[hang nadim] Indonesian students make peace, not war

KUALA LUMPUR: With peace and goodwill in their minds, 220 Indonesian high school students from Kudus, Central Java, decided to compose letters of friendship to their Malaysian counterparts, the Jakarta Post reported yesterday.
The letters, meant to strengthen ties and ease the tension between the two nations, will be sent to the Malaysian embassy in Jakarta today.

Pertama Keluarga High School student Ardi Satya was quoted as saying that declaring war on Malaysia would not overcome problems between the two countries, as there were other peaceful options.

"We decided to write friendship letters to students there, and through these letters, we want to encourage them to strengthen the bond of friendship between Indonesian and Malaysian students," Ardi said.

School principal Basuki said he hoped more students in both countries would make similar efforts.

"We say 'no' to war because it will result in the loss of lives," he said, adding that many students expect President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to take firm yet peaceful action against Malaysia.

The arrests of three Indonesian officials on Aug 13 in a maritime border incident had provoked anti-Malaysian sentiments in the republic and fuelled extreme reactions from members of the People's Democratic Defence (Bendera) group, who hurled excrement at the Malaysian embassy in Jakarta.

The matter is said to be on the list of issues to be discussed between Foreign Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman and Indonesian Foreign Minister Dr Marty Natalegawa during the latter's two-day visit to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, which begins today.

On Friday, Indonesian police chief Gen Bambang Hendarso Danuri said that directives had been issued to police officers to take action against groups involved in protests, including Bendera.

He had advised the public not to be provoked by messages circulating on Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites, asking people to conduct sweeping operations against foreigners, particularly Malaysians, as the matter was being settled between governments.

Nahdlatul Ulama advisory council leader K.H. Masdar Farid Mas'ud was quoted as saying that the brotherhood between Indonesia and Malaysia was too strong to be broken by the egos of a few individuals.

Nahdlatul Ulama, established in 1926, is the biggest Islamic organisation in Indonesia with an estimated 30 million members.

"If we have a conflict, we are the ones who will be at the losing end because others will take advantage of the situation," Masdar told Bernama in Jakarta yesterday.

Masdar said Malaysia and Indonesia had so much in common, like ethnicity, language and religion, and their quarrel usually would not last long.

"Maybe we are too close, so we dare to disturb each other. People who are not that close will not act like that. Although we quarrel a lot, we will not get into a really serious conflict."

Masdar said Malaysia's attitude, which was seen as underestimating Indonesia, should motivate Indonesia to get its act together and compete for its betterment.

He said this was because although Indonesia was bigger and richer in natural resources, it still lagged far behind Malaysia.

"This is also a motivation for Indonesian leaders to buck up and raise their people's competitiveness and not try to intimidate others."

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Hubungan kukuh Indonesia-Malaysia
JAKARTA 5 Sept. - Organisasi Islam terbesar di Indonesia Nahdatul Ulama (NU) menegaskan bahawa hubungan persaudaraan antara Indonesia dan Malaysia adalah terlalu kuat untuk dirosakkan oleh kepentingan ego individu.

"Kalau berlaku konflik, yang akan rugi kita sendiri. Orang lain atau pihak-pihak yang tidak suka dengan dengan persaudaraan kita, akan mengambil manfaat dari itu," kata Ketua Dewan Syura NU Pusat, Kyai Haji Masdar Farid Mas'udi.

"Walaupun pihak-pihak berkenaan itu pada awalnya tak mempunyai niat sedemikian, namun jika Indonesia dan Malaysia menjadi lemah, mereka akan ambil manfaatnya," katanya kepada Bernama di Jakarta.

Beliau mengulas ketegangan yang berlaku antara Indonesia dan Malaysia berikutan insiden yang berlaku di kawasan sempadan perairan Malaysia-Indonesia berhampiran Pulau Bintan di kepulauan Riau pada 13 Ogos lalu.

Dalam insiden tersebut, tujuh nelayan Malaysia ditahan oleh bahagian penguat kuasa Kementerian Kelautan dan Perikanan Indonesia manakala Polis Marin Malaysia pula dikatakan menahan tiga pegawai penguat kuasa kementerian tersebut atas kesalahan menceroboh wilayah perairan negara masing- masing.

Pihak berkuasa kedua-dua negara telah membebaskan mereka yang ditahan pada 17 Ogos lalu, namun beberapa kumpulan aktivis masyarakat Indonesia mengadakan demonstrasi di hadapan Kedutaan Besar Malaysia di Jakarta bagi menuntut supaya Malaysia meminta maaf di atas tindakannya itu dan mendesak kerajaan Indonesia supaya bertindak tegas terhadap Malaysia dalam soal menjaga kedaulatan wilayah Indonesia.

Masdar berkata, Malaysia dan Indoneisa mempunyai begitu banyak persamaan seperti dari segi etnik, bahasa dan agama.

"Hubungan kedua-dua negara ini sudah seperti abang-adik, sehingga sering terlibat berkelahi perang mulut, namun ia hanya akan berlangsung sebentar saja.

"Mungkin justru terlalu dekat jadi semacam ada keberanian untuk saling mengganggu. Kalau orang jauh yang tidak punya kedekatan, tidak akan seperti itu.

"Namun meski sering bertengkar, kita tidak akan terjerumus pada konflik yang serius," katanya.

Dari kacamata seorang rakyat Indonesia, Masdar menyifatkan sikap Malaysia yang sering disebut sebagai merendahkan Indonesia, perlu dijadikan sebagai satu motivasi agar Indonesia makin memajukan diri dari segala aspek.

"Kerana pada kenyataannya, Indonesia kaya dengan pelbagai sumber daya alam, dan negara yang lebih besar namun ia masih tertinggal.

"Setiap muncul masalah, kami tidak terlalu khauatir. Boleh dikatakan ada sedikit ketegangan tetapi kami tidak ambil pusing. Saya kira ini untuk memotivasi pemimpin Indonesia untuk lebih menata diri, memperkuat daya saing bukan untuk menggagahi orang lain," katanya.

Beliau turut menyoroti semangat perpaduan yang wujud dalam Asean yang boleh dicontohi dalam melayari hubungan baik antara kedua-dua pihak. - BERNAMA

Demo Jakarta didalangi pihak tertentu

KUALA LUMPUR - Pertubuhan Pribumi Perkasa Malaysia (Perkasa) semalam mendakwa terdapat kemungkinan siri ‘Demonstrasi Jakarta’ didalangi pihak tertentu yang ingin meraih keuntungan politik.

Ketua Penerangan pertubuhan itu, Roslan Kassim berkata, demonstrasi berkenaan pasti mempunyai penaja yang terselindung dan ia berlaku melalui perancangan teliti oleh pihak tertentu.

“Perkasa mengambil insiden Demonstrasi Jakarta dengan begitu serius dan tidak menolak kemungkinan ada tali barut negara asing terbabit,” katanya dalam satu kenyataan, semalam.

Segelintir kumpulan di Indonesia menganjurkan demonstrasi di depan Kedutaan Besar Malaysia di Jakarta baru-baru ini bagi membantah penahanan tiga pegawai penguat kuasa Kementerian Kelautan dan Perikanan negara itu di sempadan perairan Malaysia-Indonesia dekat Kepulauan Riau pada 13 Ogos lalu.

We are like brothers, says Indonesia's Nahdlatul Ulama head

JAKARTA: The brotherhood between Indonesia and Malaysia is too strong to be broken by the egos of individuals, says Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) advisory council leader KH Masdar Farid Mas'udi.

Nahdlatul Ulama, established in 1926, is the biggest Islamic organisation in Indonesia with an estimated membership of 30 million.

"If we have a conflict, we are the ones who will be at the losing end because the others, who dislike our brotherhood, will take advantage of the situation," Masdar told Bernama, here, Sunday.

He was commenting on the dispute between Indonesia and Malaysia following an incident at the Malaysia-Indonesia maritime border near Pulau Bintan, Riau Archipelago, on Aug 13.

In the incident, seven Malaysian fishermen were detained by the Indonesian Marine and Fisheries Ministry, while Malaysian marine police arrested three enforcement officers from the Indonesian ministry, for alleged encroachment of each other's territorial waters.

Although those detained were released by the authorities of both countries on Aug 17, Indonesian activists continued to show their anger at Malaysia by staging demonstrations and demanding an apology, and pressuring the Indonesian government to adopt a firm attitude towards Malaysia over border problems between the two countries.

Masdar said Malaysia and Indonesia were like brothers who had so much in common, like ethnicity, language and religion, and their quarrel usually would not last very long.

"Maybe we are too close, so we dare to disturb each other. People who are not that close will not act like that. Although we quarrel a lot, we will not get into a really serious conflict," he said.

Masdar said Malaysia's attitude which was seen as underestimating Indonesia was actually a motivation for Indonesia to keep up and develop the country in all aspects.

He said this was because although Indonesia was bigger and richer in natural resources, it still lagged far behind Malaysia.

"I think this is also a motivation for Indonesian leaders to buck up and raise their people's competitiveness and not try to intimidate others," he added.

Perpaduan Melayu kunci keharmonian rakyat Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR 5 Sept. - Perpaduan rakyat pelbagai kaum di negara ini akan terus retak jika orang Melayu berpecah-belah kerana kunci utama kepada keharmonian negara terletak di bahu masyarakat bumiputera itu.

Pensyarah politik Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Prof. Dr. Ahmad Atory Hussain berkata, api perkauman yang dinyalakan pihak tertentu adalah berpunca daripada sikap orang Melayu sendiri yang enggan bersatu-padu.

Situasi itu jelasnya, melemahkan kuasa orang Melayu sehingga ada pihak bertindak 'menangguk di air keruh' untuk menjejaskan kestabilan politik dan keharmonian negara.

"Apabila Melayu dilihat sudah lemah dan tidak berdaya, kaum lain akan memandang rendah dan mempertikaikan kredibiliti orang Melayu untuk memimpin negara.

"Justeru, perpaduan di kalangan orang Melayu perlu diperkasakan terlebih dahulu kerana ia merupakan kunci kepada keharmonian negara ini," katanya ketika dihubungi di sini hari ini.

Beliau berkata demikian bagi mengulas peringatan berterusan Sultan Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah dan Sultan Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah sejak kebelakangan ini berhubung nasib orang Melayu jika mereka tidak bersatu-padu.

Yang Dipertua Pertubuhan Perpaduan Melayu Kedah (Pemikad), Abdul Ghani Mehat pula berkata, pergolakan yang berlaku di kalangan pemimpin memberi gambaran bahawa orang Melayu tidak mampu memerintah negara dengan baik.

"Sehubungan itu, kaum lain mula terdorong untuk mengkritik dan menyuarakan keinginan masing-masing meskipun bertentangan dengan Perlembagaan negara," katanya.

Sementara itu Presiden Teras Pengupayaan Melayu (Teras), Mohd. Azmi Abdul Hamid berkata, keharmonian negara ini akan terpelihara jika hak semua kaum dihormati seperti yang dipersetujui dalam Perlembagaan Persekutuan.

"Perlembagaan memperuntukkan banyak keistimewaan untuk dijadikan 'senjata' dalam memperkasakan masyarakat Melayu.

Veteran UMNO, Tan Sri Zaleha Ismail pula berpendapat, usaha mempertahankan perpaduan dan keharmonian negara adalah tanggungjawab semua pihak tidak mengira bangsa atau agama.