Singapore has rebuked its national water polo team for wearing swim trunks that feature an “inappropriate” likeness of the city-state’s flag.
The trunks, which were designed by members of the men’s team currently competing in the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, show the flag’s white crescent moon jutting up from the groin area with five stars to the side on a red background.
“Unfortunately the team did not seek our advice on the use of the crescent moon and stars when they designed their swim trunks,” the Singaporean Information Ministry said in a statement on Thursday. “We would have told them that their design is inappropriate as we want elements of the flag to be treated with dignity.”
PHOTO: REUTERS
The word “Singapore” is emblazoned on the rear of the trunks.
OBJECTIONABLE
The ministry, which normally evaluates the use of the flag on uniforms on a case-by-case basis, declined to specify which part of the design was objectionable.
Singapore has strict rules on the public display of the republic’s flag.
The trunks sparked a controversy in the local media and in internet message boards, with some offended by the use of the national flag while others amused at the furore.
“What the team did was disgusting and disrespectful,” Zhang Pete said on local Web site xinmsn.
“I tink its cool! im a swimmer myself, I wld love to have one too! u guys rock!” reader Neo wrote on Yahoo Singapore.
“Does it look suggestive, obscene even?” said Sylvia Toh in a commentary in the New Paper. “On a Chippendale, on the chubby chance of crescent turning into full moon, my hackles would be raised and it would amount to defacing our flag. On our national team, for any sport, it’s appropriate.”
RULES
Asian Games rules stipulate that a team’s uniform cannot be changed in the middle of the tournament so the government allowed the water polo players to wear the trunks when they played Kuwait yesterday for fifth place.
Kuwait won the contest 5-4.
APOLOGY
The team apologized and said it would retire the trunks after the Games.
“We didn’t have the slightest intention to do anything funny on our trunks to insult Singapore,” team manager Samuel Wong, who helped design the trunks, told the Straits Times.
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