Stop political row with Malaysia: Megawati
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Ainur R. Sophiaan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Surabaya
President Megawati Soekarnoputri on Tuesday stepped in to defuse the ongoing row with neighboring Malaysia, and urged an immediate resolution of the illegal migrants issue.
The President underlined on Tuesday that long-standing diplomatic ties with Malaysia should not be damaged by emotional reactions from either side regarding the problem.
"We should not display emotional reactions that could affect bilateral ties," Pramono Anung, the deputy secretary-general of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), which is chaired by Megawati, quoted the President as saying.
The core issue is about the deportation of Indonesian illegal workers from Malaysia and has nothing to do with political issues, Pramono told reporters after the party's weekly meeting led by Megawati on Tuesday.
It was the President's hope that the labor issue would not damage friendly bilateral ties between Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur, Pramono added.
Megawati made the appeal amid further strong comments from Malaysian foreign minister Syed Hamid Albar, who warned on Tuesday that public anger in Indonesia over Kuala Lumpur's treatment of the illegal workers could harm bilateral relations.
On Monday, dozens of Indonesian protesters staged a rowdy demonstration in front of the Malaysian embassy setting the Malaysian flag on fire and breaking down the gate of the embassy compound,
Syed Hamid, as reported by AFP, denounced the burning of the flag, saying that this was not the way to conduct international relations.
Besides being founding members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), both Indonesia and Malaysia have many similarities, including the fact the majority of their nationals are Malays and Muslims.
Relations between the two neighboring countries have been strained following the recent controversy over the deportation of illegal Indonesian workers in the wake of the imposition of a new Immigration Act that imposes a minimum jail sentence of six months and up to six strokes of the cane.
The act took effect on July 31.
Following Monday's fierce protest, Syed Hamid also urged Jakarta to ensure the safety of its citizen living in Indonesia. This came a day after he advised Malaysians to avoid traveling to Indonesia.
Jakarta considered the travel advisory "unwarranted", as no Malaysian nationals had been harassed or threatened because of the deportation issue.
Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda urged officials from both countries on Tuesday to remain coolheaded and restrain themselves from making controversial statements.
"We expect that the public and government of both countries will restrain themselves from being emotional," Hassan said.
Foreign ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa said Indonesia had chosen to get down to business and was preparing a renewed draft Memorandum of Understanding on migrant workers, which would be discussed bilaterally next month.
Meanwhile, Indonesian legislators have adopted a shriller tone against Malaysia, with both House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung and People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Amien Rais regretting Malaysia's treatment of the workers.
"Malaysia should know that their action will provoke a reaction from us. We cannot stand by and watch them harassing our workers," Amien said as quoted by Antara, commenting on Syed Hamid's travel advisory.
Akbar, stressing that the travel warning was exaggerated, called on the Malaysian government not to continue with its caning policy, which he labeled "inhumane".
"The Indonesian people bear no grudges against Malaysians, and Kuala Lumpur's travel advisory is unnecessary," he said on a visit to Surabaya.
Indonesian-Malaysian economic ties (in 2000)
- Two-way trade surplus for Indonesia of US$ 716.1 million
- Malaysian investment in Indonesia stands at US$7.859 billion
- Around 600,000 Indonesians working in Malaysia