resident Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has forgiven the Malaysian organizers of the 29th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Kuala Lumpur for misprinting the Indonesian flag in the event's opening ceremony guidebook, Jokowi’s spokesman has said.
Pictures of the book showing the affectionately dubbed Red-and-White placed upside down, with the white atop the red, quickly went viral on Aug. 19, prompting an uproar on social media.
Pembukaan #SEAgame2017 yg bagus tapi tercederai dg keteledoran fatal yg amat menyakitkan. Bendera kita....Merah Putih. Astaghfirullaah... pic.twitter.com/k92SlDdBqB
— Imam Nahrawi (@imam_nahrawi) August 19, 2017
Presidential spokesperson Johan Budi said Jokowi had indeed waited for an apology from the Malaysian side since the incident occurred.
Now that Malaysia's Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has formally apologized to his Indonesian counterpart Imam Nahrawi, all parties should move on, he added.
"Most importantly, they have apologized and withdrawn the books," Johan said at the Presidential Compound in Jakarta on Monday.
"Of course [the President] has forgiven them if they apologized," he added.
Baru sahaja berjumpa @imam_nahrawi untuk memohon maaf secara rasmi kpd rakyat Indonesia atas kesilapan percetakan bendera RI. Tkasih Bpk. pic.twitter.com/YOO8ICRVja
— Khairy Jamaluddin (@Khairykj) August 20, 2017
Johan said Jokowi hoped Indonesians would not overreact to the incident.
Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman has also released a statement of apology to the Indonesian government.
"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 Organizing Committee [MASOC] for the wrong publication of the Indonesian flag," the statement reads.
Khairy has also met with Nahrawi to personally apologize.
Read also: Felda Evira Santoso wins first gold for Indonesian wushu team
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