Flag boo boo: KL says sorry to Indonesia
KUALA LUMPUR: The issue of the Indonesian flag being printed upside down in the SEA Games 2017 booklet appears to have been contained as the government extended an apology to Indonesia over the matter.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman said all measures have been taken to address this unfortunate situation and said Youth and Sports Minister met his counterpart Imam Nahrawi to apologise over the incident.
In apologising on behalf of the government, Anifah expressed regret for the “inadvertent error” made by the Malaysian Organising Committee.
“Also on behalf of the Malaysian government, we would like to extend our apology to the government and the people of the Republic of Indonesia.”
Indonesian President Joko Widodo called on all parties not to blow the issue out of proportion.
“Don’t exaggerate it,” he said, as quoted by Detik.com
He said the Malaysian government, however, should formally apologise to Indonesia.
“We wait for an official apology from the Malaysian government, as it concerns the pride and nationalistic spirit of our Indonesian people,” said the president.
Khairy said he had ordered the souvenir booklets to be corrected and reprinted while Nahrawi said he has accepted Khairy’s apology.
“We’re both good friends and I know Khairy is always prioritising the good relationship between our two countries. But we hope this issue will not be repeated again,” he said at a packed press conference.
On Saturday, immediately after being alerted to the mistake, Khairy tweeted his apology.
“Bapak Imam, please accept my sincere apologies for this. There was no malice. I very much regret that this mistake happened. My apologies,” he said on his Twitter account in response to a tweet from Imam Nahrawi, regarding the matter
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said that the error was unintentional.
“We need to be open-minded about this matter. I believe it was not deliberately done,” he told reporters after opening the Teluk Intan Umno division delegates’ conference.