Brendan Pereira, Kuala Lumpur – Malaysian politicians yesterday asked the Indonesian government to rein in troublemakers in Jakarta or face the prospect of a more trying period in bilateral relations with its Asean neighbour.
Implicit in the message was the point that Indonesia had more to lose if the current spat became worse.
Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said that Indonesia should ensure that Malaysians in the republic were safe from any threat and that there was no repeat of the flag-burning incident.
"We hope that the Indonesian government can take measures – don't let people worsen the situation between the two countries," he said.
Relations between the two neighbouring countries hit a rough patch on Monday after a small group of Indonesians protested at the Malaysian Embassy and set fire to the Malaysian flag to show their anger over the Mahathir administration's tough stance against illegal foreign workers, who were mainly Indonesians.
Datuk Syed Hamid said that the burning of the national flag was not the way to conduct international relations and warned that such actions would harm longstanding bilateral ties.
He said: "We should not be guided by emotions in dealing with international relations. In this matter, the Indonesian media and its leaders should play an important role by not taking an anti-Malaysia stand."
While some Indonesians might be upset with the Mahathir administration's decision to impose jail and whipping on illegal immigrants, they should not forget one important fact: There were a lot of Indonesians working here, he said.
He also clarified that his advice on Monday to Malaysians against travelling to Indonesia did not mean that they were barred from doing so.
"Let me make this clear, we are not saying Malaysians are banned from going to Indonesia, but go there only if you have important things to do. I think in this kind of situation, there will be people taking laws into their own hands, they have to think about Indonesians working here as well," he said.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Malaysia would not lodge a protest with the Indonesian government over the burning of the national flag. He said that there was no need for the country to react because the act was not the work of the Indonesian government but of a small group of people.
"There are 220 million people in Indonesia and from that number there will surely be a small group who are irresponsible. We should not respond to these people," he said yesterday.
He said he agreed with the statement by Datuk Syed Hamid that for the time being, Malaysians should not go to Indonesia unless it was absolutely necessary.
Checks by The Straits Times with four travel agents showed that there had been some cancellations for tours departing this week following the Foreign Minister's advice. There were also many calls from people who wanted to know the actual situation in Jakarta.
Said Ms Rachel Tee, an executive at Mansfield Travel: "Some cancelled due to the uncertain situation. I don't think things are that serious but their personal safety could be involved. So why risk it."