Garuda on Armani shirts not a big deal

(01/26/2010) Jakarta, PAB-Online House of Representatives lawmakers say that they do not mind having the national symbol, the Garuda, being used as a design on Armani shirts. "It will further promote the symbol. I think it is OK," chairman of the House’s law commission Benny Kabur Harman told reporters on Tuesday. Benny added that the use of the symbol would matter if it reflected a hostile gesture toward the country. "That's why I believe we need a law that governs the use of the nation's symbol," he said. Another legislator, Panda Nababan from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), expressed no objection, but insisted on a need to protect the honor of the symbol. "I think we need to patent our property rights over the Garuda symbol," he said. Armani has picked the Garuda as a logo for its shirts, but some parts of the symbol and the motto "Bhinneka Tunggal Ika" (Unity in Diversity) have been altered.(JP/IP)