KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian eSports Federation (MESF) has condemned two incidents involving the desecration of the Jalur Gemilang within the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) community, demanding public apologies and stricter measures from the game's developers, Moonton Games.
In a statement on Facebook, MESF said: "We strongly condemn the recent disrespect shown towards the Malaysian flag in the MLBB community.
"We demand public apologies from the parties involved and urge Moonton Games to take firm action and implement stricter guidelines to prevent similar incidents in the future."
The first incident involved BloodThirstyKings player Michael "MobaZane" Cosgun, who uploaded an Instagram story with the word "noob" written above a graphic of the Jalur Gemilang.
In gaming, "noob" is a derogatory term mocking inexperienced players.
Cosgun, an American, arrived in Malaysia yesterday for the Swiss stage of the M6 World Championships, which begin on Nov 28.
The post is no longer available on his profile, and he has since issued an apology on his YouTube account.
"I want to address the recent post I made regarding the Malaysian flag. I fully understand it was disrespectful, and I regret posting it.
"I sincerely apologise to the Malaysian community and anyone else who was offended," said Cosgun.
The second incident involved a graphic shared on the MLBB Professional League Indonesia (MPLID) Instagram page, announcing Malaysia's 2-1 victory over Indonesia in the semi-finals of the World eSports Championships.
The graphic displayed a distorted Jalur Gemilang with only 11 red and blue stripes.
The post has since been deleted from MPLID's account.
These incidents come as a major embarrassment for Moonton Games ahead of the M6 World Championships, with the Wild Card stage to kick off on Thursday.
Timesport has reached out to Moonton Games for a comment.