ID :
18326
Sun, 09/07/2008 - 11:40
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/18326
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ANWAR IBRAHIM PROMISES TO ADDRESS ILLEGAL INDONESIAN WORKERS' PROBLEM
Jakarta, Sept 6 (ANTARA) - Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said one of the main things on his agenda in regard to improving relations with Indonesia was the problem of illegal Indonesian migrant workers in his country.
"One of my main agendas is to improve relations with neigboring countnries, including Indonesia, and addessing the illegal Indonesian workers problem is necessary," he said.
Speaking at a press conference after a cordial get-together with Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals Union (ICMI) figures here Saturday, Ibrahim also promised he would abolish the caning law in Malaysia, saying it was an inhuman way of punishing wrongdoers.
He said relations with Indonesia, including with the country's Muslim organizations, were important. "Don't think, I feel humiliated when I am associated with Indonesia," he said.
Ibrahim also expressed thanks to the foreign media, including Indonesian media, for the support they had given him at a time when Malaysian media had put him in a tight spot.
He said when he had come to power in Malaysia, he would also revoke discriminatory policies which had put Muslim Malays in a controversial position.
Another thing he would dismantle was the New Economic Policy (NEP) launched in the early 1970s, and replace it with a system that would empower all poor Malaysians regardless of whether they belonged to the Malay majority or the ethnic Chinese or Indian minorities.
He said Malaysia needed a voice for change to improve a number of degenerated systems and to eliminate ethnic tensions.
Ibrahim, a former deputy prime minister and finance minister who was sacked and jailed a decade ago, has vowed to wrest power from the current government with the help of parliament members who have defected to his camp.
After an absence of 10 years from the Malayian parliament, Ibrahim was late last August formally sworn in as a legislator again by Malaysian House Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia. Ibrahim was at the same time named leader of the opposition in the Malaysian parliament.
"One of my main agendas is to improve relations with neigboring countnries, including Indonesia, and addessing the illegal Indonesian workers problem is necessary," he said.
Speaking at a press conference after a cordial get-together with Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals Union (ICMI) figures here Saturday, Ibrahim also promised he would abolish the caning law in Malaysia, saying it was an inhuman way of punishing wrongdoers.
He said relations with Indonesia, including with the country's Muslim organizations, were important. "Don't think, I feel humiliated when I am associated with Indonesia," he said.
Ibrahim also expressed thanks to the foreign media, including Indonesian media, for the support they had given him at a time when Malaysian media had put him in a tight spot.
He said when he had come to power in Malaysia, he would also revoke discriminatory policies which had put Muslim Malays in a controversial position.
Another thing he would dismantle was the New Economic Policy (NEP) launched in the early 1970s, and replace it with a system that would empower all poor Malaysians regardless of whether they belonged to the Malay majority or the ethnic Chinese or Indian minorities.
He said Malaysia needed a voice for change to improve a number of degenerated systems and to eliminate ethnic tensions.
Ibrahim, a former deputy prime minister and finance minister who was sacked and jailed a decade ago, has vowed to wrest power from the current government with the help of parliament members who have defected to his camp.
After an absence of 10 years from the Malayian parliament, Ibrahim was late last August formally sworn in as a legislator again by Malaysian House Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia. Ibrahim was at the same time named leader of the opposition in the Malaysian parliament.
