INDONESIA AND MALAYSIA NEED TO RESOLVE BORDER ISSUES IMMEDIATELY - SUSILO Ahmad Fuad Yahya

JAKARTA, Sept 2 (Bernama) -- President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono wants the
boundary problems between Indonesia and Malaysia to be resolved immediately in
order to maintain the cordial relations between the two countries which had been
established centuries ago.

"Indonesia will continue to urge Malaysia to conclude negotiations on border
issues which frequently trigger incidents and tension.

"Thus, by preventing unnecessary tension, I believe the cordial bilateral
relations and cooperation between Indonesia and Malaysia can be improved
further," the president said in his message to the people on Indonesia-Malaysia
relations, broadcast on television.

The broadcast was made to explain to the Indonesian people about Malaysia which
they claimed had belittled the integrity and sovereignty of Indonesia.

This followed the incident where the Indonesian Marine and Fisheries Ministry
had recently detained seven Malaysian fishermen while the Malaysian Marine
Operations Force had detained three enforcement officers from the Indonesian
Ministry. They were all detained for encroaching into each other's territorial
waters.

Although all those who were detained had been released by the authorities of
both countries on Aug 17, the Indonesian people continued to show their anger at
Malaysia by staging demonstrations and at the same time pressure the Indonesian
government to adopt a firm attitude on Malaysia in tackling the border problems
between the two countries.

In his statement Wednesday night, Susilo espoused on the significant relations
between Indonesia and Malaysia and outlined five reasons why the relationship
should be further protected and maintained.

Firstly, he said the bilateral relations between both countries hinged on a
history of close cultural and social relations, possibly even closer than other
countries, over centuries.

"Secondly, Indonesia and Malaysia relations are important in the big Asean
family. Asean may grow more rapidly due to a strong foundation in Malaysia and
Indonesia relations," he said.

Thirdly, he said there were two million Indonesian workers in Malaysia working
in several fields, including agriculture and this benefited both countries.

In education, he said there were 13,000 Indonesian students studying in Malaysia
while 6,000 Malaysians were studying in Indonesia.

"Fourthly, Malaysians form the third biggest tourist group at 1.18 million out
of a total 6.3 million tourists to the republic.

"Lastly, both countries have strong trade and investment relations," he said.

Susilo said the 2005-2009 index showed that Malaysian investors had
implemented 285 projects in Indonesia worth US$1.2 billion (USD1 = RM3.12) while
Indonesia's investment in Malaysia amounted to US$534 million and trade between both
countries was valued at US$11.4 million in 2009.

“This shows the strong economic relations although this relationship is also
highly complex, it is not free from challenges," he said.

In tackling the incident near Pulau Bintan, Riau Archipelago recently, Susilo
said he had sent a letter to Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak which
stated Indonesia's deep concern on the incident and urged Malaysia to quickly
resolve the maritime boundary.

"As the Head of State and Head of Government, I'm also feeling what is being
felt by the Indonesian people.

"I'm also inviting (the people) to avoid extreme acts because they will add
further problems. Violence begets violence," he said.
-- BERNAMA




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