"I apologize to all Indonesians, especially the people of Riau," Hamdin stated to the mass representative in Pekanbaru on Tuesday.
Before offering his apology, hundreds of people from the Pancasila Youth, Indonesian National Youth Committee, and Indonesian Islamic Student gathered in front of the Malaysian Consulate on Jenderal Sudirman Street, Pekanbaru, to protest against the erroneous depiction of the Indonesian flag during the SEA Games 2017.
Hamdin vowed to deliver their aspirations to the Malaysian government. He said the Malaysian government had already extended an official apology over the incident and had withdrawn every manual book carrying the misprinted upside-down image of the Indonesian flag.
Hamdin also expressed regret over the flag incident during the international event.
"I also regret that the incident occurred," he noted.
After receiving an apology from the Malaysian Consul, the masses dispersed from the location, and no arrests were made.
The demonstration was intense during which the demonstrators attempted to climb the consulates three-meter-high steel fences.
The demonstrators broke through the police barricade and brought down the fences before the cops carrying anti-riot shields forced them away from the fences.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2017
