Claiming It’s a Political Propaganda, Kedah Gov Won’t Aid Those Who Raise #BenderaPutih

By Ammar Haziq  •  02 Jul 2021 in News

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The Kedah state government said it will not send aid to anyone who raises a white flag at their homes and cites the initiative as a political propaganda tool despite it allegedly being a rakyat-led initiative.

Kedah Mentri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor says only those who submit a request for help by phone to the official channel, the Disaster Control Operation Centre (PKOB), will be given food aid throughout the current MCO, Utusan Malaysia reported.

“We have distributed PKOB numbers for all districts and the numbers for the people’s representative service centre for the public to call for food aid.

“You do not need to use the white flag to ask PKOB for help when you can use social media platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook,” he was quoted saying in the report.

Sanusi claims that the use of the white flag is merely political propaganda to further create the notion that the government has failed the people.

“I’ve said this repeatedly that this is political propaganda to give the perception that this government has failed when in fact it is doing well in tackling the Covid-19 pandemic,” he added.

Meanwhile, in Pahang, 13 families who had joined in the white flag movement said they were threatened and forced to take down the flags.

It was initially reported that the police had allegedly threatened to fine them RM50,000. Pahang police have since denied that and stated that the individual had to remove the flag as they hung it on an electrical pole.

The #BenderaPutih initiative, which started a few days ago, aims to support those who are severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and nationwide lockdown by making them identifiable to fellow community members who can help.