Time to sit down and end feuds with neighbors

Time to sit down and end feuds with neighbors

Sayidiman Suryohadiprojo, Former Governor, Nation Resilience
Institute (Lemhanas), Jakarta

Indonesia is now mixed up in a quarrel with some neighbors.
First is the deterioration in relations with Malaysia caused by
the problem of illegal Indonesian workers in that country. Now
another problem has come up because of the Singaporean foreign
minister's demand of extradition from Indonesia of persons
accused of terrorism.

The problem with Malaysia would not have happened if some very
important Indonesian officials did not make angry comments that
triggered no less angry comments by Malaysian officials. The
media, especially television, also contributed to the bad
atmosphere when thousands of Indonesians watched how the unlucky
workers and their families were expelled from Malaysia and had
many difficulties to get a place on a ship to go home. Plus their
sorrows after they arrived in Indonesia.

Obviously, many Indonesians reacted emotionally in regard to
the tragedy faced by the unlucky workers' families. That was the
impetus for an emotional demonstration at the Malaysian embassy
in Jakarta. There would have been no serious consequences if it
was limited to a normal demonstration. But when the Malaysian
national flag was burned by some demonstrators and the front
gates torn down, a different situation emerged.

Of course, a strong reaction in Kuala Lumpur was expected.
Relations between Indonesia and Malaysia are now on the decline
again, reminding us of the dark situation during the
"Confrontation" policy of Indonesia against Malaysia in the early
1960s.

Although the problem with Singapore is much less serious, we
cannot afford to let the problem grow into a dispute that can
badly affect future relations between the two nations. That a
very high-level Indonesian government official has issued a
statement which will certainly become an issue of debate among
the wider public, even outside the country, is already bad enough
for maintaining smooth relations.

The general public in Indonesia, especially the Muslim
community, has also reacted immediately and rather strongly. When
people are having so many problems because of bad economic
conditions, it is very easy to become emotional. Moreover,
politicians use every opportunity to gain an advantage for their
political position by exploiting certain events and developments,
especially ahead of the 2004 general elections.

But anyhow, all these quarrels among neighbors of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations is a very negative
development for the region. The leaders of Indonesia, Malaysia
and Singapore as well as other ASEAN countries should realize
that ASEAN is of high importance in their respective national
interests. Every member should place ASEAN as a high priority in
their national policies. ASEAN is important for all the nations
in Southeast Asia for political, economics and security as well
as cultural and social reasons. Although initially ASEAN did not
want to be seen as a political association, this limitation has
been proven to be unrealistic. The emergence of the ASEAN
Regional Forum was clear evidence.

It is extremely important that all members should always
maintain and strengthen ASEAN's cohesiveness and cooperation, and
avoid a split and worsening of relations between members. Member
governments should realize the need to harmonize national
interests with that of the region. And that ASEAN interests
should be at least pursued with equal sincerity and determination
by each member as the pursuit of national interests.

Of course, this is easier said than done. Although there is
more talk of the necessity of a pluralistic view and attitude,
this is not easy to practice, particularly if people are facing
many, difficult problems. The impact of the still weak
international economy is felt by every ASEAN member nation and
their people. The troubles in each nation make life more
difficult.

The leadership in each nation should bear the responsibility
of guarding ASEAN unity. It is therefore very wrong if high
ranking officials like Cabinet ministers and members of
legislative bodies, indulge in a shouting war. And since we are
guardians of a free press, it is impossible to censor negative
public statements. So we will have a duel of public statements
among neighbors that might delight the media, but which is very
negative for the common ASEAN interests.

Indonesian officials should recognize that Malaysia has the
right to have its immigration regulations and that those must be
enforced. However, Malaysia's statesmen should also recognize
that enforcement of regulations must take circumstances into
consideration, especially if it is going to hurt hundreds of
thousands of people from a neighboring and friendly nation.

We cannot entirely blame the rather rough police handling of
the Indonesian migrants, because they are faced with a situation
of having to deal with hundreds of angry people daily. And it is
definitely wrong that Indonesian demonstrators burned the
Malaysian national flag. It was wrong for the Indonesian labor
minister Jacob Nuwa Wea to publicly accuse his colleague the
foreign affairs minister Hassan Wirayuda and his staff for not
doing enough to support the expelled Indonesian workers.

It is also wrong that the Speaker of the People's Consultative
Assembly, the person with the highest legislative position in
Indonesia, began a war of words with Malaysia. But also the
Malaysian foreign minister need not feel lacking in nationalism
if he does not respond to Amien Rais's statements about Malaysian
law enforcement.

Problems among nations, especially among neighbors, are
inevitable. Today it is the problem of Indonesian illegal workers
in Malaysia, tomorrow it might be something else. However,
problems should be resolved in a quiet and civilized manner.
Quiet diplomacy is not inferior to a highly exposed diplomacy.

And let all officials be aware that in today's world,
diplomacy is not the monopoly of professional career diplomats in
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Even private business can be
involved in productive diplomacy. The more so a minister in
charge of labor affairs.

And knowing the Malay mentality of Indonesians and Malaysians,
a silent approach, avoiding the loss of face, will be much more
effective and productive than indulging in a war of words.
Indonesia and Malaysia, for the sake of ASEAN and the two nations
individually, should channel their efforts through a better
approach.

Since the problem between Indonesia and Singapore is still
new, we also request these governments to respect wisdom. We all
know that since the U.S. embarked on its "War on Terrorism", many
nations were not in the position to argue against U.S. President
Bush, that whoever does not join the U.S. in its war is a
defender or actor of terrorism. However, Singapore's statesmen
should not overact or make conclusions in a rush. Let
responsible people of both nations meet and discuss to reach the
best solution for all concerned.

And let us, from now on, try to harmonize our national
interests with ASEAN regional interests. We can be assured that
it will contribute to a better future for all of us.