Mahathir upbeat about Indonesia-Malaysia counter-terrorism efforts
TAMPAK SIRING, Indonesia - Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad expressed confidence today that Malaysia and Indonesia would be able to deal with threats of terrorism.
"Let's just say that we have the same understanding about how to deal with this problem of terrorism," Mahathir told a press conference after a one-hour meeting with Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri on the island of Bali.
Indonesia is generally a safe place despite security problems in some regions, said the prime minister.
"I think Indonesia is doing very well and I didn't see any terrorism when I came here. In any country there are places where activities that are damaging to the country are taking place," Mahathir said.
"I think we can handle (the threats)."
The US State Department, in its annual terrorism report issued in May, said it was concerned Islamic militants with links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network were living in Indonesia.
After the meeting at the Tampak Siring summer palace, Mahathir and Megawati witnessed the signing of five memoranda of understanding.
Illegal workers
The agreements are on the empowerment of women and family development, on immigration, on sales of gas, on an Indonesia-Malaysia business council and on the formation of the Malaysia-Indonesia council of friendship.
Conspicuously left unsigned was a memorandum of understanding on Indonesian workers.
The agreement was not signed as planned "because both sides still need some time to go through all the drafts that have been proposed in recent talks," and because the repatriation of illegal Indonesian workers was still ongoing, a senior Indonesian official within the delegation said.
Malaysia has recently launched a crackdown on illegal workers, mainly from poorer Indonesia and the Philippines.
More than 300,000 illegal immigrants, mainly Indonesians, have so far left Malaysia under a four-month amnesty program to escape jailing and caning under tough new immigration laws which came into effect August 1.
Megawati said she discussed "the burning issue" of illegal immigrants with Mahathir in a "cordial" manner but did not give further details.
She said both sides also discussed measures to prevent illegal logging and security on the countries' sea border.
Mahathir acknowledged that authorities sometimes ill-treated the illegal immigrants but said he hoped "this would not hurt good relations between the close neighbors."
He said the policy to repatriate illegal immigrants was necessary because there were now about two million foreigners in Malaysia, or about 10 percent of the country's population of 22 million.
Many of the illegal immigrants have no jobs and "are involved in untoward activities, causing public resentment," the premier said.
Mahathir said Malaysia might need the workers again in the future but if they should return they would have to carry proper documents.
The premier acknowledged that it was difficult for Indonesia to prevent its citizens from entering Malaysia illegally to seek jobs.
An estimated 30 million Indonesians lack full-time work and another 7.8 million have no job at all.
"We will deal with this problem in some other ways," he said without elaborating.
Natural gas
Mahathir and Megawati were later to attend a function marking the supply of Indonesian natural gas to Malaysia.
Indonesia's state energy firm Pertamina will begin piping gas from the Natuna field in the South China Sea to Malaysia on Thursday under a deal expected to earn the Jakarta government 2.9 billion dollars over two decades.
The two leaders, plus Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, are also scheduled to witness the signing today of an agreement setting up the International Tripartite Rubber Corporation.
The alliance grouping the world's top three rubber producers is aimed at boosting world prices. - AFP
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