Malaysia has never been soft in dealing with issues seen as threatening the nation's sovereignty, Prime Minister Najib Razak said.

NONE Referring to the anti-Malaysia demonstrations in Jakarta, he said Malaysia urged Indonesia to take immediate steps to diffuse the situation.

"What is important now is for the Indonesian authorities not to allow the situation to continue, and to act against the demonstrators, protect the (Malaysian) embassy and take any other necessary action," he said after handing over dividends for the 2010 Risda Group Replanting Scheme and Commercial Replanting Scheme, here, today.

The prime minister said he had received a letter for Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on the issue.

"The letter is in Putrajaya, so I have not seen its content yet but I believe he has expressed sadness over what happened during the demonstrations," he said.

"It is important for us not to allow this issue to strain bilateral relations between Malaysia and Indonesia. This relations is beneficial for both countries, and Indonesia is also mindful that they have about two million of their nationals working in Malaysia while there is a lot of Malaysian investments in Indonesia, which contribute to their economic growth.

"Therefore, we have common interests and will not allow the issue to threaten our bilateral relations."

PM appeals for calm

Asked about the Indonesian media's tendency to blow up issues on Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia, Najib said the Malaysian authorities had always been addressing the arising issues in accordance with the law.

NONE "There will be issues between both people, for example, there are one or  two employees here who give Indonesian workers a raw deal or abuse them.

"We cannot guarantee that such a thing will not happen, but it is up to us to act, and we have taken action in accordance with the law.

"We cannot say that because of the action of one or two (Malaysian) employees which were beyond our control, they (demonstrators) should react like they have in Indonesia."

The prime minister also appealed for calm in Malaysia following the demonstrations in Jakarta.

"We can assure that we will control the situation in Malaysia, but if the demonstrations continue to be extreme it will cause anger among Malaysians and invite reaction," he said.

Asked whether Malaysia was seen as being too soft over the issue, the prime minister promptly replied: "No...no...no."

- Bernama