The upside-down Indonesian flag controversy at the 2017 SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia riled up many in the archipelago nation, but most of their displeasure had been voiced online (the most extreme of which was the hacking of dozens of Malaysian websites).
However, in the city of Pekanbaru, Riau, hundreds of people from several mass organizations today protested outside the city’s Malaysian consulate to voice their anger at the neighboring country over the flag mishap.
“We demand that the Malaysian Consulate meet with us and apologize for the flag incident at the SEA Games,” said Patar, a member of the mass organization group Pancasila Youth, as quoted by Antara today.
(As if it’s not enough that President Joko Widodo already demanded, received and accepted an official apology from the government of Malaysia, not just one consulate.)
According to reports, the protesters wanted to break through the outer fence of the Malaysian consulate building but were stopped by riot police.
Authorities eventually let 10 representatives of the protesters into the consulate to meet with Malaysian officials. The representatives reportedly attempted to bring down a Malaysian flag inside the consulate compound after they were let in.
As of this afternoon, the protesters remained outside the consulate while it’s not yet known what was discussed between their representatives and the Malaysian officials.
