Sergeant Major Osman Awang Ahmad, who is the Officer in-Charge of Station at the Pertang Police Station in Simpang Pertang, Jelebu, created a giant Merdeka-themed wau bulan and placed it outside his station.

“We only get to celebrate Merdeka once a year. So, I don’t think it’s wrong to show our national pride in this way. I think it’s noble."

“The wau is a national symbol, and it can soar high through the skies. So, that’s why I thought of making a wau out of the Jalur Gemilang — to lift the spirits of all Malaysians higher,” the 57-year-old said as reported by Malay Mail.

Team spirit

Osman explained that with the help of his seven officers, he got it done in a little over a week.

The team put it up for display at the Pertang station last week.

“It took us around 10 days to complete it. We gathered the bamboo and made the frame for the kite in about five days.

"Then it took us another five days to stitch the 13 Jalur Gemilang flags on it,” he said.

Despite their good intention, voices of criticism were raised as people deemed that it was improper to use the Jalur Gemilang to create a wau.

Not meant to upset

However, Osman said that it was never his intention to upset anyone, as he was merely looking for a new way to make everyone happy as we prepare to celebrate Merdeka this year during a global pandemic.

“We have seen some of the negative comments online, but we choose to take it as something like constructive criticism."

“People make shirts and songkok’s even with the Jalur Gemilang on it, to show their national pride. That’s why we made the wau. Our only intention is to show everyone how proud we are of our country,” he added.

Understanding concerns about the usage of the Jalur Gemilang, the team later corrected some mistakes pointed out by social media users on how the flag should be hung.