This means 'giving rise to pity': pathetic television pictures of starving children; a pathetic attempt to hold on to the life-raft. It is also widely used to mean 'very bad', 'inadequate', 'deserving contempt or scorn': What a pathetic excuse!. Avoid this in formal contexts.
Red represents work. Yellow symbolizes justice. The design is based on the French tricolour. Green stands for solidarity. Effective date: 10 November 1958.