"If something was really written on the national flag, then the police should take action against the perpetrator," he stated here on Friday.
Kalla said he noticed a red and white flag, with some writing on it, during a television broadcast of a rally of FPI, a hardline Muslim community, but was unable to read it.
"I saw it too but did not read it. However, if a rule has been violated, punishment should be handed out in accordance with the law," he noted.
The police recently arrested the person who had allegedly hoisted an Indonesian red and white flag bearing Arabic script and two crossed swords during a recent hardline Muslim rally.
The police arrested a man identified as "NF" in Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta, on Thursday, and they also seized the flag in question and the motorcycle used to carry the flag.
NF will be charged with defaming state symbols. He could be imprisoned for up to five years if found guilty of violating a 2009 law on state symbols, flags, and the national language.
Photographs and videos of a man holding a flag, stamped with Arabic script and two crossed swords, recently went viral on social media.
(T.A060/INE)
EDITED BY INE/H-YH.
Reporter: Azizah Fitriyanti
Editor: Suryanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2017
