Embassies ‘too slow’ to protect Indonesians abroad: Lawmaker

Ary Hermawan ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Mon, 06/01/2009 10:06 PM  |  World

While the larger-than-life saga of Indonesian model Manohara Odelia Pinot and her royal Malaysian husband appears to be returning to square one with the latter demanding evidence of her allegations, the Indonesian Embassy in Malaysia has come under fire for being “too slow” to protect Indonesian citizens abroad.

Manohara lashed out at embassy officials for failing to help her, despite the media frenzy on her plight, and for casting doubt over the teen model’s claims of hardship.

“We need to improve our embassies’ performance to protect Indonesian citizens abroad. Manohara is only one case. If we look at past records, we see embassies were slow in protecting citizens,” House of Representatives’ Commission I member Yusron Ihza Mahendra told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

He was referring to a number of cases in which Indonesians, particularly migrant workers, were reportedly physically abused.

He added the House would summon the Foreign Ministry to seek clarification on Manohara’s statement.

“We’re going to ask them about our embassies’ performance,” he said.

The Foreign Ministry has denied Manohara’s allegations, saying the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur had done what it could to help her. The embassy’s deputy head of mission there, Tatang B. Razak, was quoted by detik.com as saying the embassy had sent a letter to the Malaysian Foreign Ministry and tried to communicate with the Kelantan royal family, but to no avail.

He admitted the embassy could not do much as Manohara was still the wife of Muhammad Fakhry, the prince of the Kelantan Sultanate.

“This was originally a domestic affair. If we wanted to do something about it, what kind of action could we have taken? We have to be rational about it,” he said.

A close friend of the Kelantan prince, Mohd. Saberi, told Malaysiakini.com on Monday that Manohara did not “escape”, nor had she been “taken away” from her husband, who actually gave her permission to leave with her mother, Daisy Fajarina.

“Tengku Temenggung [Tengku Muhammad Fakhry] has no problem with Manohara’s [return to Indonesia], as it is with his consent,” he said.

He added Manohara had decided to go with her mother after speaking with her and sister Dewi Sri Asih for seven hours, and said there was no “brawl” between the Kelantan royal family and Daisy.

The royal family denied Manohara’s abuse claims, saying what she had revealed to the Indonesian media had all been set up by Daisy.

“What she said [was arranged] to confirm her mother’s claims,” he said, adding Fakhry was waiting for his wife to provide evidence of her accusations.

Neither Daisy nor her assistant were available for comment on Monday. Manohara, however, was quoted by detik.com as saying she did not “escape” from her husband.

“It was not an escape, I just wanted to go home,” she said.

Noted lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis announced he would no longer be the legal counsel for the Kelantan family, saying “there was no will from the family to settle the problem amicably”.

“I told them this was a serious matter,” he told the Post.

The Manohara saga has become the latest issue to strain the already tense Indonesia-Malaysia relations, along with other issues ranging from territorial violations and migrant worker abuse, to disputes over cultural heritage. Bloggers from both countries, mostly young and emotional, have often served to escalate the tensions.

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