Anwar, speaking at a forum in Jakarta on Sunday, said the tendency of Malaysians to hold negative views of Indonesians was attributable, among others, to negative coverage by the Malaysian media of events occurring in Indonesia or involving Indonesians.

“When we look at Malaysian media, we see negative reports [about Indonesia]: riots, poor Indonesian migrant workers being dumped. [There is] no positive coverage at all,” he said.

“When [Malaysian media] report on [Indonesia’s] Constitutional Court and the Corruption Eradication Commission, it’s covered as if all Indonesians are corrupt, although I know Malaysia is very corrupt too.”

The former deputy prime minister of Malaysia said the negative coverage was part of the reason why “understanding and affection” between the neighbors were not as strong compared to during his youth.

Although Indonesia’s first president Sukarno had at the time declared the “Destroy Malaysia” campaign, Anwar said he observed that negative sentiment toward Malaysians was not widely shared as it was now among the Indonesian public. “This is really not healthy for the long term.”

Anwar was speaking at a lecture organized by the Soegeng Sarjadi School of Government titled “Political Reform and Democratization in Malaysia: Toward Equal Friendship Between Malaysia and Indonesia”.

In the following press conference, he said the Malaysian ruling party UMNO also played a part in raising tensions by warning of threats to Malaysians because of Indonesian anger.

“Are our domestic politics or UMNO playing up the situation? Yes, they are. [UMNO] act as if Malaysia is under threat of being attacked by the boiling rage in Indonesia, which is not true. The sentiment is not that terrible in Indonesia, although yes there is anger that has spread among the people,” Anwar said.

The bilateral relationship between Indonesia and Malaysia is on a thin, with many, if not almost every incident involving the two countries quickly sparking renewed tension.

The issue of poor treatment of Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia, border disputes and cultural claims are among the key points of disagreement.

Last month’s arrest of three Indonesian Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry officers by Malaysian authorities in disputed waters, however, raised tensions to new high, with leaders of the two countries forced to deliver speeches to specially address the issue.

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