JOHOR BARU: Police have recorded statements from three witnesses believed to be involved in organising a religious event in which a group of people waved the flag of a foreign country.
Johor police chief Datuk M. Kumar said the police have also contacted the event organisers, who are currently in Bangkok, Thailand, to assist with the investigation.
"We have recorded statements from three witnesses to assist with the investigation, and I will provide further comments only after we speak with the organiser of the event," he said when met at the Deepavali open house at the Johor police headquarters today.
Commenting further, he said an investigation was opened after receiving a police report following viral images and videos of the incident last Monday.
He said initial investigations revealed the event took place at a shopping mall in Taman Sentosa here on Oct 20.
"The flag was waved inside the shopping mall, not during a street procession. The event did not require a police permit, but it had received approval from the local authority. Police were also present at the time to monitor the event."
When asked about the motive for waving the foreign flag at the event, Kumar said it is still under investigation.
"It is also possible that those involved in waving the flag have returned to their home country. As of now, the investigation is ongoing.
"After we complete recording statements of all witnesses, we will refer the investigation paper to the state Deputy Public Prosecutor's office for further advice and instructions."
He said the case is being investigated under Section 3(1) of the National Emblems Act 1949, Section 505(b) of the Penal Code, and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
Meanwhile, at the open house, 1,500 people from various segments of society attended the event.
Present were Tunku Panglima Johor Tunku Abdul Rahman Sultan Ibrahim, Tunku Putera Johor, Tunku Abu Bakar Sultan Ibrahim and state secretary Tan Sri Dr Azmi Rohani.
Kumar said a total of 1,534 police officers and personnel were assigned and mobilised to ensure traffic safety during the four-day Deepavali holiday.
"We will double our monitoring in areas with many people returning to their hometowns, as there have been 76 applications submitted through the Volunteer Smartphone Patrol (VSP) app,"