Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
Risking further public outcry, the President urged the public
Wednesday not to overreact toward Malaysia, while asking the
neighboring country to accelerate negotiations over disputed
territories.
In a flaming red batik shirt, speaking from the
military headquarters in Jakarta on Wednesday, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
defied expectations and demands to deliver a tough speech on Malaysia,
and instead appealed for emphasis on diplomacy in the current crisis,
while avoiding condemning Malaysia for the recent arrest of Indonesian
officials in waters near Riau province.
He stressed a “swift,
firm and accurate” response to settle all issues with the neighboring
country, but added that, despite all the common interests in the
bilateral relations, issues relating to “national dignity” such as
border issues could not be compromised.
A thorough response, he
said, was needed in order to prevent future flash points, and to
facilitate “deeper, wider” relations with Malaysia.
Yudhoyono
said the public should not get carried away and took the recent spat
into a broader context, saying not all conflicts between the two
countries related to sovereignty.
“I care about the emotions you
feel [over the recent row between the two countries]. But we have to
avoid violence because it often begets more violence,” he said .
“Indonesia will keep pushing Malaysia to negotiate borders as border disputes are a major source of tension.”
He
also said Indonesia should maintain peaceful diplomacy in settling
issues with Malaysia because the country had taken the lead in
resolving conflicts in a peaceful manner on the world stage.
Yudhoyono
said the bilateral relations were too good to be broken, citing
Malaysia’s investment in Indonesia that amounted to US$1.2 billion
between 2005 and 2009 and Indonesia’s investment in Malaysia $534
million. Two-way trade stood at $11.4 billion last year alone.
He
also said there were 2 million Indonesians working in Malaysia, 13,000
Indonesian students studying in Malaysia and 6,000 Malaysian students
in Indonesia.
Indonesian tourists, Yudhoyono continued, accounted for 1.18 million of Malaysia’s 6.3 million foreign tourists each year.
The
speech was the President’s first open statement since Aug. 13, when the
arrest of three Indonesian officials drew nation-wide outcry.
Yudhoyono’s
speech will likely draw harsh criticism of the government, as
expectations of a harsh response were high, considering venue chosen to
deliver the address.
University of Indonesia (UI) international
law expert Hikmahanto Juwana said the President should not have
delivered a rhetorical speech and should have instead taken a firm
stance against Malaysia.
Prosperous Justice Party (PKS)
legislator Mahfud Siddiq said Yudhoyono should have used his speech “to
send a message to Malaysia that Indonesia is taking the matter
seriously and will take any means to bring Malaysia to the negotiating
table in a respectful manner”.
Another expert, Makmur Keliat,
said Yudhoyono should know “when to use hard power or soft power,”
implying that hard power should have been employed. Scholar Hariyadi
Wirawan said the President was only trying to calm the military by
choosing to deliver his speech at the base.
