PONTIAN: The incident where national men's singles professional shuttler Lee Zii Jia wore a jersey with the Malaysian flag emblem displayed upside down during his first match at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Finals three days ago was a 'glaring mistake'.
Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said although the world's eighth-ranked player had apologised, the mistake was still considered a critical oversight.
Fahmi, however, urged the public to allow the authorities to conduct their investigation.
"We must remain moderate and let the authorities to take necessary action.
"I acknowledged that he had apologised (for the incident).
"To me, it was a glaring mistake.
"The shirt worn by a well-known player representing the country carries the Malaysian flag, which I consider a critical oversight. We have taken note (of this)," he said during a press conference after his working visit to inspect the Tarana proof of concept project site at the Kampung Seri Bunian Community Hall today.
Fahmi said his party has yet to receive a report from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) regarding comments that may have touched on the sensitivity of the issue.
"If there is an investigation, we will leave it to the authorities to handle it.
"I advise the Internet and social media users to be careful when leaving comments, as sometimes comments can be misinterpreted and we don't want a situation where they incite.
"Let us take the appropriate action. We want to ensure that situations like this do not happen again; that is our hope," he said.
Earlier, Zii Jia became embroiled in controversy when it was clearly shown on television that he was wearing a jersey with the Jalur Gemilang (Malaysian flag) upside down on the left side of his shirt.
Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh said that her ministry would draft a new code of conduct for athletes regarding attire etiquette, including displaying the Jalur Gemilang on their clothing.
She said the move aims to prevent similar incidents.