The mistakes were reported by Indonesian website Kompasiana.com in the months leading to the sporting event, accompanied with pictures of flags of participating countries at various locations including a bank, restaurant, hospital, university and hotel.

Malaysia’s Jalur Gemilang was flown upside down at the Gedung Asuransi commercial centre in Jalan Jendral Sudirman, with the canton containing the crescent and 14-pointed star at the bottom.

At the same location, Myanmar’s old blue and red national flag which the country’s junta had withdrawn a year earlier, was hoisted. Myanmar’s current flag uses a colour combination of yellow, green and red with a five-pointed white star.

The flag of Vietnam was flown upside down in front of Hospital Muhammadiyah Plaju, affecting the appearance of its five-pointed golden star.

The Philippine national flag was also flown incorrectly with the blue band, which should be on top, reversed to the bottom.

Timor-Leste’s flag was flown with the 5-pointed star at the hoist end, normally mounted next to the flagpole, switched to the other end.

According to the report, five out of the 11 national flags of the participating countries, including Malaysia’s, were also flown upside down in front of a private educational institution.

The flags of the host country Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Laos and Cambodia were spared the mistakes.

The mistake by the Malaysian SEA Games organisers which was spotted during the opening ceremony last Saturday has led to Indonesian groups and politicians calling for stronger actions.

Social media users in Indonesia have meanwhile come out with creative ways to depict the Malaysian flag negatively.