So this idea has been floating around for a few years now that our Jalur Gemilang is derived from the flag of Majapahit. I'd love to believe it, but I have yet to see good evidence for it. I'll explain https://twitter.com/arifnsrdn/status/1199327451681316866?s=19

It's been said that the simple red and white Indonesian flag is based on the striped banner of Majapahit. Yet nobody seems to agree on what the colours symbolise, and I've heard a few interpretations even in Indonesia

The colours of the Malaysian flag are easy to explain. Red, white and blue are associated with the commonwealth. It's no coincidence that these are the same colours as the UK, US, Australia, and New Zealand

The Jalur Gemilang isn't unique in this. The flag of Thailand uses the same colours, allegedly as a show of solidarity with the Allies during WWI. Just as in Malaysia, some Thai nationalists dispute this, preferring a more indigenous origin

The striped design of the Malaysian flag isn't from Majapahit either, but from the flag of the East India Company. It's pretty much the same design but replacing the cross or union jack with a star and crescent in canton

The star and crescent is an ancient symbol from the Near East and Byzantium. It was later associated with the Ottoman caliphate and came to represent Islam by extension

The star and crescent were already present in the flag of Johor. Contrary to what many youngsters have been lead to believe, this wasn't due to a close relationship between Johor and the Ottoman empire. To the people of Johor, it just symbolised Islam

The Malayan flag was designed by Mohamed Hamzah, which became the basis for the current Malaysian flag. As you can see here, there were three proposed designs at the time, and the current flag is adapted from one of those three

Now I'm sure it's romantic to believe that the Jalur Gemilang has its origins in medieval times but I'm sorry to break it to you, it has more to do with the colonists than Majapahit. If anyone has primary sources that can prove me wrong, I'd genuinely love to know

The one undeniably indigenous aspect of the Malaysian flag is the yellow colour, symbolising royalty in Southeast Asia. In this context of course it represents the sovereignty of the monarchs

Regarding the current controversy, I think many don't realise that this tilted star flag is not some evil Communist alteration, but was a legitimate proposal for the flag of Malaya

Still I don't understand how this mistake was possible. Surely even some ignoramus would have an easier time googling the current Malaysian flag than digging up some old one https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2019/11/26/cops-call-in-maba-chief-over-flag-incident