National

MPR Speaker: Indonesia’s Outer Borders Are Weak
Wednesday, 13 April, 2005 | 04:03 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:The collision incident between the Indonesian ship Tedung Naga and the Malaysian ship Diraja Rencong indicates the legal weakness regarding Indonesia’s outer borders, according to People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Hidayat Nur Wahid.

The collision incident lasted around 40 minutes, from between 06.50 and 07.30 local time on Friday (08/04).
There were three collisions between the ships when the Indonesian ship attempted to chase away the Malaysian ship, which was going to enter the Indonesian ship patrol area.

However, there was no serious damage to the Indonesian ship Tedung Naga following the collisions.

Nur Wahid advised the Indonesian government and the House of Representatives (DPR) to immediately formulate a new law regarding Indonesia’s outer borders.

“This is a matter of Indonesia’s sovereignty. We have to secure this sovereignty,” he stated.

According to Nur Wahid, the dispute of Ambalat case must be settled through a negotiation.

“This comes as a consequence of a treaty that must be obeyed by Indonesia as part of ASEAN countries,” he continued.

According to Nur Wahid, the negotiations must continue based on the fact and principle that Ambalat is and will always be a part of Indonesia.

The management of Ambalat has always been under the Indonesian government and the Malaysian government only made this info a problem in the middle of February.

“The government should be very aware of this situation. Don’t let’s have a repeat of the mistakes made in the Sipadan and Ligitan case,” stated Nur Wahid.
(Rinaldi Dorasman-Tempo News Room)