Flag mistake: Foreign Ministry extends apology to Indonesian government, people

The Foreign Ministry on behalf of the government of Malaysia has extended an apology to the government and people of the Republic of Indonesia over the publication of the upside-down image of the Indonesian flag in a special souvenir book for the ongoing SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur (KL2017).

Foreign Minister, Datuk Seri Anifah Aman in a statement today said:"On behalf of the Government of Malaysia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would like to express regret for the inadvertent error made by the Malaysian Organising Committee (MASOC) for the wrong publication of the Indonesian flag in the official souvenir booklet of the opening ceremony of the 29th SEA Games held yesterday."

"In this regard, we wish to assure the Government of the Republic of Indonesia that all measures have been taken to address this unfortunate situation." .

Anifah added that Malaysia places importance to its close and deeply rooted fraternal relations with Indonesia.

"Indeed, the 60th Anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations this year is an occasion that we have invested in to rededicate ourselves to our shared values, culture and destiny.

"It is in this spirit that we hope and believe that our two countries will continue to interact closely together and in doing so, strengthen the ties between us and within the region as a whole," he said.

-- BERNAMA