(AFP) Indonesia and Malaysia put aside their differences as President Megawati Sukarnoputri arrived here Monday on the last leg of a 'getting-to-know-you' tour of Southeast Asia.

Irritants such as illegal immigration, piracy and air pollution were put on the back burner as Megawati was accorded a 21-gun salute and inspected a guard of honour at Parliament House.

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed was to pay a courtesy call on the new Indonesian president at her hotel in Kuala Lumpur before a formal meeting between the two later today.

Malaysia's deputy defence minister, Shafie Apdal, told AFP on the sidelines of the arrival ceremony: "The ties between Malaysia and Indonesia are very good.

Whipping of illegal immigrants

"We should maintain the cooperation as part of Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) to ensure the region remains peaceful.

"There are two issues which concern Malaysia, illegal immigrants and piracy, that we have to sort out, but there is nothing we cannot resolve.

"(Megawati) just formed the government. It's only fair to give them more time. Eventually, when things settle down, then we can sort out our problems."

The Malaysian government last week proposed whipping illegal immigrants, many of whom are from Indonesia, while pirate attacks on ships in regional waters are a problem for both countries.

Local newspapers also point to air pollution from forest fires in Indonesia as a cause for concern. Malaysian Airlines was forced to cancel more than 70 flights in Sarawak state on Borneo island because of poor visibility last week.

Megawati's visit will also revive memories in older Malaysians of the fact that her father, Indonesia's founding president Sukarno, harboured territorial ambitions against Malaysia.

Diplomatic relations were only established in 1967, after Sukarno's downfall.

Ideas sought

Now, however, Megawati is expected to seek advice on spurring her ailing economy during her two-day visit, a spokesman for the Indonesian embassy in Kuala Lumpur said.

"She will seek ideas from Mahathir on ways to boost economic recovery. We consider Mahathir as the senior leader (of Asean)," said counsellor Wisnu Gunardi.

Mahathir, 75, celebrated 20 years in power in July, making him one of the world's longest serving leaders.

He has said Malaysia is willing to help strengthen Indonesia's ailing economy, in part to stem the flow of illegal immigrants.

There are about 600,000 illegal immigrants in Malaysia, which is home to some 700,000 legal foreign workers, and its own weakened economy has led to job cuts and calls for curbs on immigration.

Megawati, who was sworn in last month after her predecessor Abdurrahman Wahid was ousted by parliament, is accompanied by her husband Taufiq Kiemas, Foreign Minister Noer Hassan Wirajuda and a 60-member delegation.

She has already visited all other members of Asean during her week-long tour, her first foreign trip since taking office.

The other members are Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Burma, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam.