A policy research and international studies expert says meetings between Malaysian and Indonesian leaders in Jakarta will not go beyond the usual exchanges.
Universiti Sains Malaysia’s Professor Dr Azeem Fazwan Ahmad Farouk said leaders of the two nations would also refrain from making any statements that could be seen to interfere with the situation in Myanmar.
Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob started his three-day official visit to Indonesia yesterday – his first as prime minister.
Ismail Sabri was scheduled to meet Indonesian President Joko Widodo at Istana Bogor today, and was expected to meet business leaders as well, during his brief stay in the republic.
“Malaysia and Indonesia have close bilateral ties. We need to look at it from many angles,” said Azeem, who is the director of the university’s Centre for Policy Research and International Studies.
“Malaysia relies heavily on Indonesian workers for certain sectors of our economy.
“Generally speaking, the bilateral ties between Malaysia and Indonesia do not go beyond the usual exchanges … primarily due to the fact that one of the major principles of Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) is non-interference.”
He admitted that Asean had yet to make any progress after the military junta ousted the democratically-elected government and took over Naypyitaw earlier this year.
“Both leaders will refrain from making statements on other nations’ sovereignty. Such statements will be made in other multilateral settings, like within the United Nations.”
He added, any statement coming out strongly against Myanmar by Ismail Sabri or Widodo, would be “unprecedented”.
On another matter, Azeem said, leaders of both nations must tread with caution, in allowing movement of people, as the world was still battling Covid-19.
“Both countries should remain cautious, as there are still many unknowns. Malaysia is certainly monitoring what is going on in Singapore, as the number of cases is still on the high side, despite the high vaccination rate there.
“The situation in Indonesia is a lot stickier. The borders in Singapore are a lot more secure than Indonesia’s.
“We don’t really know how many people in Indonesia have been vaccinated … the country is an archipelago, while the interiors may not be easily accessible.”
He added that Java island was an exception, and not the rule.
“As such, we need to consider all this before allowing tourism, and medical tourism. Penang, for example, relies on medical tourists from Indonesia, but we have to remain cautious and vigilant,” he added.
