Indonesia and A Legal Case against Malaysia

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The recent sea border incident with  Malaysia and the way in which the government handled it continues to draw strong public reactions in esssence calling for  more resolute actions to settle the pending boundary issue. A spokesperson for the Indonesia Democracy Party-Struggle (PDIP) said Indonesia’s borders had  been violated repeatedly by foreign parties because the government had never been assertive on where those borders were located.

"Until now, there is no clarity about where exactly our borders lie , especially those with Malaysia, and thus, we cannot settle perceived border violations through  legal processes," PDIP executive Puan Maharani said in Tanjungpinang, Riau Islands province, on Thursday.      She made the statement after attending the installation of Riau Islands’ newly-elected governor and vice governor.      "How can we have a legal case against Malaysia if it is not clear where our common border actually lies," she said, adding  it was therefore the government’s duty to define the country’s territorial boundaries.       With the exact location of the sea border with Malaysia yet to be clearly determined, it was also not possible to sue Malaysia legally for arresting the three Indonesian fisheries officers who had  caught Malaysian fishermen in the alleged act of poaching in Indonesian waters near Bintan Island, Puan said.     "So , once again,  PDIP hopes the government will be more assertive about the demarcation of Indonesian waters," she said.      Former Indonesian Navy chief of staff Admiral I Tedjo Edhi Purdijatno also said the exact location of Indonesia’s border with Malaysia was still unclear as it had yet to be agreed on with the neighboring country.      "What we already have is an agreement on our border with Singapore but we still have to make one with Malaysia and I hope we can do this soon," he said.     A speedy settlement with Malaysia on the border issue was necessary to prevent further disputes in the field, the former navy chief said.