Politicians cannot elevate the flag into an instrument for measuring loyalty and then express surprise when citizens appropriate that symbolism to challenge political authority.