Indonesia and Malaysia are poles apart after flag blunder
The blunder saw the hashtag #shameonyoumalaysia trend in Indonesia.
Indonesia has accused the Malaysian organisers of the Southeast Asian Games of negligence after the Indonesian flag was printed upside down in a souvenir guidebook.
The mistake, which makes the red-and-white Indonesian flag resemble Poland’s, has caused anger in Indonesia where “shameonyoumalaysia” has become the most popular hashtag on Twitter.
Youth and sports minister Imam Nahrawi said the error was “very painful”.
Indonesia’s Olympic Committee chairman Erick Thohir said the mistake “shows negligence” and demanded the guidebook be replaced.
Indonesia appears to have taken particular offence because the guidebook was distributed to VIPs at Saturday’s opening ceremony and only its flag was shown incorrectly.
Malaysia and Indonesia are both Muslim majority nations and share a similar language but often trade accusations of stealing each other’s food and culture.
