President Called On To Be Proactive In Preventing Sweepings By Civilians

Jakarta - The sweepings against Malaysian citizens by a number of civilians several days ago have tarnished Indonesia`s image and diplomacy in the neighboring country.

That`s why, according to three observers, the president as the head of the government has been urged to be proactive in solving the dispute with Malaysia diplomatically and immediately hold a meeting with the Malaysian Prime Minister.

Chairman of Indonesian Guide, Fadjroel Rachman, said here on Thursday the sweepings against Malaysians by a number of people in Jakarta several days ago were really stupid and shameful. "The police should act because a crime has been committed."

"Do not tolerate criminal acts under the guise of reactive nationalism," he said.

Rachman said the Indonesian people should not be trapped in reactive nationalism or suicidal nationalism when facing provocations launched by Malaysians.

According to him, in facing Malaysia, a positive sense of nationalism was needed while diplomacy and negotiations should become a priority in handling such problems.

Therefore, he did not agree if later Indonesia takes the step of emotional provocation, especially an armed conflict based on the outdated cry "Crush Malaysia".

He said further that the government should immediately form a special team led by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and Foreign Minister as acting chairman and assisted by a legal team, artists and cultural experts.

Sharing the opinion with Rachman was Dr Sofyan Siregar, an expert on international law from the European Islamic University in Rotterdam, saying that the sweepings against Malaysians were a reflection of uneducated people.

"If we feel resented with that country`s claim over our cultural property like the Pendet dance and others, the best way to do is by intensifying dialogues. Such a solution is often reached by giving more priority to diplomacy," Sofyan said in an e-mailed message on Thursday.

The number of Indonesian workers employed in Malaysia was quite big, while that of Malaysians living in Indonesia is quite small. If a certain group in Malaysia committed such sweeping against Indonesians in that country, the number of those to be netted would be tremendous, he said.

A group of people who committed the sweepings against the Malaysians had shown to the world their childish and immature attitude looking at the phenomena of life.

"What should be done during the fasting month is merely refraining ourselves from being trapped in doing such ridiculous action which may tarnish the image of our country in the eyes of the international community," Sofyan opined.

According to him, the spirit of nationalism should not be demonstrated to the world through such shameful action, but through a proper dialogue with reliable arguments. "Anger will not solve the problem."

In the meantime, Prof Dr Hikmahanto Juwana of the University of Indonesia said there had been a misunderstanding regarding the use of Indonesian cultural property by Malaysia and the government had to give a clarification about it.

"The government must neutralize the situation and prevent the Indonesian public from hating Malaysia by giving a clear explanation about it," he said to ANTARA.

He said the depiction of the "Pendet" dance in a Malaysian tourism advertisement did not mean that Malaysia had claimed the property, neither was this the case when Malaysia mentioned Jemur island in another of its tourism promotion advertisement.

"So a lot of the responses have emerged from wrong perceptions including among officials that have made the people conclude that Malaysia has indeed claimed the properties as theirs," he said.

Therefore, Hikmahanto said, it was time for the government to communicate with the public and straighten out the wrong perceptions.

The government needs to call on the people not to resort to unilateral actions because the problem would be settled on government to government basis. "In the case of conflicts, the people must not be involved. We cannot blame Malaysian citizens here for supporting their government`s stance," he said

Earlier, the Indonesian foreign ministry deplores the sweepings against Malaysians by some people at Jalan Diponegoro, Central Jakarta, on Tuesday.

The ministry`s spokesman, Teuku Faizasyah, said the Indonesian people should respond to the issue of Malaysian claims of Indonesian cultural property "with a cool head and not emotionally."

"It is better to settle all issues peacefully through diplomatic channels or talks," Faizasyah said, hoping the incident would not recur.

Several Malaysian media had reported the sweepings as committed by some people wielding sharpened bamboo stalks.

They also reported that some demonstrators in Yogyakarta had tossed rotten eggs at houses accommodating Malaysian students, following Indonesian media reports that Malaysia had claimed the "Pendet" dance.

Harian Malaysia meanwhile carried an interview with Indonesian citizens in Riau, North Sumatra, Dumai and Sulawesi who said that the anti-Malaysian demonstrations in Indonesia were done by a small group of people and therefore need not be responded too seriously as they did not represent the whole nation.

Malaysian Information, Communications and Culture Minister Rais Yatim had appealed to the Malaysian government and people not to stage demonstrations in front of the Indonesian embassy in Kuala Lumpur.

"Although fire had been set to Malaysian flags, in Jakarta rotten eggs and rocks were tossed on our embassy, but we will not retaliate by similar acts on the Indonesian embassy in Kuala Lumpur," he said in the company of Indonesian ambassador to Malaysia Da`i Bachtiar.

He said Malaysia would not answer the sweepings in Jakarta with similar action because it still wished to maintain its relationships with Indonesia. Eliswan Azly

Source: http://www.antara.co.id

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