Malaysia, Indonesia Make Progress On Land And Maritime Border Issues

By Nik Nurfaqih Nik Wil

JAKARTA, June 4 (NNN) -- Malaysia and Indonesia have made progress on several longstanding land and maritime border issues, which are expected to be brought to the Malaysia-Indonesia Annual Consultation, to be hosted by Malaysia, for further discussion.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hassan said the matter was among the outcomes of the 17th Meeting of the Malaysia-Indonesia Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC), which he co-chaired with his Indonesian counterpart, Sugiono, here on Thursday.

“There are also several longstanding land and maritime border issues which, in my view, are now at the final stage and can be brought forward for discussion and agreement by the two leaders during the annual consultation,” he told a joint press conference after the meeting.

Mohamad said the 17th JCBC had, overall, reached agreements that could further strengthen existing ties between Malaysia and Indonesia.

He said relations between the two countries were currently at an excellent level, with only a few outstanding issues still requiring attention from both sides.

“I would say relations between Malaysia and Indonesia are now 98 per cent good. The remaining two per cent consists of issues and unresolved matters that we need to address,” he said.

Mohamad said the welfare and access to education of Indonesian citizens living and working in Malaysia were also discussed during the meeting.

“For us, the right to education is a human right under international conventions,” he said.

In addition, he said Indonesia had proposed expanding employment opportunities for its citizens in Malaysia to other sectors facing labour shortages, particularly the caregiving sector.

“We will discuss the matter at the appropriate level because it falls outside the Foreign Ministry's jurisdiction and comes under the Health Ministry. However, I am confident that it is a good proposal and would also benefit Malaysia's healthcare industry as a whole,” he said.

Mohamad said the Malaysia-Indonesia Annual Consultation between Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto is expected to be held between August and the end of this year.

--NNN

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