Ministerial level talks to end row

JAKARTA (JP): Talks on the overlapping claims to the islands of Sipadan and Ligitan will be conducted at the ministerial level, but not by the foreign ministers of the two countries involved in the dispute.

"It will be at a ministerial level and a political level," Indonesia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas said about the future of talks on the disputed islands with Malaysia.

Speaking at the closing of the fourth Malaysia-Indonesia Joint Commission Meeting here yesterday, Alatas said the talks would be informal thus would not involve himself nor his Malaysian counterpart Abdullah Badawi.

"If the two foreign ministers sit down and talk, well then it would be formal...Even if it was called informal it would still be formal," he said.

Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur have held three Working Group meetings on the overlapping claims to Sipadan and Ligitan islands, located just off the east coast of Kalimantan.

After a meeting between Indonesia's President Soeharto and Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in September, the two leaders agreed to pursue a bilateral solution by selecting special representatives to continue negotiations.

Neither Alatas nor Badawi, who also attended yesterday's meeting, would reveal whether the representatives had been selected.

Reiterated

Badawi reiterated that the talks would now be conducted on the political level of the representatives to be chosen and thus the territorial dispute had not been discussed at the four-day Commission meeting.

Badawi several times underlined the willingness of the two countries to find an amicable solution and called for the dispute not to be blown out of proportion.

"The important thing is that we do not sensationalize the issue concerning Sipadan-Ligitan. This is an issue which captures the attention of both our peoples," he said.

After a courtesy call to President Soeharto at Merdeka Palace earlier yesterday morning, Badawi said the issue had not been discussed at all.

On the question of Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia, Badawi warned those intending to go that there were now fewer jobs available for them.

There are currently over 500,000 Indonesian workers in Malaysia.

"At this time the job opportunities are not as many as you would have found three or four years ago," he said, adding that "this probably results in a reduced number of workers needed from Indonesia."

He urged those intending to seek employment in Malaysia to go through the proper channels and equip themselves with the skills needed for the jobs.

One of the results of the fourth Joint Commission was an agreement between the two ministers on expediting the delineation of the proposed Exclusive Economic Zone in the Straits of Malacca as soon as possible.

They also reaffirmed their commitment to the establishment of sub-regional growth areas, such as the Indonesia-Malaysia- Singapore growth triangle.

The fifth Joint Commission Meeting will be held in Malaysia next year. (mds)