Yudhoyono and Najib agree to improve relations

Erwida Maulia ,  THE JAKARTA POST

Tue, 04/07/2009

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and new Malaysian Prime Minister M. Najib Tun Razak have agreed to continue developing the "good relationship" between the two nations in the future.

The leaders made this commitment following the annual consultative meeting in Jakarta last month. Yudhoyono and former Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi attended this meeting, just days before the latter stepped down from Malaysia's top leadership position.

Yudhoyono and Badawi agreed at that time to continue improving the bilateral relationship between the two neighboring countries, including by improving coordination in handling problems with Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia.

The President and newly-appointed Malaysian Prime Minister had their first talks last week when Yudhoyono made a phone call to congratulate Najib on his inauguration as Malaysia's sixth prime minister.

"President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono warmly welcomes the appointment of Prime Minister Najib Razak and is ready to cooperate closely with him," presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal said in a press statement Monday.

"The President says that Prime Minister Najib Razak knows Indonesia very well and has been an old and close friend to Indonesia.

"During phone conversations, the two leaders reiterated their commitment to continue preserving and developing the good relationship between Indonesia and Malaysia in the future," he said.

According to Dino, Yudhoyono and Najib last met in June 2008, when the latter was still serving as deputy to Badawi.

They have both planned to have bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit with the Dialogue Partners — China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India — in Pattaya, Thailand, later this week.

Najib was sworn in as prime minister of Malaysia last Friday as rising political tensions and the global economic downturn hammer the country.

He is the leader of Malaysia's main ruling party, United Malays National Organization (UMNO), which held power from 1957 until 2008 when it lost its crucial two-thirds majority in parliament. The defeat led to Badawi's decision to step down.

Najib has been accused of corruption and linked to the murder of a Mongolian woman. 

He has persistently denied all allegations.