KEPONG MP Lim Lip Eng has called on Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Mohd Khalid Ismail to explain alleged double standards in police investigations involving mistakes in the display of the Jalur Gemilang.
Lim said the police response appeared markedly different in cases involving members of the public, a political party and a government agency, despite similarities in the errors.
“The mistakes were almost identical, yet the police response was vastly different. Does police action depend on who is involved?” Lim said in a statement today.
He said that if an incorrect display of the Jalur Gemilang was genuinely unintentional, immediately corrected and followed by an apology, no one should be arrested.
“My position is clear. If a mistake involving the display of the Jalur Gemilang was genuinely unintentional, immediately corrected and followed by an apology, no one should be arrested,” he said.
Lim contrasted the treatment in the Kulai case, where he said two members of the public were detained and remanded for four days and subjected to urine tests, with the response to the latest incident involving Perak MCA.
“In the Perak MCA case, those involved merely had their statements recorded without being detained,” he said.
He also cited an incident involving the Kuala Terengganu City Council, which displayed a Jalur Gemilang without the crescent and star.
Lim said the explanation that the display was due to a “technical error” was accepted and no arrests were reported.
“The Inspector-General of Police must immediately explain this double standard. If he fails to provide a reasonable answer or continues to remain silent, as in the Kulai case, he must resign or be dismissed immediately,” he said.
Lim accused the police of taking a tougher approach against ordinary members of the public while being more lenient when government agencies or political figures were involved.
“The police cannot act harshly against ordinary people while going easy on ‘VIPs’ and government agencies. That is not justice. That is favouritism,” he said.
His remarks came a day after Perak MCA took full responsibility for the incorrect display of the Jalur Gemilang and the Perak flag at its state headquarters in Ipoh.
Perak MCA state liaison committee chairman Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon said the party took the incident seriously and apologised to Sultan of Perak Sultan Nazrin Shah as well as Malaysians.
He said the mistake was unintentional and was corrected immediately after it was discovered.
Mah also said police officers had visited the headquarters to investigate and record statements from the staff member involved and an administrative officer.
The staff member subsequently resigned with immediate effect.
This keeps the story firmly framed as an accountability story rather than allowing the Perak MCA incident itself to become the main focus. - August 29, 2026
