Anti-Malaysia Demonstration Takes Place in Jakarta

Although Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono already called for police action against any anti-Malaysia demonstrators, another rally still took place on Sunday.

One of Indonesian News Portal, Detik.com, reported that about 50 people from the Indonesian Contract Labor Association gathered at the headquarters of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) in Jakarta before marching, to the chant of “destroy Malaysia,” along the Diponegoro street to the scene of last week’s controversial protest, where the People’s Democracy Defense set up a roadblock to search for Malaysians. Neni, one of the protesters, said that Malaysia has mistreated Indonesia and the government just doesn’t seem to care. An international relation expert, Effendi Choiri, said that any active sweeps for Malaysians could have adverse consequences. “If you really want to do something, please go march down the street, but don’t go overboard because it will cause reciprocal results for Indonesia,” he said. He also said that the tensions between the countries had exploded to the surface because of the recent disputes - Ambalat issue, Manohara, Wayang, Batik, 'Indon' label for Indonesian, and the pendet dance.