M'sian DPM Arrives In Jakarta For Six-Day Visit To Indonesia

Ahmad Fuad Yahya JAKARTA (Indonesia), July 3 (Bernama) -- Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin (centre)arrived here Tuesday for a six-day visit to Indonesia in an effort to boost bilateral ties and cooperation in various fields. In the Indonesian federal capital Tuesday, he has a tight schedule attending meetings and dicsussions with government leaders as well as the leaders of the three biggest political parties in the republic. This morning, he is scheduled to call on Indonesian Vice-President Boediono and discuss various cooperation and bilateral issues which frequently impeded relations between the two countries at the people's level. The latest is the controversy following Malaysia's proposal to recognise the 'Tor-tor' dance and the beat of the 'Gordan Sambilan' of the Mandailing community in Malaysia, as part of the country's heritage. The recognition, which the Mandailing community in Malaysia had pushed for, was opposed by several groups of the Indonesian community who interpreted it as an effort by Malaysia to claim it as a culture of the Mandailing community who originated from north Sumatera. The controversy, which was played up by the local media, resulted in several groups of the Indonesian community demonstrating in front of the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta, to the extent that a group of 50 members of the 'Pemuda Pancasila' hurled stones and damaged the gate and part of the Malaysia Hall in Menteng, Jakarta recently. Muhyiddin and the delegation of Umno (United Malays National Organisation) leaders will later meet and discuss with the general leader of Parti Golkar, Aburizal Bakrie, who was officially named on Sunday as the Indonesian presidential candidate from the Golkar parti in the presidential election in 2014. He and the Umno delegation will meet and discuss separately with the general leader of Parti Demokrat, Anas Urbaningrum, and the general secretary of the party, Edhie Baskoro Yudhoyono, and the general leader of Parti Demokrasi Indonesia Perjuangan (PDI-P) Megawati Soekarnoputeri and her husband, Taufik Kiemas, who is also the Head of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) which is the Upper House of Parliament. The Umno delegation includes party vice-president Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (second from left), Umno supreme council member Ahmad Shabery Cheek, Wanita (Women) Umno head Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, Umno Youth head Khairy Jamaluddin and Puteri Umno head Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin. Muhyiddin, who is also the Education Minister, will later attend the Asean Education Ministers' Meeting and other related meetings in Yogyakarta on Wednesday and Thursday. He will then proceed to Bali where he is scheduled to meet the Governor of Bali as well as Malaysian students there. (photoBERNAMA) MALAYSIA