I refer to the malaysiakini report Karate assault: Syed Hamid has 'shamed the nation' .

I must say that Malaysia-Indonesia diplomatic relations is slowly approaching a diplomatic black hole despite the most cordial of relationships between the top leadership.

The repeated incidents of abuses by Malaysian law enforcement units and Rela on Indonesians have became a concern for the Indonesian community. Overzealous police officers and Rela personnel are abusing their powers when enforcing the law to the extent ordinary Indonesian tourists and students are treated as the enemies of the Malaysian government.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhyono stayed away from our grand 50th Merdeka day celebrations despite the personal apologies from Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi over the beating of the Indonesian karate referee Donald Pieter Luther Kolopita by four policemen in Nilai recently.

The incident had stirred up anti-Malaysia demonstrations throughout Indonesia. Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar also failed in his diplomatic mission aimed at cooling off the tension and anger of our neighbours.

The foreign minister has failed to sense the 'silent protest' of the Indonesian government since early this year over various incidents. Does he know that the Indonesian embassy in Kuala Lumpur has been downgraded and has been without a new ambassador since February? Now, the deputy chief of mission, Abdul Rahman Fachir, has been promoted as ambassador to Egypt and yet no deputy ambassador has been named.

We wonder if the Malaysian Foreign Ministry really understands the mindset of the Indonesian leadership and their culture particularly when we start claiming our brotherhood of the same roots.

It's also timely for us to look deeper into our foreign labour policies, the law that empower Rela personnel to be 'bounty hunters' and the exploitative practices of maid agencies in the country.