Is this guy for real?

A Chan Y Leong wrote in to The New Paper with a suggestion to redesign our state flag. What planet is he from? His reasons are at best nonsensical, and I suspect he's one of those who get something so nonsensical published to get people to wonder if he's for real. Which is what I'm wondering.


"I think it is time we redesigned our national flag.
Other countries have done so, including Russia, UK and the US. [Aaron: Have they? I only recall them doing so because of the breakup of the Soviet Union, the formation of 50 states for the former, and I don't recall UK overlaying the Scottish flag with the St George's Cross recently.]

The design of our flag was good for the early days of nationhood but it should be changed to reflect our modernity. [Further change to reflect change: always a good reason.]

First, the red and white are too similar to those on the Indonesian flag. Viewed from afar without the aid of binoculars, one can be misled. [In that case, Poland and Monaco are in for a sea change too. You'd be misled if you didn't know what country you were in. This is like asking officers' shoulder-boards on the No 4 to be changed to yellow so we corporals know how to greet them. Who could be bothered?]

The half moon crescent on our flag can make others think that we are an Islamic nation when we are multicultural and multi-religious. [All the better that we are at peace with our Muslim neighbours then. But maybe we should include Buddha, a cross, and a Hindu symbol to make everyone happy. Never mind that it is just a SYMBOL that has been clearly explained. Why not we swap with Indonesia? That way they have the crescent and we don't.]

The five stars standing for various virtues are passe. [Values are transcendental and are NEVER passe. What do you want to reflect our modernity? Five cars arising out of the stormy CTE?]

Hanging the flag the proper way has sometimes been a problem, and some people have indeed done this wrongly. [Then it's a people problem, not a flag problem.]

The new design should be such that the flag still looks right whichever way one hangs it. The British, Japanese, Israeli and Vietnamese all have flags which address this. [Gee, symmetry, such a key issue! If symmetry is criteria for a state flag, USA better get scared.]"


This guy is nuts.