Crown Eco Jakarta Management

Yudhoyono Clarifies Singapore and Malaysia Haze Apology

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/yudhoyono-clarifies-singapore-and-malaysia-haze-apology/

After offering a public apology to Singapore and Malaysia for the haze emanating from forest fires in Riau, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono sought to emphasize that he had not felt pressured into issuing the mea culpa.

A sovereign country must not be afraid of any nation, he said at a press conference in Halim Perdanakusuma airport after arriving from Bali. Not to Malaysia and neither to Singapore. I had to do it because the smoke context was clear. Yudhoyono said the government had never compromised the sovereignty and interests of Indonesia, and recalled his handling of diplomatic issues with Malaysia and Singapore over domestic migrant workers and the Ambalat Block as evidence that he had taken a robust line with Indonesias neighbors when necessary.

There will never be a compromise when it comes to our sovereignty and our territorial integrity, the president said. I will keep on fighting and doing diplomacy to make sure that our workers in Malaysia are given their rights and that there will be no violence toward workers in Malaysia and Singapore.

The president acknowledged that he had been widely criticized on various social media channels for the manner in which the apology was given.

Yudhoyono was keen to point out that the country enjoyed a constructive relationship with the Lion City, but that Indonesia would continue to push for Singapore to return assets that were siphoned out of the country in 1998. I also want [Indonesia] and Singapore to have honest cooperation and make sure there is no illegal trading and Indonesian goods smuggled to Singapore, he said. I think this kind of story is strongly attached to Indonesias people.