PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Students Department (MSD) in Jakarta has arranged for a meeting with the Indonesian students’ body in a move to ease the tense situation in their universities.
MSD director Dr Junaidy Abu Bakar said the meeting between the Indonesian Students Executive Body and the National Malaysia-Indonesia Student Association would be held tomorrow following a flare-up of anti-Malaysian sentiment.
He said the meeting, which will also see the attendance of representatives from Kelab Umno Indonesia, would not only work to dispel any suspicion between the students but come up with the best way to ease the tension.
Speaking to mStar Online yesterday from Jogjakarta, Dr Junaidy said there were currently about 5,900 Malaysian students studying in various universities in Indonesia.
He also confirmed that a Malaysian medical student’s accommodation in Jogjakarta was the first target for anti-Malaysia sentiment when it was pelted with rocks.
However, no casualties were reported and both the university authorities and the police had given their cooperation in controlling the situation.
Dr Junaidy said the MSD conducted a briefing for Malaysian students in Jogjakarta yesterday.
“Malaysian students are advised against responding towards any provocation from any organisation or individual that displays anti-Malaysian sentiment.
“They should avoid areas where there are demonstrations and immediately refer to the Malaysian or local authorities if there’s any incident,” he said, adding that they had been provided with both the embassy and the consul-general’s numbers as well as the handphone contact of MSD officers.
“Several MSD officers and I visited Jogjakarta yesterday to meet with more than 400 students there.
“We also held a meeting with the deputy dean of faculty in Jogjakarta University, where our student’s accommodation was pelted with rocks.
“I’m sure that an incident like this has scared some students but I guarantee that the situation is under control,” he said, adding that 10 Indonesian television stations had been highlighting the sentiment and playing repeatedly the footage of demonstrations, even if only five people were taking part.
A few groups in Indonesia, specifically an organisation called Banteng Demokrasi Rakyat (Bandera), had displayed their anger by holding demonstrations in front of the Malaysian embassy almost every day in the past few weeks.
On Tuesday, its members had threatened to use sharpened bamboo on Malaysians using Jalan Diponegoro here, which had become the focus of their demonstrations due to it being only seven to eight kilometres away from the Malaysian embassy.
Dr Junaidy said the road was located within the Menteng area, which could be considered an elite residential area in central Jakarta.
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