Malaysia-Indonesia Brotherhood Too Strong To Be Broken

The brotherhood between Indonesia and Malaysia is too strong to be broken by the egos of individuals, says Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) advisory council leader KH Masdar Farid Mas'udi.

Nahdlatul Ulama, established in 1926, is the biggest Islamic organisation in Indonesia with an estimated membership of 30 million.

"If we have a conflict, we are the ones who will be at the losing end because the others, who dislike our brotherhood, will take advantage of the situation," Masdar told Bernama, here, Sunday.

He was commenting on the dispute between Indonesia and Malaysia following an incident at the Malaysia-Indonesia maritime border near Pulau Bintan, Riau Archipelago, on Aug 13.

In the incident, seven Malaysian fishermen were detained by the Indonesian Marine and Fisheries Ministry, while Malaysian marine police arrested three enforcement officers from the Indonesian ministry, for alleged encroachment of each other's territorial waters.

Although those detained were released by the authorities of both countries on Aug 17, Indonesian activists continued to show their anger at Malaysia by staging demonstrations and demanding an apology, and pressuring the Indonesian government to adopt a firm attitude towards Malaysia over border problems between the two countries.