Badawi due here for working visit

Badawi due here for working visit

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdulah Ahmad Badawi is scheduled to
arrive in Jakarta on Thursday morning for a working visit to meet
with President Megawati Soekarnoputri.

After replacing Mahathir Mohamad in October, Indonesia is the
second nation of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) he will have visited after Brunei Darussalam.
According to the regional grouping's tradition, a member's new
leader is expected to visit the ASEAN countries to introduce
himself.

"Indonesian migrant workers will be one the topics of
discussion between the Malaysian Prime Minister and President
Megawati," Wirayuda said on Wednesday.

Badawi will travel here along with his foreign minister, Syed
Hamid Albar. During the ASEAN-Japan Summit in Tokyo last month,
Badawi already paid a courtesy call on Megawati.

According to Antara, Badawi will stay one night in Jakarta.
However, Malaysian news agency Bernama reported that he would
leave Jakarta on Thursday afternoon after his bilateral talks
with Megawati and having attended a tea party with Malaysian
expatriates in Jakarta.

The Malaysian media also reported that the problem of
undocumented Indonesian migrants would be the biggest single
issue that needed to be ironed out by the two neighbors. Malaysia
remains the favorite destination for Indonesian illegal migrants,
who mostly find work in the construction and plantation sectors,
although the neighboring country continues to take harsh measures
against them.

The two countries set a major precedent for ASEAN in resolving
territorial disputes by asking the International Court of Justice
to decide on the ownership of Sipadan and Ligitan islands. The
court declared the two islands belonged to Malaysia.