Malaysians arrested in Medan 'not revenge'<\/p>\n
Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan<\/p>\n
North Sumatra Governor T. Rizal Nurdin insisted that the arrests
\nand 6-hour detention by the local police of 19 Malaysians in the
\ncity last Friday was not in retaliation for the Malaysian
\nauthorities' arrest of illegal Indonesian workers in their
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
\"Local authorities are still studying the case. Of course, the
\npolice have their authority to arrest foreigners without the
\nrequired documents, it has nothing to do with the crackdown on
\nIndonesians working illegally in the neighboring country,\" he
\nsaid here on Monday.<\/p>\n
The 19 were arrested by police reportedly while in the lobby
\nof the Danau Toba hotel on Friday, because they were not carrying
\ntheir passports on their person.<\/p>\n
It was also reported that they were released six hours later
\nafter being allowed to retrieve their passports from their rooms
\nand paying the police the equivalent of around US$22, as a
\n\"sincere contribution to the Indonesian police.\"<\/p>\n
Rizal was responding to reports that Malaysian Deputy Prime
\nMinister Datuk Seri Abdullah Achmad Badawi expressed his
\nsuspicion over the weekend that the arrests were a retaliatory
\nmeasure.<\/p>\n
The 19 were taken to the police headquarters for \"further
\ninvestigation\" before being allowed to retrieve their passports.<\/p>\n
Malaysian authorities have deported hundreds of thousands of
\nillegal Indonesians and arrested a number of others following the
\ndeadline set on Aug. 31, 2002 for all illegal foreign workers to
\nleave that country.<\/p>\n
The governor said he had met Malaysian General Consul Mohammad
\nYusof Abu Bakar to discuss the issue.<\/p>\n
\"I explained to the consul general that the arrests had
\nnothing to do with the issue of Indonesian workers. We do hope
\nthat this problem will not damage the two countries' bilateral
\nties,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He added that he would readily explain to the Malaysians about
\nthe arrests, and that he had instructed local authorities to deal
\nwith expatriates fairly and in accordance with the law to
\nmaintain a conducive investment climate in the province.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Yusof Abu Bakar said he could understand the
\nreasons behind the arrests and on behalf of his government had
\nmade an apology to the local police for their suspicions about
\nthe arrest.<\/p>\n
\"I have just given a clarification to the police that Malaysia
\nwas not offended by the arrests and what the police did was
\nconsistent with the (Indonesian) law,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Sr. Comr. Iskardar Hasan, chief of the detective unit at the
\nprovincial Police, confirmed that the Malaysian envoy had made an
\napology for his government's suspicions.<\/p>\n
Hasan also denied the report that the Indonesian police told
\nthe Malaysians to pay 80 Ringgit (around US$22) each for their
\nrelease.<\/p>",
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