RI, Malaysia to combine antiterrorist effort
KUALA LUMPUR (JP): Indonesian and Malaysian leaders agreed here on Monday to step up efforts to prevent international terrorism spreading to both countries, officials said.
Indonesian foreign minister Hassan Wirayuda said President Megawati and her Malaysian counterpart Mahathir Mohamad had agreed at their meeting to increase bilateral cooperation in dealing with terrorism.
"We need to step up communication between our intelligence agents and between the police to prevent such actions as the two countries share the some concern that terrorist activities have reached an alarming level," Hassan said after the meeting.
He further said that the two leaders had also agreed to seek a joint mechanism for fighting terrorism. Such a mechanism could also include the participation of other countries from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The issue of international terrorism was also raised during bilateral talks between Megawati and Singaporean Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong in Singapore on Sunday, Hassan said.
Meanwhile, Malaysian foreign minister Syed Hamid Albar told a news conference after the two leaders had met for an hour that gun-running to separatist groups in Indonesia's Aceh province and growing Islamic militancy in Malaysia were the primary concerns.
"Aceh is part of Indonesia. We will continue to respect Indonesia's sovereignty over Aceh," the foreign minister was quoted as saying by AFP.
Malaysia has in the past been blamed in some Indonesian quarters for the smuggling of arms into Aceh.
Megawati is in Malaysia for a two-day state visit, the last leg of her first, eight-day overseas trip to nine countries in ASEAN.
She received a full military welcoming ceremony at the Parliament House, and the Malaysian king even escorted her to her hotel.
Aside from terrorism issues, Megawati and Mahathir also agreed to cooperate in efforts to combat cross-border drug and people trafficking.
The two leaders also addressed several bilateral problems such as overlapping maritime and land boundary claims on Borneo island, and the sensitive issue of illegal migrant workers from Indonesia.
Mahathir told Megawati he did not want Indonesian workers to enter Malaysia illegally, and she agreed, Syed Hamid said.
Regarding economic issues, both leaders agreed to develop the ASEAN energy network, and Malaysia said it was considering the importation of coal and natural gas from Indonesia.
In addition, Malaysian businesses in general were quite keen to invest in Indonesia, especially after the rise of Megawati to power so that there was greater political certainty and security in Indonesia.
Mahathir told Megawati that Kuala Lumpur was "very happy" with her assurance that the political situation was stable and had returned to normal, Syed Hamid said.
"We have invested in plantations. But we are willing to collaborate in other areas, like (Malaysia's state energy company) Petronas to work with (Indonesian counterpart) Pertamina in oil and gas concession areas.
"We will look at Indonesia as another good place to invest in collaboration with Indonesia," Syed Hamid said.
Megawati was scheduled to hold a dialogue with the Indonesian community here before flying back to Jakarta on Tuesday. (dja)