GEORGE TOWN, July 2 — Penang Mufti Datuk Seri Wan Salim Wan Mohd Noor today apologised for his remark yesterday about the white flag initiative that was started as a community effort to help impoverished Malaysians struggling to feed themselves amid an extended lockdown due to Covid-19.

He explained that his previous disagreement with the white flag campaign was due to his worry that flying the white flag could affect the faith of Muslims.

"This can happen if the action is based on the motive of giving up on the grace of Allah SWT and failing to be patient in the face of hardships by Him,” he said in a statement today.

He apologised to everyone who was confused with his statement yesterday on this issue.

Yesterday, Wan Salim voiced his disagreement with people flying the white flag as a sign to ask for assistance and said it was inappropriate.

However, today, he said it is not his intention to stop people from flying the white flag if this method is an effective way to alert the authorities and the public on their need for assistance.

"The statement yesterday was to correct the wrong perception of some people, especially those affected by the lockdown, that the authorities had shirked their social responsibilities,” he said.

He stressed that those who needed assistance were being offered help by both the federal and state governments including agencies such as the zakat management in each state and the social welfare department.

"In my statement yesterday, I have also urged the authorities and government agencies to take more aggressive action in their efforts to reach out to those whose income was affected,” he said.

He added that he had also called on government-linked corporations and private companies to also chip in to help those in need during this period.