1931: Burning of the Flags

But the anti -boria campaign led to a new way of thinking about the self, where one belongs and who are the 'others'. A new ethno-religious nationalist discourse was beginning to fuel the imagination of residents in colonial port city.

The early twentieth century also began to witness the emergence of various associations, such as the Young Muslim Union (1911), the
Penang Malay Association (1927) and the Seberang Perai Malay Association (1930),
which offered alternatives to the Malays in term of organizations. The issues no longer
concerned mukim rivalry; instead, the fòcus was on economic development of the Malays
and Malay political awareness. In short, 'Malay issues' became increasingly preeminent.

The anti -boria campaign gained support from parents and those who were concerned with the negative impacts of the boria on Malay society. Social problems, such as truancy, running away from home, theft, the pawning of valuables, and the neglect of families all escalated during the boria season. 

As a result, the police began to regulate more strictly boria performances, stipulating that every mukim must register its troupe at the police station in Penang Road. Boria performers were also prohibited from colouring their faces while their followers were not allowed to carry sticks or any other weapons. More importantly, the hours of a performance were limited to certain times. 

Perhaps the most dramatic gesture took place in 1931 when the leader of the Jalan Bahru Sungai
Pinang troupe, Syed Degek (Syed Mohammad al-Attas), who was also a leader of the local White Flag, burned the white and the red flags during a boria performance. He continued to do this at various boria performances, thus symbolizing his desire to eradicate practices that were of dubious value to the Malays. In place of the red and white flags, a flag bearing a crescent was hoisted to symbolize the newfound unity
among Muslims. Following this gesture, a meeting was held at the Baharul Alam
Football Club in Sungei Pinang to bury past animosities. At this meeting, it was also
agreed to change the term boria to ria , but this never proved a popular move.'