RI asks Malaysia to extend stay permits for Acehnese

The Indonesian government has asked Malaysia to extend stay permits for around 30,000 Acehnese refugees, who fled to malaysia on the wake of 2004 tsunami, according to Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda. Minister Wirayuda said on Thursday that he wished the Malaysian government would extend their stay for another year. "We have conveyed our wishes to the prime minister and deputy prime minister... and their respond is positive," Wirayuda was quoted by Antara as saying. According to the minister, the stay permits for the Acehnese refugees expired last month, but Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf had asked for their extension because the Aceh administration could not yet provide enough employment opportunities for them. Earlier, the Aceh Legislative Council speaker Sayed Fuad said that Governor Irwandi Yusuf had travelled to Malaysia to ask for an extension of the refugees' stay permits until the end of 2010.