Keeping a cool head<\/p>\n
Given the penchant of many Indonesians to react to differences
\nwith the heart rather than the head, President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri's call on Tuesday to end the ongoing spat between
\nIndonesia and Malaysia over the expulsion of illegal Indonesian
\nworkers from that country is both timely and wise.<\/p>\n
The long-standing neighborly ties between the two nations
\nshould not be damaged by emotional reactions from either side
\nover the issue, the President said, as quoted by Pramono Anung,
\ndeputy secretary-general of Megawati's party, the Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan).<\/p>\n
The following day, on Wednesday, Vice President Hamzah Haz
\nduly underscored Megawati's words when he stressed the need for
\nofficials on both sides to exercise self-restraint and to try to
\nresolve the problem cordially. There should be no more
\ncontroversial statements from Indonesian officials. \"We have to
\nrespect Malaysian regulations,\" Hamzah said.<\/p>\n
What must have triggered these latest cooling-down pleas from
\nthe government is probably the exchange of strong words between
\nJakarta and Kuala Lumpur and the retaliatory action that has been
\ntaken, either in Jakarta or in Medan and elsewhere, in reaction
\nto the recent expulsion of some 480,000 illegal Indonesian
\nworkers from Malaysia.<\/p>\n
People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Amien Rais, for
\nexample, warned Malaysia on Tuesday to \"be aware\" of public
\noutcry caused by the deportation -- pretty strong words coming
\nfrom a man in his position. On Monday, in a rowdy rally in front
\nof the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta, angry protesters burned a
\nMalaysian flag and toppled the gate fronting the embassy compound
\nbefore they were stopped by security personnel.<\/p>\n
Relations became even more strained during the week when news
\nbroke that 19 Malaysians had been detained by police in a raid on
\na bar in Medan on Monday. They were held for several hours at a
\npolice station and interrogated because they could not produce
\ntheir passports at the time. This incident prompted Malaysian
\nforeign minister Syed Hamid Albar to issue a travel warning to
\nMalaysians to avoid visiting Indonesia if possible. He also asked
\nthe Indonesian government to guarantee the personal safety of
\nMalaysian nationals residing in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
More soothing words came during the week from Coordinating
\nMinister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang
\nYudhoyono. While assuring Malaysia that Indonesia was not seeking
\nrevenge for the deportations, Susilo called on Malaysian
\nofficials not to issue more \"disproportionate\" statements
\nregarding the incident. Nevertheless, despite the efforts to cool
\nthe situation down, the controversy over the issue remains.<\/p>\n
It looks, at this juncture of the controversy, that it would
\nbe as well for Indonesia, and for Malaysia, to take a few points
\ninto consideration. It may be true that certain sectors of the
\nMalaysian economy might suffer, at least for a while, as their
\nIndonesian workers are forced to leave the country. However, when
\nall is said and done, that is Malaysia's problem. There is
\nnothing that Indonesians can do but admit that it is Malaysia's
\nbusiness to govern that country the way it sees fit.<\/p>\n
This is the time that Indonesians must start looking at the
\nproblem from a more realistic point of view. The core of the
\nissue is that Indonesia is at present too poor to feed its own
\npopulation. With this in mind, Indonesia's first and foremost
\nduty is to put the economy back in order, and do so without
\ndelay, so that enough jobs may be created within the shortest
\npossible time.<\/p>\n
As for other countries in this region, it is as well for them
\nto realize that it is in their own self-interest to assist
\nIndonesia, in whatever way possible, on its path toward economic
\nrecovery. Media reports of thousands of job seekers continuing to
\nprobe national borders for openings into neighboring countries
\nshould dispel any lingering doubts over the truth of this
\nstatement. That old spirit of ASEAN solidarity may not be so
\nworthless after all.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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