THE Kuala Lumpur SEA Games officially opened last night, but an error on the Indonesian flag in one of the publicity materials cast a pall over the glittering opening ceremony at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur.

Indonesian Youth and Sports Minister Imam Nahrawi tweeted a picture of the offending page in the Sea Games souvenir book, which showed an upside down Indonesian flag.

“The opening of #SEAgame2017 was good, but marred by a fatal negligence that is very painful. Our flag…. Red White,” Imam tweeted.

His Malaysian counterpart, Khairy Jamaluddin, replied to the tweet to apologise, saying that no malice was intended in the mistake.

“Bapak Imam, Please accept my sincere apologies for this. Truthfully, no malice was intended. I regret this mistake. I seek your forgiveness.”

A statement from the Malaysian organising committee of the Games said it apologised to Indonesia for “publishing the wrong flag for Indonesia”.

It said Khairy would meet Imam later today to apologise over the error personally.

“We very much regret the mistake and trust the strong bond between the two countries will (be) further strengthened in the spiriti of the SEA Games.”

Ties between Malaysia and Indonesia are generally cordial, but are occasionally strained when there are perceived slights or when  cases of abuse of an Indonesian maid by an Malaysian employer come to light.

In the past, Indonesian media had accused Malaysia of appropriating cultural icons they claim to be exclusive to Indonesia, such as rendang, batik and nasi goreng.

In 2009, Indonesia’s tourism minister demanded an explanation from Malaysia after outrage mounted over the screening of a television advertisement with the theme “Enigmatic Malaysia”, which featured a Balinese dance. – August 20, 2017.