The suspect, who was identified as Jack Walker, works for Australia’s industry, innovation and science minister, Christopher Pyne, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
Walker and his eight friends – aged 25 to 29 – had chanted “Aussie Aussie Aussie, oi oi oi” for several minutes and wrapped themselves in Australian flags.
They were celebrating a win by Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo in the F1 race on Sunday. It was Ricciardo’s first win in the F1 series this year.
The nine men then poured beer into their shoes and drank from them – mimicking Ricciardo, who had also done a “shoey”, on the podium. They then posed for photos with fellow spectators.
The daily went on to quote a witness, Dean Gillespie from Balmain who claimed that when the nine stripped down to their Malaysian flag underwear, “everyone nearby stopped and sort of watched”.
“It clearly wasn’t spontaneous, because they had all dressed up as they did in the flags, but it just felt like they were a group of lads that were having a bit of a party,” Gillespie was quoted as saying by the Herald.
Photographs taken at the race, also show Walker clad in an unbuttoned grey shirt with his shorts around his ankles and Malaysian flag underwear on display.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Pyne told Fairfax Media that the matter is being handled appropriately by the Australian high commissioner in Kuala Lumpur.
“Until we have a clearer picture of the process at hand, it would be unwise to comment further,” he was quoted as saying.
In a related matter, the Sydney Morning Herald also reported Sepang International Circuit CEO Razlan Razali as saying that the nine should be “locked up, investigated and action taken against them”.
Razlan told the daily that the actions of the eight were “stupid” and had “disrespected Malaysia’s cultural sensitivities”.
“There is a joke going around that next year we not only have to check their baggage but also underwear,” Razlan was quoted as saying.
It was reported yesterday that Sepang police chief Abdul Aziz Ali had said the case would be investigated under Section 504 of the Penal Code for “intentional insult with intent to provoke a breach of the peace” and Section 14 of the Minor Offences Act for insulting behaviour.