Jakarta - The Indonesian government is coordinating with its Malaysian counterpart in investigating the fatal shooting of four Indonesians by the Malaysian police in Sarawak last week, a Foreign Ministry official said Sunday.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said the four Indonesians and a Malaysian citizen were killed in a Dec. 4 shootout with the police, who reportedly found weapons, knives and a wire-cutter in the car the men drove to the Malaysian border.
"This is still an allegation and the Indonesian police will continue to probe the case. We have representatives in Kuching (in Sarawak) who also worked with the Malaysian authorities during the autopsies and helped transfer the bodies home."
Faizasyah added because the victims had no identity papers with them, it took the Indonesian government until Dec. 11 to confirm four of them were Indonesians.
It was earlier believed all five victims were Indonesians, but Faizasyah clarified the fifth was a Malaysian citizen.
On Sunday, West Kalimantan Governor Cornelis lodged an official protest with the Malaysian government over the deaths of the four men from the province`s Sanggau regency.
"The letter of protest will be handed over to a Malaysian counselor in (the West Kalimantan capital) Pontianak," he said as quoted by Antara news agency.
Cornelis added he was surprised by the news, saying, "I was shocked. It`s really cruel."
The governor said he had demanded in his letter an explanation of how the incident had occurred.
Faizasyah said he had yet to be informed about the complaint by the West Kalimantan governor.
West Kalimantan Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Suhadi S.W. said an official announcement from the Malaysian police had stated the five men were killed in a shoot-out with the police.
According to the statement, the men were asked by the police to stop at a security checkpoint. When they refused, a chase ensued, which later devolved into a shoot-out, eventually leading to the men`s deaths, the Malaysian statement said.
Indonesia and Malaysia have a testy relationship, with tensions sporadically flaring up over reports of maid abuses, claims of heritage, border disputes and illegal logging along the border.
Diplomatic relations have seen massive rallies and military displays as they enter their 51st year, especially over headline-grabbing reports of abuses and border disputes. Lilian Budianto and Andreas Arditya
Source:
http://www.thejakartapost.com (December 15, 2008)