Malaysia and Indonesia will work on a standard operating procedure and rules of engagement as a guideline for their respective officers when carrying out duties at sea borders to prevent a recurrence of the Aug 13 incident, Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said today.

Both countries also agreed to include Indonesia's Maritime Security Coordination Agency and the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency in the existing structure of the General Border Committee.

NONE For the time being, Malaysia decided that if there were similar arrests involving Indonesian enforcement officers in the future, they would not be handcuffed or asked to wear clothing for detainees, Anifah ( right ) told a joint news conference with his Indonesian counterpart, Dr Marty Natalegawa on Kota Kinabalu.

Three Indonesian maritime and fisheries officers were arrested by Malaysian police off the coast of Johor on Aug 13, sparking anti-Malaysia protests ( below ) in Indonesia. Seven Malaysian fishermen were also arrested by the Indonesian authority in the incident. Both countries later released the detainees.

Dr Natalegawa flew to Kota Kinabalu today for a delegation meeting with Anifah, which lasted about two hours.

Anifah said that the arrest of three Indonesian officers were based on the standard operating procedure practised in Malaysia and that the treatment given to them was not as what the Indonesian media made it out to be.

'We value our relations'

"This operating procedure applies to all, not just to Indonesians, who encroached into our waters.

Although the standard operating procedure has been established, taking into consideration our good relations with Indonesia, we will look into the procedure further.

NONE "But relaxing the standard operating procedure does not mean that we are wrong; but we value our relations with Indonesia," he said.

Natalegawa said Malaysia and Indonesia had drawn lessons from the incident, adding that he was satisfied with the assurance given by Malaysia to look into the standard operating procedure should there be incident involving Indonesian officers.

"I think none of us are happy that the episode has happened, but most importantly we are drawing lessons from it; we are making necessary adjustments to ensure this sort of incident does not recur.

"We should bear in mind to keep the communication line open, and not severe it, when problems arise. Anifah and myself will continue to communicate for the interest of both countries," he said.

'Hurt the feelings'

Anifah also said the faeces-throwing incident at the Malaysian embassy in Jakarta last month, had hurt the feelings of Malaysians but said that Malaysia believed that Indonesia would take appropriate actions based on its rule of law.

"I've conveyed the feelings of Malaysians to Bapak Marty. But I've also mentioned that we understand that the act neither reflected the sentiment of the Indonesian people nor was it condoned by the Indonesian government," he said.

 

Natalegawa said: "Of course, the Indonesian government will do all it can to enforce the rules and laws to ensure no recurrence of such incident."

– Bernama