Teacher Faces Disciplinary Action Over Merdeka Poster With Chinese Military Imagery

A poster for a scrapbooking competition, intended to celebrate the nation’s independence, inadvertently featured propaganda images of the Chinese military, igniting widespread criticism and prompting calls for a transparent investigation.

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As Malaysia gears up for its National Day celebrations, a high school in Penang has unintentionally stirred controversy by using Chinese military images on a scrapbooking competition poster.

The poster, which quickly went viral on social media, has sparked outrage among patriotic Malaysians and prompted demands for accountability.

The incident has drawn the attention of Penang’s Director of Education, Datuk Abdul Said Hussain, who apologized on behalf of the school and confirmed an internal investigation is underway.

The teacher responsible for the mishap has already apologised, and the original poster has been replaced with a corrected version.

Meanwhile, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek has labelled the teacher’s mistake as “serious,” leading to disciplinary action by the Ministry’s Integrity Unit.

“This is the strictest action the Ministry of Education can take,” she commented during a press conference.

JPN siasat guru guna gambar tak patut dalam poster Bulan Kebangsaan. https://t.co/NWqk92fpJy

Cikgu tu dah cakap dia tak SENGAJA gunakan gambar tentera Negara CHINA dalam poster Bulan Kemerdekaan Negara MALAYSIA.

Maafkan ajer sebab MY dah jadi cacamarba sejak madanon jadi PM
— MohamadHAlias (@Alamurni) August 19, 2024

Calls for Accountability and Caution in the Wake of Poster Controversy

Tan Yang Pang, Vice Chief of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) Youth, emphasized the need for a thorough and transparent investigation into the incident.

“Such oversights should not occur, especially during national celebrations,” he stated. “If authorities can take action against those who improperly display the national flag, similar measures should be applied here.”

Tan urged all parties to exercise greater caution in their actions, using this incident as a learning opportunity to prevent future occurrences.

At the same time, some public members expressed disbelief over how teachers could not distinguish between the Malaysian army and foreign military imagery.

Others suggested that the mistake may have stemmed from reliance on AI or Google Image searches, highlighting the need to verify online resources carefully.

TAK BETUL..GAMBAR ASKAR TU DI COPY DR CARIAN GOOGLE, BUKAN BUAT DARI AI pic.twitter.com/bezz39F5b9
— CikguPencenALLCAPS 🇲🇾🇹🇷 (@malaysia_baharu) August 18, 2024