Envoy apologizes over Ambalat remarks<\/p>\n
Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Indonesian Ambassador to Malaysia Rusdihardjo apologized to the
\nHouse on Wednesday for remarks he made concerning the burning of
\nMalaysian flags during rallies in Indonesia over the Ambalat
\ndispute.<\/p>\n
Rusdihardjo, in Jakarta, told House of Representatives
\nCommission I on defense and foreign affairs the Malaysian press
\nhad misunderstood his remarks, which he said were meant to calm
\nthe situation.<\/p>\n
The Malaysian press reported that Rusdihardjo apologized to
\nKuala Lumpur over the burning of Malaysian flags in Indonesia,
\nand quoted the envoy as saying the protesters were people "who
\nare hungry and have become angry. Angry people become insane".<\/p>\n
The statement was criticized by House members and members of
\nthe public, who said Rusdihardjo had "insulted" Indonesia.<\/p>\n
"I apologize if my statement caused confusion and prompted
\ncriticism from you. The Malaysian press misunderstood my
\nstatement because I was using idiomatic expressions. The words
\n'hungry', 'angry' and 'insane' were not used according to their
\nliteral meanings."<\/p>\n
"However, I should defend my apology to Kuala Lumpur because
\nwe have to be fair and acknowledge that burning a country's flag
\nis a serious crime on a universal scale," Rusdihardjo said.<\/p>\n
He added that Kuala Lumpur's claim over the Ambalat offshore
\narea in the Sulawesi Sea was unjustified and Indonesia would
\ndefend its sovereignty over the area.<\/p>\n
"At the start of the Pacific War (World War II), the Japanese
\nambassador to the U.S. still bowed, but he reported to Tokyo and
\nsaid please go ahead with the attack on Pearl Harbor because
\nAmerica is unguarded," Rusdihardjo said.<\/p>\n
"After all, I'm still a nationalist, aren't I?" he said.<\/p>\n
During a later closed-door session, Rusdihardjo briefed the
\ncommission on what he knew of Malaysia's security and military
\nstrength.<\/p>\n
Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur have been involved in a heated
\ndispute over possession of the East Ambalat block in the Sulawesi
\nSea. The dispute exploded after Malaysian oil company Petronas
\nawarded oil exploration rights in the area to Royal Dutch\/Shell.<\/p>\n
The House members also questioned Indonesia's diplomatic
\nstrategy in the dispute, saying the country was in a superior
\nbargaining position because the map that Malaysia used as the
\nbasis of its claim over the area had been contested by many other
\nneighboring countries.<\/p>\n
Rusdihardjo said the 1979 map on which Malaysia has based its
\nclaims was protested in 1980 by Indonesia, the Philippines,
\nChina, Singapore, Thailand and Brunei, and in 1982 by Vietnam.<\/p>\n
Ministry of Foreign Affairs secretary-general Sudjadnan
\nParnohadiningrat said Indonesia and Malaysia had decided not to
\ninvolve a third party in trying to settle the dispute because
\npast experience had shown bringing in outside parties simply made
\nmatters worse.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/envoy-apologizes-over-ambalat-remarks-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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