MALAYSIA ALSO FEELS THE LOSS OF ALI ALATAS, SAYS M'SIAN PM ABDULLAH

by Mohd Nasir Yusof

JAKARTA, Dec 11 (Bernama) -- Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Thursday, Malaysia
also feels the loss of former Indonesian foreign minister Ali Alatas
whom it regards as a statesman who had contributed a lot to fostering relations
between Malaysia and Indonesia.

Expressing his condolences to Alatas' family, the prime minister also
asked
the Malaysian and Indonesian delegations to the General Border Committee meeting
to recite prayers for Alatas at start of the meeting jointly chaired by him, as
defence minister, and his Indonesian counterpart, Juwono Sudarsono.

Alatas died at the Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore Thursday morning,
a
week after suffering a stroke. He was 76.

Abdullah, who became close to Alatas when they were foreign ministers,
said
he was shocked and personally saddened by the death.

He said Alatas, as Indonesian foreign minister, had helped in building
relations between the two countries and was much respected in Malaysia.

-- BERNAMA