Government denies magazine report

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Alwi Shihab dismissed on Thursday a media report which claimed that President Abdurrahman had been asked by Malaysia to mediate in the establishment of ties between Kuala Lumpur and Tel Aviv.

Alwi decried as baseless a report in the Hong Kong-based Far Eastern Economic Review magazine which in its Dec. 9 edition stated that Abdurrahman told journalists traveling with him in the Middle East last month that Malaysia would like Indonesia to mediate between itself and Israel.

"The report was baseless ... I joined the meeting between the two leaders and the topic of Israel was not raised during the productive talks," Alwi told journalists.

The report cited Abdurrahman as saying that Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Muhammad had asked the Indonesian president to help foster closer relations.

Alwi said the report had raised many questions.

Many questioned whether the president was purposely misquoted or whether the reporter merely misinterpret the president, Alwi said, noting that his aides planned to track down the journalist who wrote the article and ask for an explanation.

Alwi reiterated that Abdurrahman had never made such a statement during his visits abroad.

Earlier this week, the foreign ministry sent an official letter to the Malaysian ambassador explaining the situation.

Alwi claimed that Malaysian Ambassador Rastam Muhammad Isa responded positively to the explanation.

He underlined that Indonesia considered Malaysia a very important neighbor, and that Jakarta would reject any effort to damage the close ties between the two countries.

This is the second time that published comments by Abdurrahman has risen eyebrows from Malaysia.

Recently Abdurrahman quipped that it was difficult to find top ministers in Malaysia because they were always on the golf course. (04)