Rasa sayang is in the air

Welcome: Anwar with Prabowo in Jakarta on Oct 19. — Prime Minister’s Office Facebook page

IN May, an Indonesian tourist took to her TikTok account to claim that during her visit to several states in Malaysia, she had not seen any mosques nor heard the call to prayer. Of course, Malaysians were quick to react and school her – but surprisingly, there was also a swift reaction from Indonesians, who lambasted the woman for her ignorance.

She had to apologise and turn her account private.

One Malaysian tourist’s critical review of Jakarta early this year also did not go down well. She gave low scores for food, tourists attractions, and shopping malls, triggering massive protests from social media users of both countries. Even Indonesian Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno got into the picture, telling people not to be provoked by posts that may incite hatred towards other countries.

A Malaysian who has been living in Jakarta observed that, nowadays, Malaysians travelling to Indonesia and posting on social media about their “bad experience” are only asking for trouble when their posts go viral and attract scoldings and corrections.

“In recent years, there are more people to people interaction between both countries. Those who have been to Indo-nesia or visit Malaysia, will definitely question such posts because they would have a better perspective of the country.

“Many Indonesians know us better now. Some Malaysians still equate Indonesia with maids or labourers, forgetting there are Indonesian professionals or businessmen who have a genuine interest in Malaysia. Of course, there are also citizens who have family ties via marriage,” he said.

These interactions and feel- good vibes between the people of the two countries reflect the close bilateral relations that have been steadily building over more than two decades.

The state of those relations has been excellent at all levels, from government to government and business to business levels, to the people to people level too.

The exchange of visits at the highest level has been very positive last year and this year. Bilateral trade was recorded at US$24bil (RM104bil) in 2023, and Indonesia is our third largest trading partner in Asean. Malaysia was the fifth largest investor in Indonesia in 2023, with US$4.1bil (RM18bil).

In tourism, Indonesian tourist arrivals in Malaysia recorded strong growth, with 3.1 million visiting Malaysia last year and close to two million Malaysians visiting Indonesia.

Malaysia accounted for the largest number of foreigners that visited Indonesia in 2023.

Health tourism is also attracting many Indonesians to our shores. The Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council aims to generate RM2.4bil in revenue from the health tourism sector this year, which is expected to contribute an economic spillover to other industries of about RM9.6bil. According to statistics made available to this columnist, Indonesia contributed 66% of the health tourism revenue in the first half of this year, spending RM801mil in Malaysia.

Personal ties between the leaders are reportedly very strong. Indonesia’s eighth President, Prabowo Subianto, seems to have an affinity with Malaysia and has a special relationship with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

He is an old Victoria Institution boy (along with another notable VI alumni, Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah). Prabowo served as Defence minister under former president Joko Widodo.

Since his election as President in March, Prabowo, 73, has travelled to Malaysia twice, in April and September. During his second visit to Kuala Lumpur he was granted an audience with His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia. In a Facebook post, His Majesty said his friendship with Prabowo began more than 40 years ago during military training at Fort Bragg, United States.

Prabowo’s military background is what most Malaysians are familiar with, but not much is known about his personal life. He was married and has one son, Didit Hediprasetyo, a renowned fashion designer whose more recent work was designing Indonesia’s Paris 2024 Olympic team uniforms.

Since his inauguration, Prabowo’s nearly five million followers on X (formerly Twitter) has been treated to a-day-in-the-life glimpses of the newly sworn-in President. He has been busy meeting foreign guests at Indonesia’s presidential palace in Jakarta one after another since his swearing in last Sunday.

One item that caught the attention of many Malaysians was Prabowo hosting Anwar for dinner at his parents’ residence in Jakarta. Anwar was among the foreign dignitaries who witnessed the swearing in of Prabowo and vice president Gibran Rakabungmi Raka.

“Thank you for your visit, which is meaningful, and hopefully this friendship and cooperation will flourish,” said Prabowo on X regarding Anwar.

This was greeted by Anwar in a Facebook post that said Malaysia will continue to be a strategic partner of Indonesia towards further strengthening the bonds of friendship between the two countries.

“I attended this meaningful and significant ceremony, which marks a milestone in Indonesia’s democratic history and regional political development, as a gesture of respect for the people of Indonesia.

“With Bapak Prabowo Subianto’s long political journey, having faced numerous challenges and tests, I am confident that he will serve wholeheartedly and, together with Malaysia, help foster harmony and elevate this region to greater heights,” Anwar wrote.

These visits and personal bonds bode well for further enhancing bilateral relations, and officials are keeping their fingers crossed that this positive trend will continue.

But let’s not forget that beyond these good vibes, outstanding bilateral issues – especially involving borders, both land and sea – are still on the table. Managing relationships is a complicated task and sometimes it is worth reminding politicians and diplomats to be mindful, especially about what they say on any bilateral issues.

Will Anwar and Prabowo’s ties open the way towards finding solutions to complex issues which have been plaguing Malaysia and Indonesia for many years?

Malaysia needs to tread cautiously too, for fear Putrajaya may be seen as giving away too much, especially in issues involving the country’s sovereignty and national interests.