12 TKWs (Tenaga Kerja Wanita, domestic helper from Indonesia) were tortured and unpaid in Malaysia yet again.

No, they said. Of course not, I would say. We don’t fingerpoint any countries for this terrorism mess-up because no foreign terrorist can live long without any help from local people. Likewise, we hope our neighbor to not labelling Indonesia by an act of certain Indonesian citizen in Malaysia. Labelling and stereotyping are naive symbolizing stupidity and doesn’t make any sense.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Friday it was improper to label Malaysia as an “exporter” of militants because terrorism was a regional or global problem unrestricted by national boundaries.

He said it was futile for countries to point fingers at one another in the matter.

“Even in the case of the Sept 11 (2001) attacks (on the twin towers of the World Trade Centre) in the United States, the terrorists came from outside that country. This only goes to show that we are faced with a global issue, not something confined to any one country,” he said.

Najib responded thus when asked to comment on the killing of Malaysian Noordin Mohd Top, Southeast Asia’s most wanted militant, in a police raid in Solo, central Java, Thursday.

Noordin, who had been a member of the Jemaah Islamiah (JI), was the mastermind behind a series of bomb explosions in Bali and Jakarta which had claimed hundreds of lives. Najib said problems associated with terrorism required the cooperation of the affected countries and even covered cooperation at the global level.

News from another side of the aisle

Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin on Thursday reminded Malaysian students in Indonesia to exercise caution and not do anything of a provocative nature owing to the presence of groups seeking out Malaysians to vent their anger over the alleged Malaysian theft of Indonesian cultural elements.

He said the students should avoid areas which were the focus of these groups to “sweep” Malaysians, such as Jalan Diponegoro in Jakarta.

“We have given advice, views and guidelines to our students there, and we hope they will stay safe. They must avoid getting involved in situations that will lead to trouble; even walking in big groups could be regarded as being provocative,” he told reporters after launching the “Prime Minister’s Personal Message in Conjunction with Aidilfitri” programme at the Faculty of Medicine of Universiti Putra Malaysia, here.

Mohamed Khaled was asked to comment on the “Sweeping Malaysia” activity of a group which carried sharpened bamboo sticks and sought out Malaysians along Jalan Diponegoro on Tuesday.

Indonesia’s demand that its maids be paid a minimum 800 ringgit ($227.1) monthly salary has hit a raw nerve among Malaysians.
Indonesia’s demand that its maids be paid a minimum RM800 monthly salary has hit a raw nerve among Malaysians.

“Not all of us are getting a four-figure pay packet . Wait for us to progress, then such a request can be deemed feasible,” Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) Kedah chapter chairman Pishol Ishak said.

He said many Matta members could not afford to pay RM800 (S$327) monthly to their general workers, what more a similar sum for foreign maids.

Calling for rationality, he said: “As much as we value the role played by maids, particularly from Indonesia, the salary expectation must be in tandem with the earning power of Malaysians too.”

Indonesian ambassador to Malaysia Da’i Bachtiar has been quoted in press reports as saying that the republic is pressing for the minimum wage following cases of maid abuse by Malaysian employers.

The cultural dispute over tari Pendet dance turns out to be a misunderstanding. In another word it’s untentional on Malaysian part.
Malaysia sought Friday to allay anger in Indonesia over the use of a Balinese dance in a promotional spot for a TV documentary series on Malaysia, with officials laying the blame on cable network Discovery Channel.

The clip sparked outrage in Indonesia, with hundreds staging rallies and accusing Malaysia of stealing the “Pendet” dance from the Indonesian resort island of Bali, in the latest cultural dispute between the neighbors.

Cultural Minister Rais Yatim said the mistake was committed by Discovery Channel, which produced the 30-second clip to promote its series “Enigmatic Malaysia.”

Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific said it regretted using the image of the Balinese dancer, which it said was sourced from an independent third party.

“The promotional clip has been removed from all feeds,” it said in a statement, adding that it had no intention of causing any misunderstanding or distress.
Photo of Tari Pendet Bali

Bali’s Pendet dance row has not dissipated yet, Malaysia has allegedly claimed pulau Jemur (Jemur island) as its own. Viva News reports:
Amid the unsettled dispute over the inclusion of Pendet dance show on ‘Enigmatic Malaysia’ ad and the Malaysian national anthem ‘Negaraku’ which is allegedly copied from the ‘Terang Bulan’ song, a new problem emerged.

Within the past few days, Riau local media reported about a tourism website which claims Jemur Island as Malaysia’s tourist destination.

On Travel Journal and Osvaja.net, Jemur Island is deemed a tourism destination of Selanggor, Malaysia. The website also declares 2° 52′ 10 North Latitude and 100° 34′ 0 East Longitude as the location of the island.

If you don’t have a clue where Pulau Jemur is, this is what Wikipedia has to say:
Pulau Jemur is an island of Indonesia which is located in the Strait of Malacca, about 45 miles from capital of Rokan Hilir regency, Bagansiapiapi, and about 45 miles from Malaysia. Actually, Pulau Jemur is named for several of small island, the isles are Pulau Tekong Emas, Pulau Tekong Simbang, Pulau Labuhan Bilik and some others small isles.

Pulau Jemur has a good natural sea view and beautiful panorama, and serves as home for sea turtles. It has a strategic location on the Strait of Malacca; during the Second World War, the Japanese built a defence on this island.

Many places can be found there, such as Japanese Cave, Light House tower, and others.

Pulau Jemur has a natural golden beach sand. Local government are trying to develop it as a resort area.

Jemur islands are uninhabited and only a stopover place for fishermen who are to sea. A post of TNI-AL was established in this island for the purposes of observation and navigation.
Meanwhile, world-geographics.com states Jemur Island as a part of Indonesia’s territory.

Saykoji, Indonesian rapper, has this special song dedicated for Malaysian people. Watch the video:

Photo of the tortured Siti Hajar, an Indonesian maid in Malaysia. The latest case of maid torture among many other similar cases in Malaysia. Photo by Harian Metro

Siti Hajar, another Indonesian maid who had been tortured severely by her employer, a single mother of 13 year old daughter and eleven-year-old son.

Some (alleged) facts (based on her claim):

• Never been paid for 43 months
• Poured by boiling water over her body and/or face
• Beaten many times
• Try to escape, never succeed until a taxi driver brought him to Indonesia embassy in Malaysia for free (she’s surely penniless)
• Fed plain rice twice a day and forced to eat pork at times (she’s muslim where pork is unlawful to eat; another way of torture)

Is there any worse than these? And why Malaysia? I hardly wonder any such torture happens in such country as Saudi Arabia. But in Malaysia? What’s wrong with this country?

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• Malaysian mother jailed for 18 years for scalding Indonesian maid