Malaysian Ambassador to Indonesia,  Zahrain Mohamed Hashim, has expressed sadness over an answer from former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad in his letter on a statement which purportedly insulted those of Bugis descent.

Mahathir’s statement had incurred displeasure among the ethnic Bugis community in Indonesia whereby, the Malaysian embassy had to increase security measures and received a memorandum from the Indonesian Bugis Macassar Youth Assembly on Oct 20, demanding that the former prime minister make a public apology over his statement.

Therefore, in order to ensure continuous harmony between both countries, Zahrain wrote a letter to Mahathir on Oct 23, requesting him to take the necessary action and clear the air.

“(However) I am sad with the answer (letter) from the (elder) statesman,” Zahrain told Bernama in Jakarta today.

He said Mahathir’s reply in a letter dated Nov 1, was not only without an apology but in fact, continued to defame Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

He said Mahathir had also said that one should not incite the Indonesians on the issue "as they (Indonesians) could not vote in the (coming) 14th general election".

On Oct 14, Mahathir, when speaking at a gathering organised by opposition parties had alleged that Najib’s ancestors might have been linked to "Bugis pirates".

The matter also received a reaction from Indonesian vice-president Jusuf Kalla who admitted he was offended and felt insulted.

The Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, had recently expressed displeasure and regret over Dr Mahathir’s recent statement which was seen as attempting to incite Malaysians to look down on the Bugis community.

- Bernama