Arientha Primanita, Dessy Sagita & Agus Triyono – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono may have been flirting with political suicide when he awarded a Malaysian sultan a medal of honor on Sunday amid Indonesia's growing resentment toward its neighbor.
Ties between the countries are strained, or more strained, after Tubagus Hasanuddin, a lawmaker from the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), alleged that Indonesia could lose 1,490 hectares of land in West Kalimantan to Malaysia. That immediately prompted a wave of condemnation and anti-Malaysian sentiment here.
The government denied a land grab by Malaysia, but that has failed to appease House of Representatives members.
On Sunday, Yudhoyono presented Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, the sultan of Terengganu and the current constitutional head of Malaysia, with the Adipurna medal for service to the nation.
The honor reflected the sultan's "enormous contribution in preserving and developing the friendship, good relations and cooperation between Indonesia and Malaysia," the president said at the State Palace after bestowing the medal.
He was immediately condemned by activists, including those at Migrant Care, a Jakarta-based advocacy group for the protection of Indonesian workers overseas. The group says there are 151 Indonesians on death row in the neighboring country.
"There are also thousands of others who have been murder and rape victims, so we condemn the decision to give this award," Migrant Care coordinator Wahyu Susilo said.
A few months ago, the same group also criticized a decision by the University of Indonesia to award an honorary doctorate to Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah for his achievements in religious tolerance and human rights.
There were similar anti-Saudi protests here, particularly over the treatment of Indonesian workers in the kingdom. An Indonesian maid, Ruyati binti Sapubi, 54, was executed shortly before the doctorate was awarded. She was convicted of killing her employer, which she said was an act of self-defense. After the execution, the Indonesian government in June stopped sending domestic workers to Saudi Arabia.
Migrant Care says there are 43 Indonesian workers on death row in Saudi Arabia.
Yudhoyono's adviser on international relations, Teuku Faizasyah, said the government had long been planning to give the Malaysian sultan the honor.
"We realize there will be controversy and even resistance from all sides," he said. " But must such resistance stop us from honoring a person who has made so many positive contributions?"
The government, he added, had planned to give the Adipurna medal in August – before the border debacle surfaced – but the sultan was unable to attend the ceremony in Jakarta.
"[He] has done a lot for our migrant workers' children, who previously had no access to formal education, by establishing a learning center for them," Teuku said.
Presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha said the award was a payback for Malaysia's decision to honor Yudhoyono for his achievements in 2008.