Singapore says ties with RI still strong

Singapore says ties with RI still strong

Associated Press, Nusa Dua, Bali

Singapore's foreign minister on Wednesday pledged to work with Jakarta to maintain "excellent relations" despite recent public anger surrounding comments by the city-state's elder statesman that terrorist leaders roamed free in Indonesia.

Minister S. Jayakumar reiterated an invitation for Indonesian security officials to visit the island republic and question 13 suspected members of a Southeast Asian religious group, Jemaah Islamiyah, who were arrested in Singapore in December.

"I think the way forward now is for the professionals in the security agencies of both sides to get together," Jayakumar told reporters during a break in an international conference on human trafficking. "We look forward to the Indonesian officials coming to Singapore."

Jayakumar said he had discussed the matter with his Indonesian counterpart, Hassan Wirayuda, during a recent meeting in Phuket, Thailand.

"We will, as foreign ministers, manage the situation, bearing in mind the long-term importance of excellent relations," Jayakumar said.

The minister's remarks came after two days of demonstrations at the gates of the Singaporean embassy in Jakarta to protest Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew's comments that terrorist leaders remain at large in Indonesia.

Dozens of suspected militants detained recently in Malaysia and Singapore are thought to have ties to an Indonesia-based Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir. He is the alleged leader of a Southeast Asian Muslim group, Jemaah Islamiyah, which has been linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda organization.