ID :
9914
Fri, 06/13/2008 - 01:53
Auther :
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https://oananews.org//node/9914
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NEWS FOCUS: MALAYSIAN HELIPAD IN BORDER AREA DRAWS MANY REACTIONS
By Eliswan Azly
Jakarta, Jun 12 (ANTARA) - A helipad built by Malaysia about seven meters from the border poles marking the boundary between Indonesia's Kalimantan and Malaysia's Serawak state have drawn many reactions.
The House of Representatives said the building of the helipad even only seven meters from the Indonesia-Malaysia border area was a violation of the Socio-Economic Agreement between Malaysia and Indonesia (Sosek Malindo) signed by the two countries in 1967.
The two countries reached an agreement on a ban covering two kilometers from the boundary between the two countries. "We have to lodge a protest, and also object to the building of a helipad Indonesia considers an insincere act," a member of the Houses' Commission I Ali Mochtar Ngabalin said.
An Indonesian military-forest rangers joint patrol found a helipad in Malaysian territory only seven meters from the boundary with Indonesia. The helipad may have been built about six months ago.
According to Ali Mochtar, the House of Representatives (DPR) needs to immediately take a stance on this case, and he would submit a note of objection to the DPR, the foreign minister and the president over the presence of the helipad which is a violation of the 1967 agreement.
Commenting on the existence of the helipad near the boundary of the two countries, visiting Malaysian Foreign Minister Dato Ahmad Shabery Cheek said he had no knowledge of the helipad at all.
"I don't know where the helipad is located," Dato Ahmad in the company of Communications and Information Minister Muhammad Nuh said in a press conference after the signing of the MoU on cooperation between the information ministries of the two countries in Jakarta on Thursday.
Dato Ahmad said that he had to ask for a clarification from the relevant agencies in Malaysia as he did not know anything about the helipad close to the boundary between the two countries.
He denied that a helipad only seven meters from the boundary is being used for intelligence activities. "I was shocked to hear this allegation that the helipad is being used for Malaysian intelligence activities. It may have affected efforts of confidence building and therefore it is impossible for his country to do it," he said.
If the report was linked to intelligence activities, Dato Ahmad said it was not necessary to build a helipad so close to the border area, as there is a sophisticated long distance sensoring technology through the satellite.
In the meantime, Minister Muhammad Nuh said Malaysia needed to make a clarification on the existance of the helipad to prevent speculations which might create a rift between the two sides.
Earlier, an expert staff of the political, legal and security affairs coordinating ministry for economic affairs and natural resources, Andi Amir, said that the helipad built by Malaysia only seven meters from the boundary between West Kalimantan and Malaysia's Serawak State, had drawn special attention from the Indonesian government.
"We have received many information on the existence of the helipad and therefore I think the issue deserves serious attention," Andi Amir said when attending a workshop on well-mananged forests in West Kalimantan in Pontianak on Wednesday.
Such attention could be given under a coordination with the Malaysian embassy in Jakarta.
Andi Amir also opined that now there was no need to add more military personnel in that area, as this may affect the good relations between the two countries.
"Confrontation is not a good, transparent and democratic solution. We have always settled our problems through diplomatic channels," he said.
It is true that Indonesia and Malaysia have reached a socio-economic agreement in 1967 and the General Border Committee agreement in 1971, which banned any activity within two kilometers from the boundary of the two countries.
It was also alleged that the building of the helipad by Malaysia in Tanjung Kapuas Village, Kapuas Hulu, was used to monitor the activities of illegal loggers who often entered into Indonesian territory, or into Betung Kerihun national park in Kapuas Hulu district, West Kalimantan.
In the meantime, Indonesian Defense Minister Yuwono Sudharsono on said Thursday his office was still checking the truth about the helipad, and whether it was used for civilian or military activities.
In addition to a field inspection, the content of the 1972 joint border committee (JBC) agreement between Indonesia and Malaysia on the border was also rechecked. But the Indonesian government would still verify the case.
The ongoing checking is jointly done by a team of the Defence Ministry and the Foreign Ministry and the Indonesian military, he said.
Jakarta, Jun 12 (ANTARA) - A helipad built by Malaysia about seven meters from the border poles marking the boundary between Indonesia's Kalimantan and Malaysia's Serawak state have drawn many reactions.
The House of Representatives said the building of the helipad even only seven meters from the Indonesia-Malaysia border area was a violation of the Socio-Economic Agreement between Malaysia and Indonesia (Sosek Malindo) signed by the two countries in 1967.
The two countries reached an agreement on a ban covering two kilometers from the boundary between the two countries. "We have to lodge a protest, and also object to the building of a helipad Indonesia considers an insincere act," a member of the Houses' Commission I Ali Mochtar Ngabalin said.
An Indonesian military-forest rangers joint patrol found a helipad in Malaysian territory only seven meters from the boundary with Indonesia. The helipad may have been built about six months ago.
According to Ali Mochtar, the House of Representatives (DPR) needs to immediately take a stance on this case, and he would submit a note of objection to the DPR, the foreign minister and the president over the presence of the helipad which is a violation of the 1967 agreement.
Commenting on the existence of the helipad near the boundary of the two countries, visiting Malaysian Foreign Minister Dato Ahmad Shabery Cheek said he had no knowledge of the helipad at all.
"I don't know where the helipad is located," Dato Ahmad in the company of Communications and Information Minister Muhammad Nuh said in a press conference after the signing of the MoU on cooperation between the information ministries of the two countries in Jakarta on Thursday.
Dato Ahmad said that he had to ask for a clarification from the relevant agencies in Malaysia as he did not know anything about the helipad close to the boundary between the two countries.
He denied that a helipad only seven meters from the boundary is being used for intelligence activities. "I was shocked to hear this allegation that the helipad is being used for Malaysian intelligence activities. It may have affected efforts of confidence building and therefore it is impossible for his country to do it," he said.
If the report was linked to intelligence activities, Dato Ahmad said it was not necessary to build a helipad so close to the border area, as there is a sophisticated long distance sensoring technology through the satellite.
In the meantime, Minister Muhammad Nuh said Malaysia needed to make a clarification on the existance of the helipad to prevent speculations which might create a rift between the two sides.
Earlier, an expert staff of the political, legal and security affairs coordinating ministry for economic affairs and natural resources, Andi Amir, said that the helipad built by Malaysia only seven meters from the boundary between West Kalimantan and Malaysia's Serawak State, had drawn special attention from the Indonesian government.
"We have received many information on the existence of the helipad and therefore I think the issue deserves serious attention," Andi Amir said when attending a workshop on well-mananged forests in West Kalimantan in Pontianak on Wednesday.
Such attention could be given under a coordination with the Malaysian embassy in Jakarta.
Andi Amir also opined that now there was no need to add more military personnel in that area, as this may affect the good relations between the two countries.
"Confrontation is not a good, transparent and democratic solution. We have always settled our problems through diplomatic channels," he said.
It is true that Indonesia and Malaysia have reached a socio-economic agreement in 1967 and the General Border Committee agreement in 1971, which banned any activity within two kilometers from the boundary of the two countries.
It was also alleged that the building of the helipad by Malaysia in Tanjung Kapuas Village, Kapuas Hulu, was used to monitor the activities of illegal loggers who often entered into Indonesian territory, or into Betung Kerihun national park in Kapuas Hulu district, West Kalimantan.
In the meantime, Indonesian Defense Minister Yuwono Sudharsono on said Thursday his office was still checking the truth about the helipad, and whether it was used for civilian or military activities.
In addition to a field inspection, the content of the 1972 joint border committee (JBC) agreement between Indonesia and Malaysia on the border was also rechecked. But the Indonesian government would still verify the case.
The ongoing checking is jointly done by a team of the Defence Ministry and the Foreign Ministry and the Indonesian military, he said.
