Stop focusing on flag blunder and move on, say lawyers

They say there was no evidence the error was malicious in nature.

PETALING JAYA: Indonesians should focus on resolving issues rather than picking on an unintentional mistake when their flag was printed upside down in a SEA Games 2017 souvenir booklet.

Speaking to FMT, lawyer Simon Sabapathy said if Malaysia had harboured any malice or grudge against the Indonesian government, it could have been expressed in many other ways.

“Are you trying to say that if the Malaysian government filed a suit against the organisers, the relationship between Indonesia and Malaysia would miraculously be mended? It doesn’t make sense,” he said.

Sabapathy said there was no criminal element present and this could not even be considered a criminal case.

“Of course, the cause for any action would be negligence. The organisers should have known that the flag was actually red on top and white at the bottom, not the other way around.

“They should have done their duty to actually make sure that no mistakes were made in the souvenir booklet.

“Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has already come up with an apology. It was a mistake.

“I don’t think there was any malice. It was not done intentionally to embarrass the Indonesian government,” he said.

Sabapathy said the spirit of the games was not only to have healthy competition but to bring all Southeast Asian countries together.

Meanwhile, a former deputy public prosecutor, Geethan Ram Vincent, said it was a genuine mistake made by Malaysia.

“If you want to take any action, there must be intention. At the very most, what the government can do is to have an inquiry into the case,” he told FMT.

Geethan said the police can also carry out their own investigations but there was no proof that the flag blunder was done intentionally.

“I don’t see any malicious act from the Malaysian government and it was an error.

“Right after we realised our mistake, the Malaysian government profusely apologised to the Indonesian government.”

Earlier today, the Malaysian government was urged to initiate legal action against the organisers of the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games 2017 over the blunder.

Reni Marlinawati, who is the de facto leader of Indonesian political party Partai Persatuan Pembangunan, said legal action should be taken as the blunder had affected the main purpose of the event, which was to strengthen ties between the two countries.

Reni also claimed that Indonesians were already dissatisfied with the way their people working in Malaysia were being treated by the Malaysian government.