SAF To Resume Bilateral Cooperation, Activities With TNI - S'pore Defence Minister

By Tengku Noor Shamsiah Tengku Abdullah SINGAPORE, April 17 (Bernama) -- Defence Minister Dr Ng Eng Hen says the Singapore Armed Forces will resume bilateral cooperation and activities with the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI). This follows an apology by TNI Commander-in-Chief General Moeldoko on Tuesday, for naming an Indonesian warship after two marines who carried out the bombing of MacDonald House in Singapore in 1965. In response to media queries on Moeldoko's comment on the naming of the warship, the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) issued a statement quoting Dr Ng as saying: "SAF will resume cooperation with TNI. "I welcome General Moeldoko's apology as a constructive gesture to improve bilateral defence ties between our two countries. "The SAF will reciprocate General Moeldoko's positive intentions by resuming bilateral cooperation and activities with the TNI so as to strengthen the mutual understanding and friendship that has been built up over many decades." Moeldoko’s apology was the first by an Indonesian military official. In an interview with local television Channel NewsAsia on Tuesday, Moeldoko said: “We have no ill intent whatsoever, to stir emotions. Not at all. I apologise.” However, he said the name of the ship would remain the KRI Usman Harun. The two Asean neighbours have been in row since early this year over the name of the Navy ship. For Singaporeans, dark memories of the MacDonald House bombing were reawakened when media reports emerged on the newly-cristened KRI Usman-Harun 359, an Indonesian Navy corvette named after Second Sergeant Usman Muhammad Ali and Second Corporal Harun Said. The two marines, who had both been declared national heroes by the Indonesian Government, were executed in Singapore in 1968 for carrying out the bombing that killed three and injured 33. Singapore had then issued a statement saying that the ship’s name “would have impact on the feelings of Singaporeans, especially the families of the bombing victims”. -- BERNAMA