M'sia national broadcaster says sorry after calling PM Wong 'Lee Hsien Loong' in Asean Summit

Malaysia’s national broadcaster RTM has apologised after mistakenly identifying three Southeast Asian leaders during its live broadcast of the 47th Asean Summit’s opening ceremony in Kuala Lumpur on Oct. 26, reported Sinar Harian.

The mistake

The slip-up occurred when RTM’s commentator incorrectly introduced the leaders of Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia.

During the broadcast, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong was mistakenly referred to as his predecessor, Lee Hsien Loong, while Thailand’s PM Anutin Charnvirakul was introduced as former prime minister Srettha Thavisin.

In a separate instance, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto was also misidentified as former president Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.

RTM apologises

The broadcaster has since issued several statements acknowledging the errors on their Facebook page and offering apologies to the affected governments.

In the post, The Malaysian Broadcasting Department, which oversees RTM, said that it “views this matter seriously” and that appropriate internal action has been taken.

The broadcaster apologised to the respective leaders, their governments, and all affected parties.

RTM also emphasised that it will strengthen editorial control and commentator training to prevent similar mistakes.

It also plans to implement layered review systems for future live events involving international dignitaries to safeguard the country’s image, as reported by the Malaysia Tribune.

ASEAN summit

The incident took place during the opening of the 47th Asean Summit and related meetings, held from Oct. 26 to 28 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC), with Malaysia serving as the host and this year’s Asean chair.

The summit, chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, brought together regional leaders and global figures including U.S. President Donald Trump, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, European Council President António Costa and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Top images via RTVMalacanang/Youtube