[list_indonesia] [ppiindia] Indonesia tests ties with 'arrogant' neighbor
- From: "Ambon" <sea@xxxxxxxxxx>
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- Date: Sat, 19 Mar 2005 00:25:23 +0100
** Mailing-List Indonesia Nasional Milis PPI-India www.ppi-india.da.ru **
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/GC19Ae03.html
Mar 19, 2005
Indonesia tests ties with 'arrogant' neighbor
by Kalinga Seneviratne
JAKARTA - From Medan to Jakarta, Yogakarta, Surabaya, Solo and Batam, all
across this vast archipelago Indonesian konfrontasi, or confrontation volunteer
militias, are undergoing martial-arts training to attack what they call
"arrogant Malaysia".
The friendship between the two Southeast Asian Muslim neighbors has been
strained in recent weeks over a disputed island off Indonesia's Kalimantan
province.
Both Malaysia and Indonesia are claiming ownership of the Ambalat island off
northern Kalimantan and its seabed, which is believed to possess large
quantities of petroleum and gas deposits. The dispute over the island flared up
on February 16 when Malaysian state-owned oil company Petronas granted an oil
exploration concession to the giant British-Dutch multinational Shell petroleum
company.
Since then, both countries have disputed each other's claim to the area and
sent gunboats to protect their interests. Indonesia's Department of
Transportation has also sent workers to build a lighthouse on Unarang Reef just
off the island. Jakarta claims the Malaysian navy arrested and assaulted these
workers before releasing them.
While the Malaysian media has been mute on the issue, here in Indonesia the
media has drummed up nationalist sentiments over the issue, which has been
taken up by political and youth groups raising the specter of the Sukarno era
"Smash Malaysia" campaign of 1963.
While young people across the country have been enlisted as konfrontasi
volunteers, some demonstrators have burned the Malaysian flag. Yet, leaders of
both countries have appealed for refrain and vowed to settle the dispute by
peaceful means.
During a visit to Jakarta last week to meet his Indonesian counterpart to
discuss the contentious issue, Malaysia's amicable foreign minister, Syed Hamid
Albar, gave a series of media interviews to calm the waters and appealed to the
Indonesian media to tone down its anti-Malaysian rhetoric.
When asked by the popular Tempo magazine whether Malaysia was ready for war,
Albar asked "what war?" He went on to assure Indonesia that war has never been
an option considered by Malaysia.
"Those who talk about war are the Indonesian media," he said. "Indonesian
television talks about attacking Malaysia. I think they should tone it down."
Confrontation between two countries that share a common religion, language and
cultural traditions may sound somewhat out of place in the modern world. But,
many analysts here argue that the latest confrontation is much more than just a
dispute over territory.
They point out that this comes hard on the heels of Malaysia's high-handed
arrest and deportation of thousands of illegal Indonesian workers; while on the
other hand, the Indonesian media has whipped up the Ambalat issue immediately
after a controversial fuel-price hike by the government of newly elected
President Susilo Bamabang Yudhoyono.
"The Ambalat case has at least demonstrated how the spirit of nationalism has
'pushed back' waves of protests against the increase in fuel prices," observed
political science lecturer Israr Iskandar of Andalas University in Padang.
Writing in the Jakarta Post this week, he warned that while the Ambalat case
has indicated that nationalism is still strong in Indonesia, it runs the danger
of burying beneath it the real people's issues, especially cost of living.
But media analyst Wahyutama of the Jakarta-based media watchdog Habibie Center
argues that the treatment of Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia may well be
the trigger for the current nationalist sentiments here.
On March 1, Malaysia began rounding up and arresting undocumented workers -
most of whom are Indonesians - following the end of a four-month amnesty. Those
arrested could face heavy fines, jail sentences and whipping.
"We cannot just simplify Indonesia's reaction to Malaysia as a result of media
exposure to the Ambalat issue. The reaction is the accumulated emotions of the
Indonesian people toward Malaysia-Indonesia relations, especially regarding
Indonesian workers," Wahyutama told Inter Press Service in an interview. "I
believe the emotions are addressed to the Malaysian government and not to the
people.
"There is a general feeling among Indonesian people of being humiliated and
dishonored by Malaysia," Wahyutama noted. "The Ambalat conflict happened in a
sequence with the sweep of Indonesian illegal workers from Malaysia," he added.
"This policy is viewed by Indonesian people with disgust. It shows Malaysia has
no respect for the Indonesian people - especially the cruel punishment like
whipping meted out by the Malaysian government to Indonesians."
Malaysia's decision to award a concession for oil exploitation and management
in the Ambalat area to Shell indicated that Kuala Lumpur is sure the island is
part of its territory. Indonesia, however, is also confident that the area is
in its maritime territory. Jakarta says its claim to the area is supported by
historical facts that Ambalat previously was part of the Bulungan Sultanate
that since Indonesia's independence in 1945 has been incorporated into the
Indonesian archipelago.
The latest clash between the two neighbors is related to the dispute over the
Sipadan and Ligitan islands in the same Sulawesi Sea - a dispute that was
settled in Malaysia's favor by the International Court of Justice in 2002.
Malaysia's claim over Ambalat and the Unarang Reef is based on the 2002
judgement.
But because there is an overlapping territory, Indonesia has used the rules of
the Convention of Law of the Sea to lay claim to portions of the island,
situated off the land border between East Kalimantan and Malaysia's state of
Sabah.
Analysts believe that Indonesia will not go into international arbitration on
this issue because the 2002 case was very costly, especially the pay for
foreign lawyers. Malaysia too is not in a mood for a legal battle, something
Foreign Minister Albar indicated during his visit here last week.
The two countries are due to meet again next week to hammer out a possible
joint oil exploration deal in a bid to diffuse tensions.
(Inter Press Service)
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