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Indonesia asks Malaysia for help to free abducted ship captains
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Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu (center) speaks at a press conference about efforts to free three Indonesian crewmen held hostage by the Abu Sayyaf militant group in Zamboanga City in the Philippines on Sept. 18. (JP/Haeril Halim)
T
he Indonesian government has asked for Malaysia’s help in securing the release of two Indonesian ship captains who were abducted in Sabah waters in Malaysia on Saturday.
“The two are Indonesians from Buton [in Southeast Sulawesi] who worked legally on Malaysian fishing ships,” Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said in Bogor, West Java, on Sunday.
Retno she had contacted Malaysian Foreign Affairs Minister Anifah Aman to express her concerns and ask for help in the matter.
She said she had also discussed the abduction with a peace advisor to the Philippine president.
Several Indonesian sailors have been abducted by the southern Philippines-based militant group Abu Sayyaf this year. Some of them have been released.
(Read also: Four more Abu Sayyaf hostages in process of returning home: Wiranto)
Retno said the government had previously expressed its concerns to the Malaysian government regarding the security situation in its waters as around 6,000 Indonesians were working on Malaysian ships in the area.
The government also called on Indonesian ship crews to postpone all sailing until the security situation was safe. (jun)
