Hard at work: A worker putting the final touches to the Jalur Gemilang to meet increased orders.
JOHOR BARU: Demand for the Jalur Gemilang has seen a drastic rise this year, with the Malaysia Games (Sukma) and the installation of His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, happening in the same year.
Annie Chia, managing director of a flag manufacturing factory here, said sales of the Jalur Gemilang and state flags have seen an upward trend for at least the past three months.
“In the past, people would start buying the Jalur Gemilang when National Day drew closer, but that is not the case this year.
“This year, customers started ordering the national flag in May as they wanted to have them ready by the installation day of Sultan Ibrahim as the 17th King of Malaysia in July.
“On top of that, we also had customers from across the country, including Sabah and Sarawak, ordering flags for Sukma, which is being held in Kuching, Sarawak, starting today (yesterday),” she said, adding that they are also receiving orders for the National Day Parade.
She said the factory has delivered over 100,000 pieces of the Jalur Gemilang across the country so far and is still receiving orders.
Chia, who is also the president of the Johor Stationers and Booksellers Association, said there has also been an increased demand for the flags of all states.
“We also saw a sharp increase in order for the Johor flag, especially before the installation of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong,” she said.
She said the factory has distributed over 10,000 national and state flags of various sizes for the Sukma event alone.
“It has been a busy year for us, especially with big events happening just a couple of months apart.
“On top of that, people now have regained full confidence to go all out in putting up flags and celebrating National Day as Covid-19 is now seen as a thing of the past.
“Sales of flags, particularly the Jalur Gemilang, have slowly been recovering since 2022, but I believe this year, they have finally returned to pre-pandemic levels,” she said, adding that sales have gone up by at least 30% this year compared with last year.
