Malaysia welcomes development of Nusantara - Anwar

BOGOR - Malaysia will seek the best way to ensure the development of Indonesia’s new capital Nusantara in Kalimantan would benefit the regional economies of Sabah and Sarawak, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who is better known as Jokowi, here today, Anwar said the Sabah and Sarawak administrations praised the major initiative by Jokowi to develop Nusantara.

Before the press conference, the two leaders had witnessed the handing over of 11 letters of intent (LoI) from 10 Malaysian companies to participate in the development of Nusantara.

On the issue of Indonesian manpower in Malaysia, Anwar said the use of the digitalisation system in the recruitment and placement of workers was important to cut down on bureaucratic red-tape and the number of employment agencies.

He said employment agencies should serve as facilitators and not try to make excessive profits to the extent of burdening workers.

"Problems should be resolved in a more comprehensive manner so that the fate of workers at the lower levels would be protected.

"We will avoid issues which can strain ties between Malaysia and Indonesia because I want the Malaysian-Indonesian relationship to remain special,” he said, adding that the foreign ministers of both countries should understand the commitment of the two leaders in this matter.

Anwar said the Malaysia-Indonesia border issue was not complicated and he was committed to studying it together with his Cabinet.

"It just needs a clear determination, and Insyaallah I will bring it to the Cabinet soon,” he added.

At the meeting, Anwar said Malaysia would focus on downstream and digital economy programmes as implemented by the Jokowi administration.

"I will tap into his (Jokowi’s) experience and contributions, and we will help drive economic growth in Malaysia and Indonesia together more confidently," he said. - BERNAMA