The Malaysian foreign minister has requested a meeting with his Indonesian counterpart to discuss recent incidents that could damage bilateral relations, the Foreign Ministry said on Friday
he Malaysian foreign minister has requested a meeting with his Indonesian counterpart to discuss recent incidents that could damage bilateral relations, the Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
The ministry's spokesman, Teuku Faizasyah, said that Anifah Aman, Malaysia's foreign minister, had summoned Indonesia's Ambassador to Malaysia, Da'i Bachtiar, on Wednesday following reports that radical groups harassed Malaysian citizens in Jakarta.
"We are treating this particular trip to Indonesia as a regular visit by the Malaysian foreign minister to foster bilateral relations, though we do get the impression the visit may have been triggered by the recent flag-burning and *sweeping' incidents," Faizasyah said.
Recent hysteria surrounding Malaysia's "theft" of Indonesia's cultural icons was triggered after an infomercial screened by the Discovery Channel for a documentary on Malaysia depicted a traditional Balinese dance known as the Pendet.
Hostile sentiments and accusations continued to escalate despite explanation from the Malaysian government that the inclusion of the Pendet was a mistake made by the Discovery Channel.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono urged the public to refrain from taking any action against Malaysia after a group known as the Benteng Demokrasi Rakyat (the People's Democracy Fortress), or Bendera, began targeting Malaysian nationals and demanding ID in the affluent Menteng area on Tuesday.
Yudhoyono will visit Kuala Lumpur to meet with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak in early October.
"President Yudhoyono's plan to visit Kuala Lumpur has been conveyed to the Malaysian ambassador when the latter bid farewell at the presidential palace," Da'i Bachtiar said to Antara, adding that it would be the president's first visit since Najib Tun Razak became Malaysian Prime Minister.
The agenda of the bilateral meeting will include issues on food security, regional security and terrorism, Da'i said .
Bendera accused the Yudhoyono administration of being too soft in dealing with Malaysia, which they claimed had led to Indonesia's borders being violated and perpetuated an image of weakness to Malaysia.
The group, which has revived Sukarno's "Ganyang Malaysia" (Crush Malaysia) slogan, boasted it had recruited about 1,500 people who were ready to wage war against Malaysia. The volunteers will be deployed to a number of secret locations near Indonesia-Malaysia borders, Bendera activist Adian Napitupulu said to Tempointeraktif.
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