Malaysia's Apology on Twitter is Not Enough: Indonesian Minister

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian Youth and Sports Minister Zainudin Amali said the Malaysian Government's apology for its soccer fans' acts of violence against the Indonesian supporters through Twitter account was not enough.

"The Malaysian Government must officially apologize to the Indonesian people," he told journalists who asked about Malaysia's response to the Indonesian Youth and Sports Ministry's official letter on the recent incident.

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of a puppet show in Surabaya, East Java, on early Sunday, Amali said his ministry has sent an official letter to the Youth and Sports Ministry of Malaysia.

The Indonesian Government's official response to this incident was revealed in a letter signed by Secretary of the Indonesian Ministry of Youth and Sports Gatot S.Dewa Broto on Friday.

Indonesia condemned the Malaysian soccer fans' acts of violence against Indonesian supporters who watched the 2022 World Cup qualification match between the two countries' soccer teams at Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday (Nov. 19).

The Indonesian Government demanded an immediate apology from the Malaysian Government as well as fair and transparent legal actions against the Malaysian soccer fans who had brutally assaulted the Indonesian supporters.

In the letter that the Indonesian Youth and Sports Ministry sent to the Secretary General of the Malaysian Ministry of Youth and Sports, Gatot S.Dewa Broto revealed that the Indonesian Government and People were so disappointed with the incident.

Unlike the Malaysian Government's reluctance for conveying an immediate apology for its soccer fans' brutality, the Indonesian youth and sports minister immediately apologized for the incident that occurred in Jakarta on Sept 5.

At that time, certain Indonesian soccer fans attacked the Malaysian supporters during and after the 2022 World Cup qualification match between Indonesia and Malaysia at the Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) Stadium in Jakarta on Sept 5.

Due to this incident, the Indonesian youth and sports minister initiated to apologize on Sept 6.

Meanwhile, Ahmad Rizki Akrom, La Grande Indonesia's Coordinator for the Malaysia-Indonesia Match, earlier disclosed the chronology of tens of Malaysian soccer fans' attack on a group of Indonesian supporters.

He said some 30 Malaysian soccer fans attacked some 15 fans of Indonesia's national soccer team at a hotel where they stayed on early Wednesday (Nov 20).

At around 02.00 a.m. local time, some 30 Malaysian supporters who equipped themselves with helmets and wooden beams assaulted the Indonesian soccer fans who were mingling outside their hotel.

A street fight between the fans of "Harimau Malaysia" (Malaysian Tiger) and those of Indonesia could not be avoided, Akrom said, adding that those involving in the brawl could be dismissed by the Malaysian police officers.

However, the Malaysian policemen who arrested one of the Malaysian supporters blamed the Indonesian soccer fans for mingling outside their hotel, Ahmad Rizki Akrom said.