KUALA LUMPUR: Kuala Lumpur Sea Games 2017’s booklets with the correct print of Indonesian flag will soon be distributed to replace the misprinted version, said Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.
He said the distribution of the flawed booklets during the opening ceremony Sea Games yesterday, had been halted with immediate effect.
In the booklets that were distributed to guests at the ceremony, the red and white colours of the Indonesian flag appeared in inverted position.
This has sparked outrage among Indonesians, who took to social media to voice out their discontent for the host country to be more sensitive.
In a meeting with his Indonesian counterpart Imam Nahrawi today, Khairy once again apologised over the mistake, which was unintentional.
“The mistake was caused by our negligence. Therefore, as host country we would like to offer an apology to all Indonesian people,” he told a press conference after the meeting.
Yesterday, Khairy apologised via his Twitter account following a post from Imam Nahrawi on the matter.
The Sea Games Organising Committee later issued a statement over the mistake and hoped that the close ties between the two countries would continue in the spirit of the event.
Meanwhile, Indonesia's President Joko Widodo has called for an end to the controversy over a misprint of the Indonesian flag in the Kuala Lumpur Sea Games booklet.
He was quoted by Detik.com as saying that although the matter was “deeply regrettable” there was no need to prolong the issue.
“There's no need to make it any bigger,” he said.