“The judge has acted in accordance with the law in admonishing them, but nothing stops the prosecution from appealing against the sentence,” Salim Bashir said.

He said judge Harith Sham Mohamed Yasin appeared not to have been swayed by public emotion, but made the ruling based on the submissions before him.

The lawyer said this in response to Harith Sham relying on Section 173A of the Criminal Procedure Code not to fine the accused, but instead set them free with a caution.

As this provision was used, there will also not be any conviction against the Australians.

The judge discharged them on grounds that they are “young, remorseful, ignorant”.

The men had, through a spokesman, also issued an apology in court, saying they had “no intention of undermining this country and its sensitivities” with their act.

However, the judge said what they had done was totally inappropriate and hurt the sensitivities of Malaysians.

“The elements in the flag are a symbol of sovereignty and the official religion of the country.You must consider that Malaysia has a different culture from yours,” the judge said.

The nine – Jack Walker, Timothy Yates, Tom Whitworth, Tom Laslett, Nick Kelly, Edward Leaney, Branden Stobbs, James Paver and Adam Pasfield – pleaded guilty to a charge of causing public nuisance by stripping down to their underwear bearing the Jalur Gemilang print.

Those found guilty of the offence could be fined up to RM400.

The nine had been under remand for the past five days since the day of the offence on Sunday.

The men became known as the “Budgie Nine” for sporting swimwear known in Australia as “budgie smugglers”.

The men, aged between 25 and 29, were celebrating after Australian Daniel Ricciardo claimed his maiden Formula One win of the season.

Their lawyer, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, said the offence was “trivial” in nature and his clients had shown “remorse” for their actions.

Shafee said the media had “wrongly reported” that the men were clad in “underwear” and “briefs”.

Shafee said they were actually wearing “swimming trunks” and having the national flag emblazoned in this attire is “encouraged” in many other countries and looked upon as a “friendly act of patriotism”.

“On Australia Day, it is common to see individuals in bikinis or swimming trunks with the Australian flag walking down the streets,” he said.

He added that there was also discrimination against the men.

“Because in the paddock in F1, the fairer sex is even less dressed than these nine clients of mine,” he said.