Malaysia Still Claims It's Right on Issues Dealing with Indonesia

Jakarta, Indonesia (News Today) - Demonstrations considered ugly by Malaysia in front of the Malaysian embassy here by the People's Democratic Front (Bendera) on Monday have changed Malaysia-Indonesia ties.

The lobbing of faeces and burning of the Malaysian flag in protest of the arrest of Indonesian fisheries officals by Malaysian marine police in Riau on Aug 13 have hurt ties.

Kuala Lumpur insisted that the Indonesians had intruded into Malaysian waters and abducted Malaysian fishermen. Jakarta on the other hand claimed that the Malaysian fishermen had inturded into Indonesian waters.

While the situation in Malaysia is hotting up, the situation here has reached a serious level with calls on Indonesia to sever diplomatic ties. Universiti Indonesia international relations senior lecturer Andi Widjojanto was among those who made the suggestion.

He called for downgrading of diplomatic ties with Malaysia if not sever them as a shock therapy. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) who was blamed for not being firm said that the best solution was via talks but stressed that Indonesia would not compromise over its territory.

SBY Saturday sent a letter to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak hoping that the problem would be settled amicably and that border talks would be continued. Social activists who did not like close Malaysia-Indonesia ties were quick to seize the opportunity by harping on nationalism and blaming SBY for acceding to Malaysia.

Politicians including Indonesian cabinet ministers were quick to blame Malaysia for the incident fanned by media reports that painted Malaysia as an arrogant nation. Pressure prompted Indonesian Foreign Minister Dr Marty Natalegawa to send a diplomatic note to Malaysia protesting the incident claiming it occured in Indonesia territory.

Indonesia based this on a 2009 map while Malaysia was using a 1979 map. Malaysia replied insisting that it occured off Johor based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982.

The Indonesian media used issues like mistreament of housemaids and Indonesians facing death sentences for drugs to sow hatred for Malaysia. A poll by daily Republika on Aug 23 revealed that 3,607 respondents or 72.91 percent said Malaysia was the least friendly country compared to Australia, Singapore, Brunei and Philippines.

Malaysia too has problems in Indonesia where land on which the ambassador's residence is sitting on in Kemang, South Jakarta was seized by some people. It took 12 years for the court to return the land although it is Jakarta's responsibility to protect foreign diplomats.

Some 48,000 hectares of oil palm plantation belonging to Sime Darby mostly in Kalimantan is to be auctioned while Petronas which invested in subsidised fuel was only given limited rights in Sumatera. The meeting between Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman and Dr Marty on Sept 6 in Kota Kinabalu to discuss border issues is a positive step.

Since the border dispute will not be settled in the near future, there is possibility that such incidents will recur. We hope that the mechanism in place and bilaterial ties will prove benefical to two countries involved in a love-hate relationship.

Source : kompas

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