The latest incident follows on the heels of several cases of alleged mistreatment of Indonesian migrants working in Indonesia. For example, Indonesians were outraged when an Indonesian soccer coach was roughed up in August and when a young Indonesian woman, 20-year-old Suriyani Nas, alleged that in April she was bound, gagged and raped for a month by a Rela volunteer.
THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Classified By: Pol/C Joseph Legend Novak, reasons 1.4 (b)(d).
1. (U) This message was coordinated with Embassy Kuala Lumpur.
2. (C) SUMMARY: The brief detention--on illegal immigration charges--of an Indonesian diplomat's wife based in Malaysia has sparked an uproar in Indonesia. Despite a formal apology, the Indonesian national legislature (DPR) has demanded that the GOI take steps to freeze ties with Malaysia.
The Indonesian government has rebuffed those demands and ties remain stable, but Indonesians--who are already inflamed over cases of alleged migrant labor abuse in Malaysia--are feeling increasingly touchy toward their neighbor. END SUMMARY.
A BRIEF DETENTION
3. (U) On October 6, members of a private, volunteer Malaysian militia (RELA) detained the wife of Indonesia's cultural attache to Malaysia. The uniformed personnel--officially authorized to pick up illegal immigrants and deliver them to detention centers--reportedly failed to recognize Nurdin's diplomatic ID. Rela detained the woman for about two hours while her daughter fetched her passport, according to media reports. The Indonesian Embassy filed a formal protest. Embassy official Shanti Utami Retnaningsih was quoted as saying -- "They treated her like an illegal immigrant...It's unacceptable. This incident shows disrespect to members of our embassy."
MALAYSIANS APOLOGIZE
4. (SBU) Reacting to the incident, Malaysia's Ambassador to Indonesia gave an official apology on October 10. Despite this, Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak went on to deny publicly that Nurdin was detained at all, claiming that she was merely asked to wait while authorities verified her credentials, according to a Malaysian media report which also received coverage in Indonesia.
BACKLASH IN INDONESIA
5. (C) For their part, Indonesian legislators reacted strongly in the week following the incident. Several DPR members spoke out publicly, calling for withdrawal of the Indonesian ambassador to Kuala Lumpur, freezing the export of Indonesian migrant labor to Indonesia, and halting annual joint military exercises. Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda said--given the official protest and official apology--the matter should now be laid to rest. Based on Pol/C's soundings over the October 13-14 weekend, Indonesian politicians were still angry over the incident, claiming that it shows that Malaysians have "no respect" for Indonesians.
6. (SBU) Sentiments of bruised nationalism have spilled over into culture as well, with recent calls by prominent Indonesians to boycott Malaysian products because of allegations that Malaysia has infringed upon the copyrights of popular Indonesian folk song "Rasa Sayang" ("Feeling of Love"). A song with the same tune and near identical lyrics has recently been employed to promote Malaysian tourism.
Theo Sambuaga, Chairman of the DPR's Commission I which deals with foreign and security affairs, stated publicly on October 9 -- "We ask Malaysia, its apparatus and the media, to stop denigrating Indonesians."
TIES A BIT BRUISED -- BUT STABLE
7. (C) The latest incident follows on the heels of several cases of alleged mistreatment of Indonesian migrants working in Indonesia. For example, Indonesians were outraged when an Indonesian soccer coach was roughed up in August (ref B) and when a young Indonesian woman, 20-year-old Suriyani Nas, alleged that in April she was bound, gagged and raped for a month by a Rela volunteer (ref A).
8. (C) In spite of all the problems, Indonesian-Malaysian ties remain stable. The perception is growing among Indonesians that they are somehow not being treated with respect, however. At the heart of the matter, is sentiment among Indonesians that Malaysians have a superiority complex and treat Indonesians as if they are second-class citizens.
A bit embittered, Indonesians increasingly are taking a touchy, nationalistic stance toward their cousins across the strait -- "They just treat us like dirt," said one official to Dep/Pol/C.
HUME (October 2007)
Comments (33)...
written by muhibah1malaysia, October 15, 2011 05:20:52
What kind of rela officer can we if our DPM and also Education MInister who insist INTERLOK book for school which teach us to look down on other races ...
written by hunkeyboy, October 13, 2011 21:57:56
beware people. Rela is beginning to be like those Brown Shirts and if we are not steadfast and careful we will definitely someday have to face the same options: stand and resist, or submit and let the menace grow with each submission.
i say DISBAND rela now. We already have a volunteer police force why do we need rela when there is no more Emergency, no more communist threat? ...
written by Abd Rahman Malik, October 13, 2011 13:25:31
i am very shy of my race. as what mentioned by one of the readers above- the only think we are good at is as sleeping partner ( in bed not company) and even then it only refer to women folk. the men are too gatal and not faithful. our women are gatal, sex hungry but very loyal to their partnesr until they wiling to give up their virginity ..
written by Gnojaas, October 13, 2011 10:16:10
Last year Rela broke down the gate and the door of my blind friend's flat in Brickfields searching for the illegal. Despite my friend screamed that no illegal living them and told them that only two of them both blind living in the flat, Rela continued to knocked down the gate and the door. My friend was very frightened in the middle of the night thinking that they were robbers. He called the Brickfields police but the gate and the door were already brought down. My friend asked for compensation to repair th
e gate and the door but was refused. He had to spend RM2000 over to replace the gate and the door. ...
written by arazak, October 13, 2011 01:50:49
The no brainer Home Minister still wants to set up RELA in all constituencies. Apart from getting "undi pos' for the corrupt UMNO regime, those RELA members do nothing other than raping migrant workers!! ...
written by adobe, October 12, 2011 21:43:35
It is time we wake up that Indonesia is growing faster than us and in time they will treat us in exacty the same way we are treating them now or in the past. Failure to adjust our mindset, continue to keep it closed at our own peril. ..
written by Deunan Knute, October 12, 2011 20:21:23
Remember back in the days of Mahathir, there was this (bad-taste) joke -
Malaysian PM - Mahathir, Indonesian President, - Suharto, Cuban El-Presidente - Fidel Castro and French President - François Mitterrand all in an airplane heading somewhere.. All of them wanted to show off.
Fidel Castro smoked a cigar, after a couple of puffs, he threw it away - We've lotsa cigars back home!
Not to be outdone, François Mitterrand drank a bit of expensive red wine and threw the rest out - Dun worry, in France there's a lot of them! Then come Mahathir, to the shock of everyone present, he took Suharto and threw him out of the plane - Don't worry, we have a lot of them in Malaysia.
written by Watsasadday, October 12, 2011 19:49:36
The Indonesian got it wrong. They treat everyone 2nd class. They have superiority complex. They are only superior in the only profession they excel in- sleeping partner. They are in self denial. They can't even promote and showcase themselves but employ Jews to do their PR . What a joke. ..
written by umno is going down, October 12, 2011 19:16:21
for those who are not aware
needless to say Singapore a much poorer country in terms of natural resources have surpassed us by leaps and bounds in terms of wealth
Jakarta and Thailand both have easily surpassed us in terms of economic GDP and growth in recent years
the only reason why malaysia is still standing is because of our wealth in oil
and UMNO will try to milk out as much oil as possible in their few last remaining days
without oil we will be as poor as africa ..
written by Simon Lee, October 12, 2011 19:04:07
In Indonesia, an Anti-discrimination law had been passed protecting the rights of all races and citizens. In Malaysia, Umno has the NEP that totally discriminates against the other races and constantly abused & expolited by the corrupt in power, committing daylight robbery & enriching themselves under the guise of the corrupt NEP at the expense of the poor Malays & the poor of other races. In addition, Umno has the all powerful, racist & supremacist rule of "KETUANAN MELAYU" & the ISA, and they can do anything, unchallenged by any citizens, to plunder $billions of the nation's wealth, and detain or arrest anyone under the ISA or the MACC. With the ISA and total supremacy over the citizens, Umno has absolute power and they have no respect for Human Rights as many politicians & innocent citizens had been arrested & incacerated without trial! They had gone overboard with their supremacist mentality in detaining an Indonesian diplomat and a public apology and compensation for the humiliation & crimes they had commited against a diplomat must be delivered to the Indonesian people. ...
written by Leon, October 12, 2011 17:19:52 ----
written by Kaneeneh, October 12, 2011 02:55:50
Malaysians live with a false sense of security that we are superior to our neighbors, created by UMNO. We think that we are richer, smarter, more endowed than our poor prostitutes towns in the north, free-er than our kiasu relatives in the south and smarter than our maid-exporting neighbors.
The truth is today we are the poorest, least developed, least invested, and the most uneducated country in ASEAN. If you have been to Jakarta or Bangkok, you would understand. And we are still going dowhill, too.
True, very true indeed. That's because many Malaysian being feed on TV slogans that:
- Malaysia sudah maju --> no need further development?
- Malaysia towards developed country --> by showing space ship in last seconds of advertisement ?
I notice there are lack of Thailand, Jakarta and Singapore information being given on TV, although they are our closest neighbor. But, more news/reports from Arabs or India/China is being reported, instead. Hey, my grandfather may be interested in China news than me, but not me. ...
written by kllau, October 12, 2011 17:06:58
If the report is Reliable, the Real Victim, SADLY, is the Rakyat of Malaysia.
The Incorrigible Culprits are the Umno/ Bn Leaders. They must be made fully Accountable and punished. The Rakyat and the government that these leaders should Not represent, felt Cheated.
It is a Shameful and Despicable Conduct NOT typical of the Rakyat or World Citizens
The Voice, similar to that of the current N.Y. Protest against 'Corporate Greed', of the Rakyat's Displeasure and Disapproval of such Leaders' Conduct and the Likes, has to be Heard Locally and Internationally.
Actions are to be meritoriously considered to be taken against Leaders who display such Deceitful Behaviour that Betrays the Trust and at a Costly Expense of the Rakyat and the Citizens of the world.
UN member states countries that subscribe to the International System of Good Governance may well consider seriously,Sanctions against the Visits of the Likes of such Leaders.
Indonesia, I think, would be the first to lend support for such movement. ...
written by Lok1, October 12, 2011 17:03:31
I will gladly hand over 3/4 Umno Minister to be hung by the Indons,plus 80% of all RELA members,and not forgetting Rais Yatim the indon rapist,let them come here,for we welcome them if Justice is what they want,we will probably roll out the red carpet,heeeee3 padan muka those Forked Umno's
written by neilahmad, October 12, 2011 16:50:47
sory Indon, these Rela are 3rd class people and they forgotten to bring their brains when working. Also the Indon are all classified as illegals becos they themselves mess it all up. ...
written by Maaf, October 12, 2011 12:58:01
Sudah masa RELA di-gubalkan. Mereka di-beri kuasa sewenang2nya yang di-salah gunakan, terus bertindak setaraf samseng....
written by albert zacharias1, October 12, 2011 12:39:52
These Melayus bred by BN / UMNO are good for only MKT ...
written by Pak Adil, October 12, 2011 12:36:38
During the Confrontation war between Malaysia and Indonesia (1962-1966), the non-bumis were still very loyal to the UMNO/BN Malaysian government as they all thought they will be treated as Malaysians with equal status. So, many volunteered to fight for Malaysia in the war. However, if Indonesia were to declare war now on the corrupt UMNO/BN government, I think it will be a no contest as the UMNO/BN government is so corrupt, most of the weapons supplied to the army and navy will be duds ie cannot be used !!!! You have submarines which cannot sink, fighter planes with no engines !!!! Also, the people of Sabah and Sarawak may also join Indonesia in fighting against the corrupt UMNO/BN government as they want their independence after almost 50 years of abuse by the corrupt UMNO/BN government. As for the non-bumis, most of them will just watch and wait for the demise of the corrupt UMNO/BN government. The Malaysian citizens will be disunited due to the recent mass registration of instant citizenship given to the Bangladeshis, Indonesians, Arabs etc. There will be no loyalty shown from these new citizens but will have many instant spies within the Malaysian citizens. As for the PDRM, they will most likely be disbanded due to mass desertion of its corrupt police personnel. ...
written by anakKedah, October 12, 2011 12:33:40
"Sebab nila setitik, rosak susu sebelanga" - There are bad people among the good both in Indonesia and Malaysia. Unfortunately for Malaysians, the bad ones were given powers far too powerful for their limited brain cells to handle resulting in them imagining they are Kings and the rest are slaves. RELA used to have a noble purpose that is to bolster our armed forces during the turbulent years between Merdeka and the formal surrender of CPM. Now, RELA should have its "powers" trimmed especially the authority to carry armaments. GOM has declared that we are at "peace" so why the need to arm RELA with weapons? They should not be allowed to carry out any form of enforcement operations on their own. They should only assist the Police and Immigration armed with only a baton for self-defense. ...
written by Jerebu from Sumatera, October 12, 2011 12:31:16
Have we ever lodged a formal protest despite them exporting haze to our country from Sumatera and Kalimantan year after year? Not forgetting, tuberculosis and criminals too. Did we threaten their citizen and try to 'sweep' them back to Indonesia? No, we did not.
They just having a bout of inferiority complex.
Maid abuse happens everywhere. Not only in Malaysia, but in Singapore, Hong Kong and the Middle East.
written by JC LIU, October 12, 2011 12:17:01
Sorry for the angry Indonesians when confronting with a superiority complex neighbor that was acquired through years of mistreating their own minority citizens. But everything will die down because the Indonesian government will not take any drastic action against its arrogant neighbor because of brotherhood. Indonesians will only bark in their local newspapers to “shock” themselves because its neighbor’s newspapers will play down the issue. ...
written by fairman, October 12, 2011 12:11:48
While Indonesians willingly sweat, suffer and toil in our country taking up odd jobs which our Malaysians don't want to do...like working in the oil palm estate, rubber estate, constructions etc. These are the people other Indonesians should respect, because they are the ones who can bring changes to their country. Now they are the world largest producer of the CPO. Even China and India are buying from them instead of Malaysia..Their maids pick up the many dialects from Malaysian and now they are working in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore. If our country is still sleeping all the businessmen will invest in Indonesia and other countries will import all their raw material from them too. ...
written by Pegasus, October 12, 2011 10:21:50
One word indon! ...
written by AA, October 12, 2011 09:41:44
Indonesia can plan to export few more millions of immigrants over here, get a blue I.C, infiltrate into UMNO like Toyol, then take over the country. Malaysia will be a colony of Indonesia soon....
written by Firewatch, October 12, 2011 09:01:43
Corredtion, NOT Malaysians disrespect the Indonesians, BUT UMNO and Perkasa Melayus who granduers that they are the TUANS who live like parasites on others. ...
written by Masmerah, October 12, 2011 09:01:26
I have worked with Indonesians and have been to Indonesia a number times. Briefly, with their thousands of years of history immensely enriched by Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam, they are generally more cultured, polite and humane towards fellow human beings. What Soekarno and Suharto did to them left them to ridicule and contempt by almost the whole world but they HAVE arrived! We can't even address them as Indonesians, and instead call them Indons - that's civility and high culture from a 'successful' country steeped in religious values. What religious values? Indonesia will leap frog ahead of us within the next 10 years. I may not live to see them leave us in the dust, just as well, but am glad to witness the start of the rebirth and renaissance of Indonesia. Dirgahayu Indonesia! ..
written by Firewatch, October 12, 2011 08:50:22 Correction, NOT Malaysians disrespect Indons but UMNO Malays and Perkasa. They think they are the TUANS. ...
written by adhieysh, October 12, 2011 08:13:49 And my Indonesian muslim girlfriends all drink beer and alcohol... So all you Malays... go and lick UMNO's toes and get caned for drinking beer...
written by gift4ever, October 12, 2011 08:09:36 There must be a payback time. Indonesia is just waiting patiently for that time will come when Malaysians have to yeild to Indonesians. Economically, Indonesia is racing ahead on schedule to over take Malaysia. My guess is give them another 10 years and another 10 years for them to claim Borneo.
Malaysia has so much potential and now the end is near ...
written by Aaron, October 12, 2011 07:07:19 Indonesians are proud of their heritage and culture.Umno has been inventing the culture for the Malays here.On the religious front they are taught to lick the wahabbi feet from toe to heel and forget everything else.
A group like rela draining tax payers funds is unconstituitional as it serves to put fear in the public and acclamatize them to the control grid of a police state.
These are all low I.Q. school drop-outs who have no direction in life and are happy to receive tax payer funded allowances to vent their subhuman traits with the power of their uniforms. ...
written by cheenavera, October 12, 2011 06:31:45
R-eal E-nemy L-oitering A-rround ...
written by supplier, October 12, 2011 05:38:08
claiming that it shows that Malaysians have "no respect" for Indonesians.
it is the UNmo that shows no respect to Indonesians, they even have no respects for fellow Malaysian ..
written by Bob Doolan, October 12, 2011 05:26:20
That is perkasa for you. ...
written by Kaneeneh, October 12, 2011 02:55:50
Malaysians live with a false sense of security that we are superior to our neighbors, created by UMNO. We think that we are richer, smarter, more endowed than our poor prostitutes towns in the north, free-er than our kiasu relatives in the south and smarter than our maid-exporting neighbors.
The truth is today we are the poorest, least developed, least invested, and the most uneducated country in ASEAN. If you have been to Jakarta or Bangkok, you would understand. And we are still going dowhill, too.
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