PONTIAN, Dec 14 — National men’s singles player Lee Zii Jia’s mistake of wearing a jersey with the Jalur Gemilang upside down during his first match at the BWF World Tour Finals 2024 has been labelled a critical lapse in judgment.

According to Harian Metro, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil had said that it was a glaring mistake despite Lee’s apology.

He also urged the public to give space for authorities to conduct an investigation.

"We need to remain moderate and let the authorities take action. I acknowledge that Lee Zii Jia has issued an apology.

"To me, this is a significant mistake, especially for a player of his stature representing the country with the Malaysian flag. I consider this a critical lapse. We take note of it,” he was quoted as saying.

Commenting further, Fahmi said that his ministry had not received any reports from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) regarding comments that may have touched on sensitivities related to the issue.

"If there are any, we will leave it to the authorities to investigate. My advice is, in cases like this, or any case for that matter, internet and social media users should be cautious when commenting.

"Sometimes comments can be misinterpreted, and we don’t want a situation where it fuels tension. Let’s take appropriate action and ensure this doesn’t happen again, that’s what we hope for,” he said.

Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh was reported to have said that that a new code of ethics for athletes’ attire would be drafted to prevent a similar incident from occurring again.