An opposition MP in Fiji says the move to change the nation's flag is suffering from apathy.
The flag change was announced earlier this year by the Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, who said Fiji would remove the Union Jack and replace it with a design that symbolises the Pacific nation.
Photo: AFP
When public submissions closed on Friday, the government said it had received 1,430 entries for new designs.
SODELPA's Bill Gavoka says the number shows how uninterested the general public is in changing the flag.
"Apathy is the right word of describing this, in spite of the heavy publicity. It was on television, on radio, in the newspapers, day in, day out and all we have is 1,500 if that. It's quite pathetic. We will be spending about 23 million dollars on this. It's money down the drain."
Mr Gavoka says 7,000 entries that his party's Youth Council submitted of the current design also seem to have been ignored.
He says there is confusion over the criteria for submissions.